Winemaker Notes
The distinctive mineral notes reflecting their terroir and the aroma of ripe peach define the character of this Grand Cru. Additionally, the fine hints of citrus notes provide a pleasant tension on the palate. The crisp, but subtle acidity gives the wine its delicate structured body and truly animate to enjoy the next sip. Thanks to its lingering finish it allows and even longer enjoyment.
Enjoy this great wine together with fine dishes as fish, vegetables or light meat. It is also a perfect match to creamy sauces.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A stunning dry riesling from a region rarely associated with this grape. Intensely herbal nose with so much bergamot and mirabelle fruit that drags you onto the concentrated and tense palate where there’s so much energy. Very long finish with so much mineral and herbal freshness. From organically grown grapes with Fair'n Green certification. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Julius-Echter-Berg Riesling GG is deep, intense and clear on the still reductive but terroir-driven, herbal and stony-mineral bouquet that indicates ripe fruit aromas in a subtle, well-integrated way. Silky, lush and very elegant on the palate, this is a rich and round, very dense yet fine and well-balanced Riesling from the JEB that finishes with lemon aromas and a remarkable intensity. Still a baby, this JEB should be aged for at least five or six years, but it can go 30 and many more years.
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Wine Spectator
Rich, boasting understated fruit flavors of lemon and peach, with plentiful spice and mineral notes chiming in. Sleek and compact as this winds down on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2030. 200 cases made, 20 cases imported.
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Decanter
Intense aromatics of stone fruits, nectarine and ripe cantaloupe. An elegant character with good length and pleasant finish.
Weingut Hans Wirsching is one of the largest privately owned family estates in Germany, situated in the picturesque medieval town of Iphofen in Franconia, 1.4 hours east of Frankfurt. Now in its 14th generation, the Wirsching family with CEO Andrea Wirsching produces 37,000 cases on 225 acres of vineyards. They focus on Silvaner (40%), the signature grape of the Franconian wine area. 20% of their vineyards are planted with Riesling, the classical German grape, and 7% with Scheurebe, a fruity grape with aromas like Sauvignon Blanc.
In 1630 Hans Wirsching donated a vineyard to the Abbey at Ebrach. The sale is one of the first instances documenting the Wirsching family's involvement in wine. Throughout the centuries the Wirsching's have continued their love for, and involvement in, the business of agriculture and wine growing.
In the late 19th century, the phylloxera plague devastated the European wine industry. Andreas Wirsching died at an early age, and his widow focused on a shop which fed children in the village. Andreas' passing could have easily spelled the end of wine production for the Wirsching family. However, in 1918, Andreas' son Hans Wirsching returned from World War I. Hans was only 23 at the time, but he made the decision to put all of his energy into rebuilding the vineyards. He not only restarted the winery, but also began the painstaking process of replanting the vineyards with American rootstocks. Hans obtained Scheurebe cuttings from the Annaberg in the early 1950s (like Karl Fuhrmann at Pfeffingen / Pfalz) and transplanted them in the Kronsberg vineyard. We can credit both the Wirsching and Pfeffingen estates, and their pioneering efforts, for making a place for the Scheurebe grape in German viticulture.
Terroir: "Keuper" (Jurassic Clay) is a sediment stone from the time when dinosaurs walked through the swamps 220 million years ago. Layers of Gypsum within that stone give the wines low acidity. The wines of Iphofen are full bodied with hints of herbaceous aromas and elegant fruit components.
As member of the elite wine association VDP-Die Prädikatsweingüter they have very high production and quality standards. The quality levels are VDP.Gutswein (estate), VDP.Ortswein (village), VDP.Erste Lage (Premier Cru), VDP.Große Lage (Grand Cru). Wirsching is member of Fair N'Green, a sustainable certificate.
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.
