Winemaker Notes
One of the three grand cru Rieslings made at Gunderloch (Hipping, Pettenthal, Rothenberg). The Pettenthal site has sandier soils and smaller rocks than Rothenberg with a deep topsoil. The wine is 100% aged in 600L neutral barrels, a welcome trend at this estate in the last few years. Indeed, this wine is a prime example of the new and exciting direction in which Johannes is taking this estate--more work in the vineyard and less in the cellar, natural fermentations, more relaxed character in the wines, lighter structures and more transparency overall.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Nierstein Pettenthal Riesling trocken GG opens like a serious terroir and food wine with a lovely, clear, fresh and smoky bouquet of crushed stones, white and yellow fruits and toasted pine nut aromas. Round and piquant on the palate, this juicy, elegant and well-balanced wine develops a very long and refreshingly mineral and salty finish; it has great finesse and lovely fruit aromas. Everything here is discreet but persistent. This is a delicious wine full off finesse and mineral tension. There are stone-licking mineral flavors in the slate-like and grippy aftertaste. This is a gorgeous Pettenthal and probably one of the finest and most enjoyable ones.
Range: 93-94 -
James Suckling
This seems quite floral and charming on the nose, but the wine is on the lean side with some obvious tannin and it will need some time for the peach, citrus and herbal character to unfold. Good length on the finish though.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
DBWDB8059_15_2015 Item# 542343