Dr. Heger Riesling GG "Achkarren Schlossberg" 2020
"Just a few miles from the French border, in Germany’s southernmost region of Baden, Joachim Heger farms a pair of extraordinary volcanic grand crus (Grosses Gewächs): Ihringer Winklerberg and Achkarrer Schlossberg. The vineyards here are on steep, sun-soaked slopes, places of startling intensity. Joachim gives voice to this terroir through classic varieties, foremost the pinot family, riesling, and silvaner. In recent years, German pinot noir (Spätburgunder) has come into much sharper focus. There’s no getting around the work Joachim has done — over close to 40 vintages — to revolutionize the way we interpret this variety and its potential on these unique volcanic, loess, and limestone soils. The results are wines of unmistakable depth and deliciousness, age-worthy benchmarks for Baden and for Germany.
West of the Ihringer Winklerberg in the village Achkarren are the steep vineyards of the Schlossberg. It is one of the warmest locations in Germany and is characterized by terraces of varying sizes and gradients. The low rainfall and barren soils create complex aromatic structures in the wines. This riesling was fermented in stainless and remained on the fine lees in stainless for an additional year. It is mature, elegant, at once rich and refined, wonderfully juicy yet balanced."