Tesch Karthauser Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2007
KARTHAUSER: SOUTH-EAST FACING SLOP. RED WEATHERED ROCK. THE RIESLING: MULTILAYERED AND EXPRESSIVE - DR MARTIN TESCH
Tesch - Best vineyards: Laubenheimer Karthäuser
Cask sample. Weathered red slate like Roter Hang and Ürziger Würzgarten. Very rich and rewarding but refreshing too. Very long. Very firm and minerallyl and rapier-like. Needs time. For purists not beginners. 12% Drink 2009-13 17/20 Jancis Robinson
Weingut Tesch has been in business since 1723. Current owner, Hartmut Tesch, is working to develop environmentally sensitive winegrowing techniques that are not only earth-friendly, but improve the quality of the wine as well. Tesch uses natural methods of controlling pests and disease in its top vineyard sites. These vineyards are rated as "first-class" vineyards (comparable to premier cru in France) in Stuart Pigott and Hugh Johnson’s Wine Atlas of Germany.
As a member of the VDP, Germany’s region-by-region association of the top wine estates, Tesch uses single-vineyard designations on its Rieslings only. VDP membership also requires that all single-vineyard fruit be hand-picked, with higher ripeness and lower yields than what is allowed by the German wine law. In addition, the wines must be approved by a stringent, blind-tasting panel. Riesling Report - The Voice of Riesling
Karthäuser
The name originates from a monastic estate located in Laubenheim. In the 13th century both the monastery and its vineyards were divided up between the Holy Order of St. Benedict of Trier and the Holy Carthusian (Karthäuser) Order of Mainz. However, the vineyards were not split exactly down the middle, but along the natural boundary formed by two different types of soil: Rotliegendes and Vulkanisches (volcanic soil).
The vineyard site on Rotliegendes soil was allocated to the Carthusian monks and was henceforth simply called Karthäuser. The site on volcanic soil was allocated to the Benedictine monks and subsequently bore the name of St. Remigiusberg.
Exposure: South-easterly
Soil: Pure, red slate soil, commonly known as Rotliegendes. Rotliegendes evolved from debris resulting from the erosion and weathering of a mountain range in the Nahe region. The debris was deposited in the basin on the south flank of the mountain range.
Character: Multi-layered and expressive Rieslings
Colour-code: The bottles have brown capsules and labels
Tesch is a family owned wine estate in the Nahe region in Southwest-Germany. The estate has been owned and run by the Tesch family since 1723, and is specializes in producing Riesling wines with a very specific and lively character. The estate endeavour to produce a wine that is not only excellent to drink, but is a perfect compliment for food. Tesch is ranked among the German top estates by national and international wine competitions.
The famous Riesling wines are produced in only top vine yard locations in the Nahe region such as called "Königsschild", "Löhrer Berg", "Krone", "Karthäuser" and "St. Remigiusberg". All vineyard sites of the estate are classified to produce a Grosses Gewächs (Grand Cru).
Langenlonsheim is one of the oldest and largest wine growing villages in the Nahe region. It is located five miles from the Rhine, and the region is very lucky to share the Rhine valley climate. In contrast to the famous sites of the Rhine valley, the vineyards got shield from harsh west wind by surrounding hills, which leads to a different character compared to the Rhine counterparts.
Dr. Martin Tesch, which got his title in microbiology, started to work in the parental wine estate in 1996. After his father retired son Martin got the possibility to reconstruct the entire estate. He changed everything. With 2001 Tesch produced his new modern stile Riesling for the first time, the Riesling Unplugged. "In a time of mass production Unplugged represents the return to the basics" Tesch explaines. And continues "the wine is basically ready if you chop off the grapes, in the cellar you just convert sugar into alcohol". Unplugged is a pure dry Riesling bottled without any fining or filtration.
With 2002 Tesch changed his entire wine collection. He stopped producing any medium dry or sweet Rieslings, changed Labels and reduced his whole collection to 5 single vine yard wines plus the brand like Unplugged and the Dr. Tesch "R" a Riesling in a 1Liter size bottle. He established colour codes, an already familiar method to differ products, but never that consequently used with wine.
His LÖHRER BERG is green like an apple, the KRONE is yellow like the sun and the KÖNIGSSCHILD is blue like the deep blue see. The KARTHÄUSER is brown like weathered rocky deep soil and the ST. REMIGIUSBERG is blazing red like lava from a Vulcan.
You can either love or hate the new labels of this winery - but nobody is indifferent to them. That is the reaction Martin Tesch expected, and it will not sway him. He is extremely conscious of vineyard character, one of the most dedicated in Germany. His range includes five dry Riesling spatlese wines, all being picked at the same time, and all wine being similarly vinified. What speaks to you is the terrior. Gault Millau, The Guide to German Wines
Shipped in a temperature controlled container.
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