Pi:we Souvignier Gris 2019

Like so many successful fungus-resistant new varieties of the 1980s, Souvignier Gris was developed at the State Viticultural Institute in Freiburg im Breisgau under the aegis of Norbert Becker. Until 2016, it was assumed that the variety created in 1983 was Cabernet Sauvignon x Bronner. But Norbert Becker, who died in 2012, had chosen Seyval Blanc x Zähringer, as was discovered after DNA analyses. Thus, the genes of Vitis vinifera, Vitis lincecumii and Vitis rupestris have been incorporated into the hybrid. It is considered to be extremely uncomplicated in cultivation and is highly resistant to peronospora and botrytis as well as resistant to oidium.

The Souvignier Gris is in the vineyard of Steffen Mugler, who started the project with Andreas Schumann and Götz Drewitz. The whole grapes were fermented spontaneously and left on the skins for longer. Fermentation as well as ageing took place half in stainless steel and half in the Georgian quevri buried in Mugler's garden. The bottling was unfiltered and without the addition of sulphur.

Piwe is a joint project of Steffen Mugler, Andreas Schumann and Götz Drewitz. Souvignier Gris is a fungus-resistant grape variety that requires minimal spraying, mash fermented partly in the amphora, unfiltered and unsulphurised.

Golden yellow

It may be that one should leave the very first impression behind with this wine, as it has something to do with agriculture. So, pour the wine into the glass or - even better - into the carafe and wait a few minutes Then the wine becomes olfactory unobtrusive, present and engaging. The Piwe Souvignier gris then shows notes of baked apples including peel, ripe pears and pear quinces, grapefruits and yellow peaches, but above all also of lanolin, butter biscuits, some warm brioche and yeast, stone, lightly roasted hazelnuts and a few walnuts and some hops.

On the palate, the 2019 Piwe-Souvignier gris Relaxed in its ripe fruit and the thoroughly golden yellow impression on the palate. Here, the long contact with the mash has an effect, bringing a fine texture, dry extract and a pleasant grip to the palate. The acidity seems mature, but is highly exciting. One thinks one senses a very light, barely perceptible carbonic acid, which makes the texture even more exciting. Again, there is a sweet note in the not quite fully fermented wine. The long yeast contact does the rest and also provides a slight fullness. In addition, there is a distinct but perfectly fitting note of marzipan. If I didn't know better, I would have placed this wine somewhere between Loire and Jura. As an experiment, I drank it over three weeks and left the opened bottle at room temperature. The unsulphured wine only got better and better.