Jochen Dreissigacker is a young vigneron creating wines from some of the most exciting vineyard sites of Rheinhessen. He took over the reins at his family estate in 2005 and began the work of converting to Byodynamic viticulture.
Jochen is trying to enhance the vitality of his soils using natural methods, limiting yields, harvesting by hand and vinifying with native yeasts.
Rheinhessen is a unique expression of German viticulture. Normally when one thinks of the greatest vineyard sites for Riesling, you envision the breathtaking slopes of the Mosel or the hand-worked terraces of the Rheingau. In the best villages of Rheinhessen, the vines grow on gentle slopes, overlying a bedrock of active limestone—reminiscent of the great terroirs of Burgundy. These sites produce wines of great depth and concentration with scintillating tension between ripe fruit, acidity and mineral structure.
It was this tension and energy that attracted Dan and I to this wine. This wine is partly Estate fruit, along with some purchased (organic) fruit from friends and neighbours. (Which is why it is called Organic and not Biodynamic.) It is fermented in 100% stainless steel and has a clear, pale lemon colour. Spicy and fresh, with a lovely minerality on the nose. Stone fruits like nectarine and peach come though on the palate, with well integrated acidity and it finishes with mouth-watering grapefruit flavours.