May 1, 2009 | News | Wines of the Month
2007 yielded many gorgeous wines, including a great affordable dry Riesling from the Saar which conveys a real sense of terroir. Here some background.
Roman Niewodniczanski is the man behind the renaissance of Weingut Van Volxem. Right from the moment he took over the Estate in 2000, he has relentlessly been driven by the desire to restore the reputation of Riesling from the Saar to that of its glorious days, when its wines fetched prices which the Château Lafite Rothschild of this world could only dream of.
Most wines at Van Volxem (including those from its top vineyards such as the Kanzemer Altenberg or Scharzhofberger) are made in a "harmoniously dry" style, to use Roman’s words. These wines may not necessarily qualify for the legal denomination of Trocken (set by the German authorities at max. 9 g/l and 2 g/l more than total acidity levels). Instead of conforming blindly to such arbitrary legal limits, Roman prefers to ensure that his wines are balanced, even if this means sugar levels slightly above the legal limit.
His wines nevertheless remain dry to taste thanks to the acidity of Riesling from the Mosel (and the Saar in particular.
Having the means to implement his vision, Roman set out to acquire prime vineyards still planted with old vines. Besides this, he also closed sourcing deals with local growers based on quality. Such contractual set-ups were unheard of in the region (among others because he would pay well above market prices if the quality was right).
It allowed him to secure prime sources for his Estate bottlings. It is therefore not surprising that, since their inception, these Estate bottlings, and in particular the Saar Riesling, have proven to be great ambassadors of their region at very reasonable prices.
2007er
Van Volxem
Saar Riesling
03 08
88
This Saar Riesling has a bright golden color with some silver reflections. It offers an expressive nose of ripe apples, pineapple and quite some peppery spices. After a while, ripe notes of nectarine, smoky slate, anise, white flowers and licorice kick in. There is a lovely sense of richness and balance on the palate with ripe acidity, peaches, apricots and exotic spices such as ginger. The wine is very intense with great extraction on the palate but the finish remains long and sappy. It is a delicious dry tasting Riesling from the Saar with remarkable complexity and intensity for a "mere" Estate bottling. Now-2014
© Text by Mosel Fine Wines "The Independent Review of Mosel Riesling ... and beyond!"
Disclaimer: Mosel Fine Wines is an independent publication and has no commercial relationship with any Estate, association or organization featured in this article.