Klamm ‘In der Rossel’ takes to the stage

In 2009, the Reidel family acquired the former Royal Prussian domain, renamed it ‘Gut Hermannsberg’ and dared to make a new start. They had a clear vision: to return the once prestigious domain to the top of the German Riesling wine estates. The conditions could not have been better, as every single plot of land belonging to the estate was classified as a VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® (the equivalent of Grand Cru) by the VDP. Together with production manager Karsten Peter, the Reidel family began extensive renovation work in all the vineyards to gradually restore the soils and vines to the top quality expected from such highly classified sites.

 The fundamental reasoning was no matter how long it takes, a wine will only be released onto the market as a VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® when it passes the strict internal quality and maturity standards. It took 14 years for the last of the seven vineyards to meet these high standards.

The long road to perfection

Even though the majority of the Klamm ‘In der Rossel’ vineyard was in a neglected state when the estate took over, its potential was clearly evident. The site is perfectly exposed to the sun, the soils have a unique combination of volcanic porphyry and slate rock, and when you open one of the rare bottles from the old stock, you are rendered nearly speechless by the vitality in the glass.

For Karsten Peter, balance means that the vineyard largely regulates itself and the winegrower has to intervene as little as possible. Vegetative growth and yield are then in good proportion to each other –a tricky matter with different vine ages and an inhomogeneous soil structure (volcanic porphyry interspersed with a vein of slate rock). In order to achieve the desired balance, intensive work was carried out with compost and straw cover and various cover crops were trialled. In addition, the younger vines had to be given sufficient time until their youthful charm harmonised with the depth of the now 60-year-old vines from the higher plots.

The old and new parts of the vineyard were harvested and vinified separately for several years. The last vintages have already shown very positive development. The result always had power and tension, but in the end the winemaker Karsten Peter believed the ‘third dimension’, as he calls it, was lacking. A few more years passed, and in 2023 the time had finally come – Klamm ‘In der Rossel’ had achieved this ‘third dimension’, possessing the desired depth and complexity.

Vinification

The grapes for Klamm ‘In der Rossel’ 2023 were harvested by hand in two stages. The upper, terraced parcels were harvested four days before the younger, lower section. The vinification is based on the same philosophy as the other GGs from Gut Hermannsberg: to bring maximum vineyard character into the bottle. The grapes were selected and crushed twice. A short maceration period of six hours was followed by gentle pressing with a short settling period overnight. Like all GGs, the wine was spontaneously fermented and matured for a long period on the lees, partly in stainless steel and partly in large wooden barrels. The wine was bottled without fining on 30 July 2024 and is now being released on the market. 

The result is a multi-layered, elegant and mineral Riesling that surprises with unexpected charm.

Profile of Klamm ‘In der Rossel’

 ‘In der Rossel’ is one of the steepest sites in the Middle Nahe valley, with slopes of up to 80 percent. Some of the slopes are cross-terraced, with walls and very stony, porous soils. Just above is an old quarry. The south and south-east facing site warms up quickly during the day and then cools down noticeably at night. Riesling loves this contrast. The soil is characterised by a particular complexity, with elements that are not normally found together. These are due to very active volcanic earth movements which have resulted in a mix of carbon slate and volcanic porphyry in one place. 

• Size: 0.85 ha

• Gut Hermannsberg estate share: 0.85 ha (Monopole)

• Soil: Volcanic rhyolite, carbon slate, Lemberg porphyry rock

• Altitude: 140-180m above sea level

• Exposure: south - south-east

• Slope gradient: up to 80%

• Vine age: up to 60 years

• Stone content: 66%

• First vintage 1957 – first vintage as Gut Hermannsberg in 2023