2022 Weingut Wittmann Westhofener Riesling Aus Ersten Lagen BIO

Type of Wine | White |
---|---|
Country | Germany |
Region | |
Winery | |
Vintage | 2022 |
Grape | |
Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (12.5%) |
Drink window | 2026 - 2040 |
- Buy 3 for 30.45 25.17 each and save 8%
In stock
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Description
The demand for the wines of this top producer from Rheinhessen is increasing, partly due to the many positive reviews. It would have been easy to take advantage of this success, buy some additional vineyards and ride the positive wave. As a purist looking for absolute quality at the highest possible level, Philipp chooses the opposite path: by reducing yields and selecting fruit, he makes fewer bottles labeled below the highest level and the overall quality of the 'Estate' wines continues to increase. The most important change is the introduction of three wines 'Aus Ersten Lagen', namely the Gundersheimer, the Westhogener and Niersteiner. These wines bear the name of their municipality, but come from one or more vineyards with the 'Erste Lage' label. These wines are marketed 1 year after harvest, the moment when the Grosses Gewächse were previously launched. These last top wines now appear six months later.
The Westhofener is a typical Riesling that does justice to its character. Beautifully concentrated power, complex and minerally. Biodynamically produced by the very high-quality winery Weingut Wittmann from the Rheinhessen region. The Wittmann Westhofener comes from several vineyards around Morstein and Brunnenhäusen that are classified as Erste Lage. This wine has a more lush aromatic profile, a full body balanced by a fine minerality. The Westhofener Riesling "Aus Ersten Lagen" s pure and intense, with a dusty layer of chalk and intense fruity orange and lemon juice aromas, which opens with a beautiful distinguished bouquet with remarkable depth and complexity. Intensely juicy and fresh on the palate, this is a pure premier cru with citrus flavor, silky texture and mouth-filling (since this year it is labeled as "1G" like "Erstes Gewächs" or "VDP. Aus Erste Lagen") with a long and complex aftertaste.
FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you pick up the wine you will often receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose 'Collect' on the checkout page. We are located in Dordrecht almost next to the A16 with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
Weingut Wittmann is located in Westhofen in the Rheinhessen wine region and 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 vintages from more than 15 generations has contributed greatly to the family's invaluable heritage. Time and rest are essential ingredients for making a good wine. And this is exactly what the wines get plenty of in the vaulted cellar, built in 1829. Winemaker Philipp Wittmann watches over his wines, under constant temperature and humidity conditions, while they mature in 80 wooden barrels. The oldest of these barrels is from the year 1890 and has already housed many major vintages. Each barrel contains the harvest from 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 | Yes |
Vintage | 2022 |
Drinking as of | 2026 |
Drinking till | 2040 |
Alcohol % | 12.5 |
Alcohol free/low | No |
Content | 0.75 ltr |
Oak aging | Yes |
Sparkling | No |
Dessert wine | No |
Closure | Cork |
Promotion | Tier Price |
Parker rating | 95 |
James Suckling rating | 95 |
Tasting Profiles | Aromatisch, Bloemig, Complex, Droog, Fris, Fruitig, Mineraal, Strak, Wit fruit |
Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe |
Professional Reviews
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 94+
Reviewed by:
Stephan Reinhardt
Release Price:
NA
Drink Date:
2026 - 2040
The 2022 Westhofener Riesling 1G is from the Morstein satellites (that means everything around the core part). The wine opens deep, pure and complex, with the darker tones of the Morstein, yet it's still a bit untamed, or as Philipp Wittmann puts it, "There is still a bit of a workshop smell in this wine," which was just bottled when I tasted it in July. Silky, lush and elegant on the palate, this is a saline and citric, very pure and grippy yet remarkably finessed and light-footed B-Morstein. The texture is very elegant and almost silky, and the finish is grippy and wonderfully untamed. It's an impressive wine. 12.8% alcohol. Natural cork.
Old vines in particular withstood the summer drought of the 2022 vintage, reports Philipp Wittmann, who removed all fruit from all plants under five years old. Vine age was also a decisive selection criterion during the harvest, as old roots reach so deep that they can reach the water reserves in the soil. This kept the vines vital, "and you could see that very clearly during the harvest," says Wittmann. In the old vineyards, the must weights were 10° Oechsle higher than in the poorer and younger vineyards. The maxim was to produce wines with finesse and elegance despite the heat and dryness, at least as much as possible. This naturally resulted in self-imposed losses in quantity, for example in Nierstein, where Wittmann was only able to harvest 28 hectoliters from 1.2 hectares of vines. "In extremely dry conditions, yields have to remain low, so we kept cutting grapes where necessary. You have to recognize the differences in the vineyard and adapt your measures accordingly. Blanket solutions would often have been the wrong ones."
In order not to lose freshness, finesse and elegance in 2022, Wittmann dispensed with maceration times and instead gently crushed the grapes or processed some of them as whole grapes in the closed, barely rotating tank press at low pressure, at most after a short standing time. This resulted in musts rich in finesse, which proved particularly successful with the Pinot wines, which Wittmann is getting better and better at, including in 2022. The Chardonnay, Pinot Banc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir were harvested on 10 consecutive days right at the beginning in "extremely dry" weather. "Without any over-ripening," as Wittmann emphasizes.
Then came the first rainfall, the effect of which could not initially be seen in the vineyards, dry as they were. There were no extreme rainfalls anyway, and when it did rain, the water dried up quickly. Careful canopy management had also ensured this. At most, the harvest had to be paused for three days or used for negative pre-selections. After that, however, things continued "relaxed," says Wittmann. "The harvest weather was great and the grapes were perfectly healthy."
The Rieslings were harvested in a good two and a half weeks from mid-September. Three Auslese wines followed in early October, and the 2022 harvest was completed on October 8.
The domaine's average yield was an extremely moderate 40 hectoliters per hectare and delivered "very good qualities." The Gutswein Riesling and the GGs lacked 25% of the potential yield due to early negative selections.
The musts of the vintage fermented well, and the wines bottled this summer are balanced and rich in finesse and, above all, rich in aroma. Overall, Wittmann has once again succeeded in producing a great collection, with the complex yet accessible Morstein GG at the top.
Published: Dec 29, 2023
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
WITTMANN RIESLING RHEINHESSEN WESTHOFENER EL 2022
Monday, November 13, 2023
CountryGermany
RegionRheinhessen
Vintage2022
CHECK PRICE
DOWNLOAD SHELFTALKER
Score
95
What a fascinating nose of bergamot, mirabelle and passion fruit plus dark herbal notes this stunning dry riesling has. Complex juiciness on the mid-palate, the elegant acidity and very fine tannins interlock beautifully and drive the almost perfectly balanced and stunningly refreshing mineral finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. Drink or hold.
Stuart Pigott
Senior Editor
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 positive reviews. It would have been easy to take advantage of this success, buy some additional vineyards and ride the positive wave. As a purist looking for absolute quality at the highest possible level, Philipp chooses the opposite path: by reducing yields and selecting fruit, he makes fewer bottles labeled below the highest level and the overall quality of the 'Estate' wines continues to increase. The most important change is the introduction of three wines 'Aus Ersten Lagen', namely the Gundersheimer, the Westhogener and Niersteiner. These wines bear the name of their municipality, but come from one or more vineyards with the 'Erste Lage' label. These wines are marketed 1 year after harvest, the moment when the Grosses Gewächse were previously launched. These last top wines now appear six months later.
The Westhofener is a typical Riesling that does justice to its character. Beautifully concentrated power, complex and minerally. Biodynamically produced by the very high-quality winery Weingut Wittmann from the Rheinhessen region. The Wittmann Westhofener comes from several vineyards around Morstein and Brunnenhäusen that are classified as Erste Lage. This wine has a more lush aromatic profile, a full body balanced by a fine minerality. The Westhofener Riesling "Aus Ersten Lagen" s pure and intense, with a dusty layer of chalk and intense fruity orange and lemon juice aromas, which opens with a beautiful distinguished bouquet with remarkable depth and complexity. Intensely juicy and fresh on the palate, this is a pure premier cru with citrus flavor, silky texture and mouth-filling (since this year it is labeled as "1G" like "Erstes Gewächs" or "VDP. Aus Erste Lagen") with a long and complex aftertaste.
FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you pick up the wine you will often receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose 'Collect' on the checkout page. We are located in Dordrecht almost next to the A16 with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
Weingut Wittmann is located in Westhofen in the Rheinhessen wine region and 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 vintages from more than 15 generations has contributed greatly to the family's invaluable heritage. Time and rest are essential ingredients for making a good wine. And this is exactly what the wines get plenty of in the vaulted cellar, built in 1829. Winemaker Philipp Wittmann watches over his wines, under constant temperature and humidity conditions, while they mature in 80 wooden barrels. The oldest of these barrels is from the year 1890 and has already housed many major vintages. Each barrel contains the harvest from 1 single vineyard plot.
Type of Wine | White |
---|---|
Country | Germany |
Region | Rheinhessen |
Winery | Weingut Wittmann |
Grape | Riesling |
Biological certified | Yes |
Natural wine | No |
Vegan | Yes |
Vintage | 2022 |
Drinking as of | 2026 |
Drinking till | 2040 |
Alcohol % | 12.5 |
Alcohol free/low | No |
Content | 0.75 ltr |
Oak aging | Yes |
Sparkling | No |
Dessert wine | No |
Closure | Cork |
Promotion | Tier Price |
Parker rating | 95 |
James Suckling rating | 95 |
Tasting Profiles | Aromatisch, Bloemig, Complex, Droog, Fris, Fruitig, Mineraal, Strak, Wit fruit |
Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe |
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 94+
Reviewed by:
Stephan Reinhardt
Release Price:
NA
Drink Date:
2026 - 2040
The 2022 Westhofener Riesling 1G is from the Morstein satellites (that means everything around the core part). The wine opens deep, pure and complex, with the darker tones of the Morstein, yet it's still a bit untamed, or as Philipp Wittmann puts it, "There is still a bit of a workshop smell in this wine," which was just bottled when I tasted it in July. Silky, lush and elegant on the palate, this is a saline and citric, very pure and grippy yet remarkably finessed and light-footed B-Morstein. The texture is very elegant and almost silky, and the finish is grippy and wonderfully untamed. It's an impressive wine. 12.8% alcohol. Natural cork.
Old vines in particular withstood the summer drought of the 2022 vintage, reports Philipp Wittmann, who removed all fruit from all plants under five years old. Vine age was also a decisive selection criterion during the harvest, as old roots reach so deep that they can reach the water reserves in the soil. This kept the vines vital, "and you could see that very clearly during the harvest," says Wittmann. In the old vineyards, the must weights were 10° Oechsle higher than in the poorer and younger vineyards. The maxim was to produce wines with finesse and elegance despite the heat and dryness, at least as much as possible. This naturally resulted in self-imposed losses in quantity, for example in Nierstein, where Wittmann was only able to harvest 28 hectoliters from 1.2 hectares of vines. "In extremely dry conditions, yields have to remain low, so we kept cutting grapes where necessary. You have to recognize the differences in the vineyard and adapt your measures accordingly. Blanket solutions would often have been the wrong ones."
In order not to lose freshness, finesse and elegance in 2022, Wittmann dispensed with maceration times and instead gently crushed the grapes or processed some of them as whole grapes in the closed, barely rotating tank press at low pressure, at most after a short standing time. This resulted in musts rich in finesse, which proved particularly successful with the Pinot wines, which Wittmann is getting better and better at, including in 2022. The Chardonnay, Pinot Banc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir were harvested on 10 consecutive days right at the beginning in "extremely dry" weather. "Without any over-ripening," as Wittmann emphasizes.
Then came the first rainfall, the effect of which could not initially be seen in the vineyards, dry as they were. There were no extreme rainfalls anyway, and when it did rain, the water dried up quickly. Careful canopy management had also ensured this. At most, the harvest had to be paused for three days or used for negative pre-selections. After that, however, things continued "relaxed," says Wittmann. "The harvest weather was great and the grapes were perfectly healthy."
The Rieslings were harvested in a good two and a half weeks from mid-September. Three Auslese wines followed in early October, and the 2022 harvest was completed on October 8.
The domaine's average yield was an extremely moderate 40 hectoliters per hectare and delivered "very good qualities." The Gutswein Riesling and the GGs lacked 25% of the potential yield due to early negative selections.
The musts of the vintage fermented well, and the wines bottled this summer are balanced and rich in finesse and, above all, rich in aroma. Overall, Wittmann has once again succeeded in producing a great collection, with the complex yet accessible Morstein GG at the top.
Published: Dec 29, 2023
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
WITTMANN RIESLING RHEINHESSEN WESTHOFENER EL 2022
Monday, November 13, 2023
CountryGermany
RegionRheinhessen
Vintage2022
CHECK PRICE
DOWNLOAD SHELFTALKER
Score
95
What a fascinating nose of bergamot, mirabelle and passion fruit plus dark herbal notes this stunning dry riesling has. Complex juiciness on the mid-palate, the elegant acidity and very fine tannins interlock beautifully and drive the almost perfectly balanced and stunningly refreshing mineral finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. Drink or hold.
Stuart Pigott
Senior Editor
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.