Riesling Schieferkristall trocken QbA 2023

Wine description for Riesling Schieferkristall trocken QbA 2023 by Karthäuserhof

Almost 700 years of viticulture in a single place – and this estate Riesling is the most immediate, most uncomplicated gateway to that history. Karthäuserhof, one of the eight oldest wine estates in the world, has been growing Riesling on the same slope above the Ruwer since 1335. The Schieferkristall is its freshly tuned entrance: cool, crystalline, vibrant.

Colour & appearance

Pale straw yellow, radiant and crystal clear – a wine that glows in the glass like cold spring water.

Nose

Precise and cool-toned: whitecurrant, a blossoming lemon grove, alongside wet blackboard chalk and a hint of brook mint. The typical slate minerality of the Ruwer runs through everything, promising the lightness that is then duly delivered.

Palate

A crystalline attack, high tension, fine vibration. Citrus fruit and cool minerality flow across the palate with a refreshing pull at a moderate 11.5% vol. – early harvest, dry style, zero excess weight. Ruwer finesse in its purest form.

Finish

Clean, slate-driven and fading out with a fine saline note – cool and straight-lined right to the final impression.

Terroir & origin

The grapes come from steep Ruwer slopes with iron-rich Devonian slate. The Karthäuserhofberg, a monopole vineyard site of just under 20 hectares with gradients of up to 55 per cent, was classified in the highest Prussian category as early as 1868. The cool Ruwer valley, with its fresh nights, lends the wines their characteristic finesse.

Grape variety & vinification

Pure Riesling, matured in stainless steel tanks – crafted for freshness, citrus fruit and drinkability. Under the direction of Mathieu Kauffmann, formerly Chef de Cave at Bollinger, the work here has been carried out with Champagne precision since 2020.

Food recommendations

A classic aperitif wine, alongside sushi, pan-fried zander, asparagus with lemon vinaigrette or a simple plate of fresh goat’s cheese.

Special features

The estate is farmed biodynamically – for owner Albert Behler, this is not a marketing decision but the logical consequence of almost 700 years of soil history. And: the property was acquired at auction in 1811 by the great-great-grandfather of today’s owning family – seventh generation, no rush.

A Riesling to open ice-cold right now – or to lay down in the cellar for a few years and watch time do its work.