Country
Germany
Region
Rheinhessen
Vintage
2020
Score
93
Quite a powerful dry riesling, but with a very cool, herbal and refreshing personality. Very long, clean and mineral finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
2020 Weingut Wittmann Gundersheimer Riesling Aus Ersten Lagen BIO
biologisch
| Type of Wine | White |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany |
| Region | |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Grape | |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (12.5%) |
| Drink window | 2022 - 2033 |
24.45
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20.21
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Description
The demand for the wines of this top producer from Rheinhessen is increasing, partly due to the many favorable reviews. It would have been easy to take advantage of this success, buy some more vineyards and ride the positive wave. As a purist looking for absolute quality at the highest achievable level, Philipp chooses the opposite route: by reducing yields and selecting fruit, he makes fewer bottles labeled below the highest level and the overall quality of the 'Estate' wines further improves. The most important change is the introduction of three wines 'Aus Ersten Lagen', namely the Gundersheimer, the Westhoger and Niersteiner. These wines bear the name of their municipality, but come from one or more vineyards with the label 'Erste Lage'. These wines are put on the market 1 year after harvest, when the Grosses Gewächse were previously launched. These last top wines are now appearing six months later.
After two fantastic years, 2020 completed the hat-trick of warm and good vintages, relatively easy for a winemaker. The drought of previous years did not affect this year and there was also no question of excessive heat. There was plenty of rain, but not at the wrong times. This means that Philipp has been able to harvest perfectly ripe and healthy grapes. The resulting wines have the aromatic expression of 2018 with the mineral sharpness of 2019. A harvest that they themselves are very proud of!
The Gundersheimer is a typical Riesling that lives up to its character. Nicely concentrated power, complex and mineral. Biodynamically produced by the very high quality winery Weingut Wittmann from the Rheinhessen region . The Wittmann Gundersheimer Erste Lage borders the Morstein GG. It is a fresh and tight wine with a firm mineral structure and relatively slim for Rheinhessen. Quite open and absolutely sexy on the nose, the Gundersheimer Riesling "Aus Ersten Lagen" combines the purity of calcareous soils with the attractive fruit of deep calcareous soils. Very elegant on the palate, this is a pure, deep and juicy yet refined dry Riesling with fine tannins and a persistent saltiness. Very compact but wide and playful enough to be immediately attractive but can also safely sink for another 10+ years. 93/100 Suckling
Located in Westhofen in the Rheinhessen wine region, Weingut Wittmann produces biodynamic wines with terroir expression and extreme precision. The Wittmanns and their ancestors have been winegrowers in Westhofen since the 17th century. The experience of some 350 vintages spanning more than 15 generations is of great importance in the invaluable heritage of the family. Time and rest are essential ingredients for making a good wine. And this is exactly what the wines get in abundance in the vaulted cellar, built in 1829. Winemaker Philipp Wittmann watches over his wines, under constant temperature and humidity conditions, as they mature in 80 wooden barrels. The oldest of these barrels is from the year 1890 and has already housed many large vintages. Each barrel contains the harvest of 1 single vineyard plot.
Specifications
| Type of Wine | White |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany |
| Region | Rheinhessen |
| Winery | Weingut Wittmann |
| Grape | Riesling |
| Biological certified | Yes |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Drinking as of | 2022 |
| Drinking till | 2033 |
| Alcohol % | 12.5 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Promotion | Last bottles, On Sale |
| Parker rating | 92 |
| James Suckling rating | 93 |
| Tasting Profiles | Aromatisch, Bloemig, Complex, Droog, Fris, Fruitig, Mineraal, Strak, Wit fruit |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe |
Professional Reviews
Parker
92
Rating
(91 - 92)
Release Price
NA
Drink Date
2020 - 2032
Reviewed by
Stephan Reinhardt
Issue Date
13th Aug 2020
Source
August 2020 Week 2, The Wine Advocate
The 2019 Gundersheimer Riesling "Aus Ersten Lagen" is pretty open and absolutely sexy now on the nose and pairs the purity of calcareous soils with the attractive fruit of deep calcareous soils. Very elegant on the palate, this is a pure, deep and succulent yet finessed dry Riesling with fine tannins and lingering salinity. Very compact but wide and playful enough to be immediately attractive. Tasted as a sample in April 2020.
Philipp Wittmann himself is torn as to which of his GGs he likes best in 2019. In my tasting, in May the choice was easy. The Brunnenhäuschen GG shows all the merits of the vintage at its best: highly elegant, refined and complex yet weightless, with immense finesse and energy. However, Morstein and La Borne are hardly behind, they just weren't as developed. Without a doubt, Wittmann's 2019s, especially these three Riesling GGs, are great wines, even greater than the 2018s, possibly even the finest of the last 20 years, even though he himself sees 2001 and 2002 at the same high level. And that, according to Philipp, borders on "a miracle" because the 2019 vintage was "quite turbulent." Only at the time of harvesting the "perfectly ripe and healthy grapes" did it become clear that 2019 could bear great wines. "The berries were not overripe at all and were really crunchy when we picked them," says Philipp.
The year started late in the vineyards, and the flowering around June 10th was also rather late compared to the two previous years. A "turbo summer" followed with nothing but sunshine, under which the vines caught up. The fruit set was low after the above-average yield in 2018 and should be at 45 hectoliters per hectare at the end of the harvest. This benefited the vintage just as much as the cool nights from mid-August until the end of the harvest on October 5, during which the characteristic acidity of 2019 was not only preserved but also remained lively and refreshing. The fruit is clear and ripe but also rather cool, elegant and extremely precise. The wines are fresh and vital, enormously stringent and reflect their respective terroirs in an exemplary manner.
In the absence of pressure during the harvest, Wittmann was able to sort the fruits wonderfully, so that he was able to collect many pieces for the final blend. "For the first time, we even harvested according to the age of the vines, and processed and vinified all grapes from vines younger than 15 years separately. Only the grapes from older vines went into the crus from Erste and Grosse Lagen." That was a good idea considering the dry summer, even though the soils in Westhofen are deep anyway and especially the Brunnenhäuschen and Morstein have underground springs.
The harvest began on September 16th with the Pinots, and the Rieslings were harvested from the 25th. Despite the hot summer, this is 20 days later than 2018, which was already finished on October 2nd, but of course had a longer harvest season. Of the warm vintages of this century, 2018 is the best according to Philipp, but 2019 is the greater vintage because of the cool precision. The alcohol values are all in a moderate range of 12.4% to 12.7%. Of the older vintages, 2007 is now drinking very well; this too was a year with a long, sunny autumn, with almost four months between flowering and harvesting of the GGs. 2012 also shows his class in a very puristic, fresh way, while 2015 is still much too young to drink.
I am looking forward to tasting Wittmann's 2019 GGs again soon from the bottle. The report will follow in autumn. However, readers should not hesitate to buy now before the wines are gone. Wittmann is a reliable and great producer who hasn't disappointed me in 20 years. Try the impressive estate Riesling or the exceptional Westhofener, and you'll know the road you have to travel: up into the sky.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
93
WITTMANN RIESLING RHEINHESSEN GUNDERSHEIMER EL 2020
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
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Wijnhuis
Located in Westhofen in the Rheinhessen wine region, Weingut Wittmann produces biodynamic wines with terroir expression and extreme precision. The Wittmanns and their ancestors have been wine growers in Westhofen since the 17th century. The experience of some 350 volumes of more than 15 generations is great in the priceless heritage of the family. Time and rest are essential ingredients for making a good wine. And this is exactly what the wines get in abundance in the vaulted cellar, built in 1829. Winemaker Philipp Wittmann watches over his wines, under constant temperature and humidity conditions, while maturing in 80 wooden barrels. The oldest of these barrels is from the year 1890 and has already housed many great vintages. Each barrel contains the harvest of 1 single vineyard plot.
Star winemaker Philipp Wittmann (responsible for the cellar and export), together with father Günther (vineyards) and mother Elisabeth (sales), have built a fantastic wine company in Westhofen, Rheinhessen. Since 1990, work has been done biologically and later biologically dynamically. The starting point for the wines is therefore: terroir expression through healthy soil. A low yield per hectare, manual selection of the best grapes and a very slow vinification with natural yeasts without the addition of sulfite on large wooden feeds do the rest. The house is 'the standard' for Rheinhessen and now also a standard for German white in general. This is evident from the enormous flow of international valuations that the wines receive, both higher and lower. For example, Philipp has already twice been named the best white winemaker in Germany by the authoritative Eichelmann in 2003 and 2013. In 2014 he received the same title from Gault Millau. Philipp is married to Eva Clüsserath who owns her own wine estate in the Moselle. Philipp is said to hate August: he has to divide his Grosse Gewächse. This is especially annoying because the demand is increasing and the supply is small. So he actually has too little for everyone. Not surprising, given that his GGs earn up to 96 points from Parker, he was crowned Germany's best white winemaker twice by Eichelmann, winemaker of the year at Gault Millau in 2014, and at Schlemmer Atlas in 2015 and annually in Mainz during the GG tasting as one of the very best!
Wittmann has consistently opted for quality, which means that he only releases the finest fruit from his vineyards as GG. The rest goes in the Westhofener and even the Riesling Trocken is partly made with this noble fruit.
The demand for the wines of this top producer from Rheinhessen is increasing, partly due to the many favorable reviews. It would have been easy to take advantage of this success, buy some more vineyards and ride the positive wave. As a purist looking for absolute quality at the highest achievable level, Philipp chooses the opposite route: by reducing yields and selecting fruit, he makes fewer bottles labeled below the highest level and the overall quality of the 'Estate' wines further improves. The most important change is the introduction of three wines 'Aus Ersten Lagen', namely the Gundersheimer, the Westhoger and Niersteiner. These wines bear the name of their municipality, but come from one or more vineyards with the label 'Erste Lage'. These wines are put on the market 1 year after harvest, when the Grosses Gewächse were previously launched. These last top wines are now appearing six months later.
After two fantastic years, 2020 completed the hat-trick of warm and good vintages, relatively easy for a winemaker. The drought of previous years did not affect this year and there was also no question of excessive heat. There was plenty of rain, but not at the wrong times. This means that Philipp has been able to harvest perfectly ripe and healthy grapes. The resulting wines have the aromatic expression of 2018 with the mineral sharpness of 2019. A harvest that they themselves are very proud of!
The Gundersheimer is a typical Riesling that lives up to its character. Nicely concentrated power, complex and mineral. Biodynamically produced by the very high quality winery Weingut Wittmann from the Rheinhessen region . The Wittmann Gundersheimer Erste Lage borders the Morstein GG. It is a fresh and tight wine with a firm mineral structure and relatively slim for Rheinhessen. Quite open and absolutely sexy on the nose, the Gundersheimer Riesling "Aus Ersten Lagen" combines the purity of calcareous soils with the attractive fruit of deep calcareous soils. Very elegant on the palate, this is a pure, deep and juicy yet refined dry Riesling with fine tannins and a persistent saltiness. Very compact but wide and playful enough to be immediately attractive but can also safely sink for another 10+ years. 93/100 Suckling
Located in Westhofen in the Rheinhessen wine region, Weingut Wittmann produces biodynamic wines with terroir expression and extreme precision. The Wittmanns and their ancestors have been winegrowers in Westhofen since the 17th century. The experience of some 350 vintages spanning more than 15 generations is of great importance in the invaluable heritage of the family. Time and rest are essential ingredients for making a good wine. And this is exactly what the wines get in abundance in the vaulted cellar, built in 1829. Winemaker Philipp Wittmann watches over his wines, under constant temperature and humidity conditions, as they mature in 80 wooden barrels. The oldest of these barrels is from the year 1890 and has already housed many large vintages. Each barrel contains the harvest of 1 single vineyard plot.
| Type of Wine | White |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany |
| Region | Rheinhessen |
| Winery | Weingut Wittmann |
| Grape | Riesling |
| Biological certified | Yes |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Drinking as of | 2022 |
| Drinking till | 2033 |
| Alcohol % | 12.5 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Promotion | Last bottles, On Sale |
| Parker rating | 92 |
| James Suckling rating | 93 |
| Tasting Profiles | Aromatisch, Bloemig, Complex, Droog, Fris, Fruitig, Mineraal, Strak, Wit fruit |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe |
Parker
92
Rating
(91 - 92)
Release Price
NA
Drink Date
2020 - 2032
Reviewed by
Stephan Reinhardt
Issue Date
13th Aug 2020
Source
August 2020 Week 2, The Wine Advocate
The 2019 Gundersheimer Riesling "Aus Ersten Lagen" is pretty open and absolutely sexy now on the nose and pairs the purity of calcareous soils with the attractive fruit of deep calcareous soils. Very elegant on the palate, this is a pure, deep and succulent yet finessed dry Riesling with fine tannins and lingering salinity. Very compact but wide and playful enough to be immediately attractive. Tasted as a sample in April 2020.
Philipp Wittmann himself is torn as to which of his GGs he likes best in 2019. In my tasting, in May the choice was easy. The Brunnenhäuschen GG shows all the merits of the vintage at its best: highly elegant, refined and complex yet weightless, with immense finesse and energy. However, Morstein and La Borne are hardly behind, they just weren't as developed. Without a doubt, Wittmann's 2019s, especially these three Riesling GGs, are great wines, even greater than the 2018s, possibly even the finest of the last 20 years, even though he himself sees 2001 and 2002 at the same high level. And that, according to Philipp, borders on "a miracle" because the 2019 vintage was "quite turbulent." Only at the time of harvesting the "perfectly ripe and healthy grapes" did it become clear that 2019 could bear great wines. "The berries were not overripe at all and were really crunchy when we picked them," says Philipp.
The year started late in the vineyards, and the flowering around June 10th was also rather late compared to the two previous years. A "turbo summer" followed with nothing but sunshine, under which the vines caught up. The fruit set was low after the above-average yield in 2018 and should be at 45 hectoliters per hectare at the end of the harvest. This benefited the vintage just as much as the cool nights from mid-August until the end of the harvest on October 5, during which the characteristic acidity of 2019 was not only preserved but also remained lively and refreshing. The fruit is clear and ripe but also rather cool, elegant and extremely precise. The wines are fresh and vital, enormously stringent and reflect their respective terroirs in an exemplary manner.
In the absence of pressure during the harvest, Wittmann was able to sort the fruits wonderfully, so that he was able to collect many pieces for the final blend. "For the first time, we even harvested according to the age of the vines, and processed and vinified all grapes from vines younger than 15 years separately. Only the grapes from older vines went into the crus from Erste and Grosse Lagen." That was a good idea considering the dry summer, even though the soils in Westhofen are deep anyway and especially the Brunnenhäuschen and Morstein have underground springs.
The harvest began on September 16th with the Pinots, and the Rieslings were harvested from the 25th. Despite the hot summer, this is 20 days later than 2018, which was already finished on October 2nd, but of course had a longer harvest season. Of the warm vintages of this century, 2018 is the best according to Philipp, but 2019 is the greater vintage because of the cool precision. The alcohol values are all in a moderate range of 12.4% to 12.7%. Of the older vintages, 2007 is now drinking very well; this too was a year with a long, sunny autumn, with almost four months between flowering and harvesting of the GGs. 2012 also shows his class in a very puristic, fresh way, while 2015 is still much too young to drink.
I am looking forward to tasting Wittmann's 2019 GGs again soon from the bottle. The report will follow in autumn. However, readers should not hesitate to buy now before the wines are gone. Wittmann is a reliable and great producer who hasn't disappointed me in 20 years. Try the impressive estate Riesling or the exceptional Westhofener, and you'll know the road you have to travel: up into the sky.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
93
WITTMANN RIESLING RHEINHESSEN GUNDERSHEIMER EL 2020
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Country
Germany
Region
Rheinhessen
Vintage
2020
Score
93
Quite a powerful dry riesling, but with a very cool, herbal and refreshing personality. Very long, clean and mineral finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
Located in Westhofen in the Rheinhessen wine region, Weingut Wittmann produces biodynamic wines with terroir expression and extreme precision. The Wittmanns and their ancestors have been wine growers in Westhofen since the 17th century. The experience of some 350 volumes of more than 15 generations is great in the priceless heritage of the family. Time and rest are essential ingredients for making a good wine. And this is exactly what the wines get in abundance in the vaulted cellar, built in 1829. Winemaker Philipp Wittmann watches over his wines, under constant temperature and humidity conditions, while maturing in 80 wooden barrels. The oldest of these barrels is from the year 1890 and has already housed many great vintages. Each barrel contains the harvest of 1 single vineyard plot.
Star winemaker Philipp Wittmann (responsible for the cellar and export), together with father Günther (vineyards) and mother Elisabeth (sales), have built a fantastic wine company in Westhofen, Rheinhessen. Since 1990, work has been done biologically and later biologically dynamically. The starting point for the wines is therefore: terroir expression through healthy soil. A low yield per hectare, manual selection of the best grapes and a very slow vinification with natural yeasts without the addition of sulfite on large wooden feeds do the rest. The house is 'the standard' for Rheinhessen and now also a standard for German white in general. This is evident from the enormous flow of international valuations that the wines receive, both higher and lower. For example, Philipp has already twice been named the best white winemaker in Germany by the authoritative Eichelmann in 2003 and 2013. In 2014 he received the same title from Gault Millau. Philipp is married to Eva Clüsserath who owns her own wine estate in the Moselle. Philipp is said to hate August: he has to divide his Grosse Gewächse. This is especially annoying because the demand is increasing and the supply is small. So he actually has too little for everyone. Not surprising, given that his GGs earn up to 96 points from Parker, he was crowned Germany's best white winemaker twice by Eichelmann, winemaker of the year at Gault Millau in 2014, and at Schlemmer Atlas in 2015 and annually in Mainz during the GG tasting as one of the very best!
Wittmann has consistently opted for quality, which means that he only releases the finest fruit from his vineyards as GG. The rest goes in the Westhofener and even the Riesling Trocken is partly made with this noble fruit.