German Catalog 2006 USE THIS ONE.qxp - Michael Skurnik Wines

RHEINHESSEN WINES
132
weingut oekonomierat joh. geil i. erben
rheinhessen • bechtheim
(hereafter referred to as, simply, “Weingut Geil”)
“Quality grows in the vineyard, not in the cellar. The art of the cellarmaster is to preserve the
available quality and refine it.”
“Vines have it good in Bechtheim. They don’t have to drill through ten meters of rock for a
little water. They deal with three meters of permeable loess at which point they can drink as well
as the citizens of Bechtheim!”
“No year is like another, and winemaking-by-recipe doesn’t bring the best results. Naturally
modern techniques such as cool fermentations are generally advisable. The question of whether
less is more should be asked!”
“We have done away with deacidification; at least
we haven’t even confronted the question for many years
now. We’d prefer to regulate Riesling’s acidity with later
harvesting at higher ripeness.”
“When I think of my favorite among our wines I
spontaneously reach for the 2002s; they have a wonderful
fruit aroma and acidity.”
“For me aroma is the most important factor; it’s the
first impression, and should be clear, varietally typical
and express its origin.”
“We prune to a single stalk, and do a green-harvest
in August. Normally we press immediately without time
on the skins, but experimentation is acceptable; we sometimes
have a 12-hour skin-contact if the grapes are ripe
and healthy. Clarification is a must; we do it by gravity.
We’re in the midst of a strong experimental phase on the
matter of wild versus cultured
yeasts. We’d prefer any
residual sugar in the wines to
be natural, but we do keep a
little Süssreserve on hand for
adjustments if necessary. The
wines are racked immediately
after fermentation but they
lie on the fine lees for another
month or two. We bottle early,
to preserve CO 2 ”
This is such a wonderful
discovery I only wish I’d made
it myself. In fact I have Gault-
Millau to credit, thanks to
their heralding Geil as their
DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR
2004. That alone didn’t hook me (though previous year’s
discoveries include Mathern, Biffar and Spreitzer); what
hooked me was seeing Rieslaner planted. This variety is a
litmus test for the craziness-quotient of a vintner. It creates,
or can create supernal wines, but it is a sonofabitch to
grow, and if you grow it then you are chasing something
well worth capturing, and rarely captured.
Rheinhessen’s where the action is, as I said, and I
asked for samples from two estates, of which these were
•Vineyard area: 27 hectares
•Annual production: 18000 cases
•Top sites: Bechtheimer Geyersberg,
Bechtheimer Rosengarten
•Soil types: heavy chalky loam,
carbonat-rich loess
•Grape varieties: 35%Riesling, 15%
Spätburgunder, 7% Weissburgunder,
4% Rieslaner, 4% Scheurebe, 35% other
dramatically superior. I paid a visit at the very end of my
trip, and all was confirmed. Tasting samples at remove is
only partially useful: you have to go there, see the folks,
pet the dog, taste a range of vintages and taste together
with the family.
There are two generations in the house. The family’s
full name is Geil-Bierschenk; mama and papa are Monika
and Karl, and the son is Johannes, who was Phillip
Wittmann’s roommate at Geisenheim. We two seemed to
have met before we met, if you see what I mean. And
when they gave me a dry Riesling from the difficult 2000
vintage to taste I thought “These folks have moxie” and
Johannes Geil-Bierschenk