Reichsrat von Buhl, “Pechstein” Grosses Gewächs Riesling
Reichsrat von Buhl, “Pechstein” Grosses Gewächs Riesling

Reichsrat von Buhl, “Pechstein” Grosses Gewächs Riesling

Pfalz, Germany 2019 (750mL)
Regular price$100.00
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Reichsrat von Buhl, “Pechstein” Grosses Gewächs Riesling

For over 150 years, Reichsrat von Buhl has remained a family-owned affair farming and crafting terroir-transparent wines in the two villages of Deidesheim and Forst. Over the decades, their legacy has been largely defined by consistency and reverence—at one point in the mid-1800s, their wines were among the most expensive in the world.  


Today, they organically farm their prized vineyards and the Grosse Lage (Grand Cru site) of “Pechstein” is arguably the most distinct of them all. Planted on an extinct volcano, these soils are rich in basalt—“nowhere can you find more basalt”—interspersed with red sandstone and loam. Von Buhl’s vines here generate extremely low yields, rarely more than 25hl/ha, and highly selective harvests are always conducted by hand. In the cellar, grapes are pressed into doppelstückfass (2400L German oak barrels) for spontaneous fermentation and subsequent aging on fine lees. The wines are generally bottled the following summer. 


This 2019 Pechstein from von Buhl is monstrously mineral. Even amidst expansive layers of citrus, candied lime, apricot, pineapple, and sweet vanilla spice, the dominating presence here is petrol, smoke, and liquified rock. Still, there is real beauty and sublimity contained within its raw power. The pedigree and intensity here is undeniable but oxygen is a requirement should you want to enjoy this in the next 2-3 years. This will age two decades with ease. 

Reichsrat von Buhl, “Pechstein” Grosses Gewächs Riesling
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Germany

Western Germany

Pfalz

The Pfalz is Germany’s second-largest wine region (behind Rheinhessen, which it borders to the south). The vineyards are situated between the thickly forested Haardt Mountains and the western bank of the Rhine River, with soils that are rich in loam mixed with sandstone, loess (wind-blown silt), and chalky clay.

Western Germany

Rheinhessen

he Rheinhessen is Germany’s largest-production wine zone and, in comparison to some of the dramatic valleys further north, is a more open landscape of gently rolling hills.

Western Germany

Saar

The Saar River is a tributary of the Mosel (and in-cluded in the broader “Mosel-Saar-Ruwer”) PDO designation with vineyards perched on steep slopes of blue Devonian slate. The rocky soils and cool temperatures of these northerly valleys produce Germany’s most chiseled, high-acid  styles of Riesling.

Southwestern Germany

Baden

Baden, Germany’s southernmost wine region, has a long history with the “Pinot” family. The region’s vineyards were planted by the same Cistercian Monks who established Pinot Noir in Burgundy. Bordered by the Rhine River and the Black Forest, Baden has diverse soils—everything from loess (silt) to volcanic tuff to limestone, the most prized Pinot Noir soil of all.

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