Meerspinne im Mandelgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs 2017

The Sea Spider was extracted from the Gimmeldingen almond orchard. The name is that of an old vineyard that produces better wines than the rest of the almond orchard, which is why the Sea Spider as Grosses Gewächs and the rest of the almond orchard is declared to be First layer. The Meerspinne site has a limestone and red sandstone marl topsoil on a massive limestone subsoil. The Riesling was harvested botrytis-free in November. It stood on the mash for up to six hours, was fermented spontaneously and, like all Christmann's GGs, fermented down to about two grams of residual sugar and aged in large double barrels and stainless steel.

Platinum Yellow

In the "Mersbin", as the location was already called in 1456, Christmann creates the most puristic Great Growths of the portfolio. This is also the case with the 2018 vintage. The Riesling seems closed, chalky, firm and cool with notes of green apple, lemon and verbena, nuts and almonds including shells and broken limestone. 

However, this cool purist impression should not deter, even if it continues like this on the palate. What is very impressive here is the clarity, the focus on the taut, austere, citrusy, bony, which at the same time washes earthy and stony notes to the palate, but also juicy and spicy. Green herbs, limes and lemons, pome fruits and salt provide the ingredients here from which this finely woven pure stuff has been created. What an ascetic!