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Dear <<First Name>>,
The harvest season is quickly approaching here in the Rheingau, so before our attention turns to the vineyards, it is a pleasure to connect with my U.S. Patrons List for a very special release, directly from our cellar. We have previously offered vintages of our highest-level of dry wines – our Grosse Gewächse bottlings – so I thought it would be a wonderful change to showcase some of our sweeter wines from vineyards that you are already familiar with.
This release contains the 2012 & 2013 Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese and the 2007 & 2015 Berg Rottland Riesling Auslese. Comparing multiple vintages of the same wine will give you an even greater understanding of the potential for quality of each vineyard site and how much both vintage and cellaring can impact the aromatics and flavor profile of each wine.
These four bottlings are library releases from our cellar, with very few bottles ever released to the U.S., so I am tremendously excited to be able to share them with you as special selections for our U.S. Patrons List. There are a limited number of bottles available from our private stocks here in Rüdesheim, so I recommend you act as soon as possible to secure your allocation of our winery’s very distinctive sweeter Rieslings.
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Berg Roseneck
This "Grand Cru" vineyard site sits below the terraces of the Niederwald monument and is named after the rose hedge, a protruding granite cliff within the vineyard with wild rose and rosehip blooms. This site is up to a 65% gradient but is protected from the intense winds of the valley by the Taunus mountains. The western section of the vineyard where this Riesling is sourced is incredibly rocky and one of the steepest sites in Germany. Grapes have been cultivated from this site since the year 1200 and the old terraces were restored between 1970-1985. The historical name "Katerloch," or “Devil’s Hole,” refers to the amphitheater portion of the mountain that appears as though it was carved out of the slope of the Rüdesheimer Berg.
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2012 Berg Roseneck Rüdesheimer Riesling Spätlese
2012 was a vintage of spectacular quality that was earned in the vineyard. There was rain right at the flowering stage, which severely affected the potential for a larger fruit set, shifting our focus to producing the highest quality from every cluster rather than maximizing the quantity produced. This led to intense cluster-by-cluster pruning, green harvesting and canopy management to achieve optimum ripeness and concentration, while maintaining the minerality and acidity that the terroir of the vineyard provides.
There was no botrytis in 2012, which led to an optimal vintage for Spätlese-level wines as we were able to harvest at the perfect time to achieve great success with this level of sweetness. 2012 has proven to be one of our favorite vintages of this wine, as it still shows youthfulness and reflects the terroir of Roseneck.
- 94 points, Vinous Media – “Seductive aromas of mango, banana, sweet herbs and honey. Rich, spicy tropical fruit flavors show a vague hint of botrytis and creamy depth. Certainly a touch on the sweet side, but nicely balanced and intriguingly long, this is one of the best spätlese of the vintage.” – Joel B. Payne
- $N/A per 750ml bottle
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2013 Berg Roseneck Rüdesheimer Riesling Spätlese
The 2013 vintage wines are ones that you should definitely hold onto, so we recommend enjoying the 2012s while this vintage gains its fullest potential. There couldn’t be a more opposite vintage between 2013 and 2012 – the achievement of botrytis in the vineyard matched the extremely intense acidity, all leading to a vintage that is still powerful in its minerality and continues to gain body and complexity with time in the bottle. This vintage is fruit-forward but less sweet than 2012, and more of a wine for fans of our GG or drier Rieslings from Roseneck.
- 92 points, Vinous Media – “Inviting aromas of ripe apricot, candied pineapple and wild spices. Unctuous nectarine fruit infuses the palate, with subtle acidity giving the wine a vivacious character. Thanks to its herbal grip on the finishe, this Spätlese does not appear at all sweet.” – Joel B. Payne
- $N/A per 750ml bottle
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Berg Rottland
This vineyard site – historically known as “Hinterhaus” – sits directly behind the heart of the village of Rüdesheim, at the base of the Niederwald monument. The site is incredibly steep with up to a 50% gradient, requiring all work in the vineyard to be completed only by hand. The vines are planted to a southern exposure, allowing for maximum ripeness, perfect for achieving highly concentrated Auslese-level wines. Here the rocky, skeletal soils are high in red slate, with bands of gray slate and quartzite, which all warm quite easily and provide great energy to the vine structure. Berg Rottland is one of the oldest vineyards in the Rheingau – dating to 1031.
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2007 Berg Rottland Rüdesheimer Riesling Auslese
This vintage was one of the longest growing seasons we have had, due to a very early bud break and optimal fall weather, which allowed for an Auslese that is one of the most balanced in concentration we have ever made. The growing season was warm but not overly hot, allowing for even ripening of the clusters, and cooler nights protected the freshness and acidity of the grapes. This vintage was made for sweeter wines, which have shown incredible depth and complexity as they have aged.
Now 15 years after the harvest, the 2007 vintage is still incredibly youthful with bright acidity and minerality from the rocky soils of Rottland. The time in the cellar has allowed the fruit profile to concentrate and gain further tropical, herbaceous notes to balance the juicy, spicy characteristics that are common of this vineyard in its youth. The 2007 is drinking with stunning precision now and has another 15 years of cellaring potential remaining.
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2015 Berg Rottland Rüdesheimer Riesling Auslese
This vintage was one for spectacular quality but limited quantity due to the very dry conditions through the growing season. The very warm, drought-like summer reduced our production more than 20%. As the harvest season arrived, highly concentrated clusters in our top vineyards led to a decision to allow fermentations to go longer, limiting the amount of sweet wine produced to focus more on the Grosses Gewachs dry bottlings. This resulted in a limited number of sweet Auslese bottles, but those we made were rich and powerful, making 2015 one of the best, smallest quantity vintages we have made of this wine.
This 2015 is still quite young and showcases the intense minerality of Rottland. This year achieved botrytis in the vineyard, which gave further depth of character and flavor profile in this Auslese Riesling. The wine shows fantastic clarity and the aromatics are overwhelming with notes of exotic, tropical fruits, citrus blossom, apple and touches of fennel. The high acidity in the wine balances out the sweet, creamy fruit notes and unveils further passion fruit and stony texture that make this a powerful wine with almost unlimited potential in the bottle.
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Deadline for orders is 15 September
- Orders should be packed and available to ship in early 2023, but can be held in VinConnect's temperature-control warehouse if requested
- Shipping included for orders of $N/A or more
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I thank you for your interest and welcome you to my wines.
Sincerely,
Johannes Leitz
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