Dr Bürklin-Wolf Riesling Wachenheimer Gerümpel P.C. 2023

The Gerümpel vineyard in the village of Wachenheim is one of Germany's most famous vineyards, first mentioned in documents dated 1429. 13ha in total, Bürklin-Wolf's parcel amounts to 4.44ha. Gerümpel benefits from frequent warm winds, ensuring that the grapes dry quickly after rain, thus reducing the risk of fungal infection. This site is characterised by its capacity to produce healthy grapes, even when they are picked late. Its proximity to the Grand Cru vineyards of Forst (Pechstein G.C. is just over the fence), means that the Gerümpel profits from both the typical weathered sandstone of Wachenheim and the volcanic basalt from Forst. 12.7 % Alc/Vol; 0.5 g/L RS; 6.3 g/L TA.

'Welcome to the smoke hole. But if you have just a little patience, then a terrific stony raciness, beautiful stone fruit and orange blossom aromas open up. The energy and chalky complexity on the compact, medium-bodied palate are stunning, then comes a wave of herbal and stony complexity in the long, cool finish. From a south-facing site with a soil weathered from an ancient coral reef. From biodynamically grown grapes. Vegan. Drink or hold.’ 96 points, Stuart Pigott, JS Wine Ratings, July 2024.

'The collection of the 2022 vintage at Bürklin-Wolf is outstanding and marks one of the best vintages in the whole of Germany. The 2022 Pechstein G. C. is one of the outstanding Rieslings of the vintage, possibly even ahead of the even more expensive Kirchenstück G. C. If you want to find the finest Rieslings without having to bleed financially, you will also find them among the premiers crus, among which the Wachenheimer Gerümpel P. C. and the Böhlig P. C. come closest to the grands crus in terms of finesse and expression. In the last three years in particular, the Dr. Bürklin-Wolf has established itself as a model German domaine whose Rieslings are a benchmark.' Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate, December 2023.

The Bürklin-Wolf estate is based in the Mittelhaardt, the quality core of Germany's world-renowned Pfalz, around the towns of Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg. Here with 85ha under vine they have the largest family owned wine estate in all of Germany originating in 1597, with a treasure-trove of superb vineyards, at the centre of which lies the great Kirchenstück. Here in the tiny village of Forst, Kirchenstück and its neighbours Jesuitengarten, Ungeheuer and Pechstein, have for centuries been recognised as producing not only some of the world's greatest dry Rieslings, but simply some of the world's greatest wines. In the nineteenth century, prices for these wines exceeded the prices paid for 1st Growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundy.

In 1990 Bürklin-Wolf began reviewing their vineyard holdings in the context of the 1828 Royal Bavarian Land Tax Classification and after years of exhaustive research they discovered that today's top vineyards are exactly the same as those identified back in 1828. Today they have adopted a Burgundian model with four tiers: Estate, Village, PC (code for Premier Cru) and GC (for Grand Cru). Thus they are focussed on the production of dry, terroir-driven wines and no longer produce the Kabinett and Spätlese styles defined by the (still current) 1971 German Wine Law.