We're incredibly pleased to have received rare gems from Konni & Evi, who produce tiny quantities of some of the most exciting wines we are lucky enough to work with.
Over the last six years, in the hills of Saale-Unstrut, Konrad Buddrus and Evi Wehner have been slowly collecting micro-parcels of mainly old vine Silvaner, and re-cultivating abandoned Grand Cru sites with different varieties.
At the 51st parallel, they are right at the tip of things being able to grow. The detail and precision this lends the wines is not lost on Konni and Evi, nor us.
They now work a combined surface of close to four hectares spread over 17 parcels throughout the region, vineyards whose borders have been defined by their prior use in government-owned winemaking in DDR times. It falls to growers as committed as Konni & Evi to track down such incredible sites and unlock their potential in wines like these.
With vines planted at a density you rarely see elsewhere (10,000 vines per hectare), working in brutal winds, at gradients a mountain goat might prefer, it would take a madman or a genius to devote themselves to a project up here. Konni certainly falls into the latter.
Farming is organic and biodynamic, on steep rocky limestone slopes and shares the same incredible attention to detail as every element of their project. Whilst initially done in evenings and weekends whilst Konni worked full time at another winery and Evi as a school teacher (no small task) Konni has finally been able to move into the project full-time.
Varieties are all worked in more or less the same way in the cellar, to let the differences between each variety and site sing through clearer. Presses in their 600l basket press are long and slow, up to 20 hours sometimes. Their close relationship with a local cooper is the final piece in the puzzle of their winemaking, custom-built barrels from local oak are stacked improbably tightly in their small cellar to raise the wines.
Wood sourced from a forest 1.5km from a new vineyard, will be seasoned for four years before being turned into barrels by their cooper.
Precise, singular and alive, here's what we now have available, in Konni's words:
Now Available
2020 - SOS - Kerner, Riesling
"We had a lot of frost damage in 2020 and so Jonas Brand (a classmate of Konni's and old flatmate of Evi's) helped us out with some grapes that we could pick from him, that we brought to our winery to vinify.
It’s mostly Kerner (80%) and a small part of Riesling to bring more phenolic complexity and acid. Half of the Kerner is direct pressed and one is cold macerated with the Riesling for two or three days. All fermented and aged in barrel."
2020 - Silvaner - Silvaner
"The Silvaner is what we think of as Saale-Unstrut.
It’s from different vineyards from Karsdorf, Steigra and Freyburg. We only use grapes from old vineyards for this wine. Vines are between 35-90 years old and are all on rocky limestone. The plantings are really tight (10.000 vines per hectare). Hand-picked, foot crushed and macerated in our cold cellar between two to five days before basket pressing to barrel for fermentation. Aged one year in barrel."
2020 - Muller Thurgau - Muller Thurgau
"From two plots on rocky limestone, half from the Ziegental vineyard planted in 1933, and the other from slightly younger vines at 50 years old. Macerated on the skins for 8 days, and pressed during fermentation to retain a little reductive character and keep tannin low."
2019 - Silvaner Ziegental - Silvaner
"Ziegental is one of our grand crus. It’s a really rocky steep dry limestone vineyard, with very old vines.
This vineyard is always the last Silvaner that we harvest, because it’s south-east facing you always have the wind from the west side and also a first closed to it which keeps the temperature lower then in other vineyards. Same process as all the whites, a good foot-crush and cold maceration before basket press. This wine ages 2 years in the barrel and we allow it in the last 6 months to grow a flor, that opens it and give it a little more structure."
Charlie, a ram that thinks he’s a dog. In the Ziegental vineyard.
2020 - Weißburgunder - Weißburgunder
"This is a younger vineyard on the feet of our Ehrauberge Grand Cru Terrace. The vines are 10 and 25 years old. This is the only vineyard where we have red clay as top soil and just beginning limestone under the clay. The clay gives the wine more body and texture, it feels a little warmer, softer earthy. One to seven days cold maceration after a foot stomp, fermented and aged in barrel for one year."
2020 - Blauer Silvaner - Blauer Silvaner
"Growing on pure rocky limestone on the grand cru site Ehrauberge, only from the two highest terraces. The vines are half from the 1930‘s and half of them are 20 years old; they're a selection massale of the old vines.
It’s one of our warmest parcels, south-west facing and also tightly planted, with 10.000 vines per hectare. Nearly every year, this is the first Silvaner we pick, it’s ripening there much faster than the other sites. In the cellar it’s just foot stomped and basket pressed after 2/3 days of maceration, and aged in barrel for one year."
2020 - Alte Terrassen - Chasselas, Silvaner
"This is 70% Chasselas and 30% Silvaner, both from old vines up to 90 years and mixed planted vines like a Gemischter Satz. The vineyard sites are both grand crus: Schweigenberge and Ehrauberge in Freyburg.
Same procedure like the most of the wines. 2-3 days skin contact all before fermentation. Then basket pressed and fermented in our oak barrels from the Harz forest."
2019 - Weißburgunder Ehrau - Weißburgunder
"It’s a lower parcel in the terraces of Ehrauberge. The wines are about 65 years old and also tight planted.
The soil is heavier than in the higher terraces. Here you have a mix between limestone with a topsoil of red clay. The soil is colder than the rockier ones, so the harvest is a little later and the acidity a bit higher. We also have a really good availability of water from the clay - better then in the rockier vineyard sites.
The fermentation and cellar work is similar to the Alte Terrassen, but it was aged 2 years in barrel and had about 6 month ageing under flor yeast."
2020 - Spatburgunder - Spatburgunder "This is from our Hahnenberge vineyard. The wines are about 40 years old and also tightly planted on very steep limestone slopes. The vineyard is warm compared to the others, but really open for wind., which brings a longer ripening period. The temperatures substantially drops at night which retains lots of acidity.
Fermentation was about 4-5 weeks with 30 % whole bunches, the rest de-stemmed. We do no extraction, the only extraction comes from time, and the heat from fermentation. We do no punchdowns or pumpovers. So that gives the wine more fruit, really soft phenolic complexity and a deep character from the long fermentation."
2020 - Portugieser - Portugieser
"The vineyards are between 50-90 years old, from some really small parcels in Steigra, Freyburg and Karsdorf.
Portugieser is always the first grape that we harvest. Every year it's a game to find that good peak between acidity, freshness and ripeness. The soil for all these parcels is limestone and the vines are grown on steep slopes.
After picking we de-stem, and add whole bunches for the fermentation. In 2020 it was about 30%. Just like the Spatburgunder, it's a long slow infusion, no mechanical extraction. Just time! The fermentation was about 5 weeks. Then we pressed it to barrels for 12 months."
