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 seven 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.
They now work a combined surface of nearly four hectares spread over 17 parcels throughout the region. With vines planted at a density you rarely see elsewhere (10,000 vines per hectare), working at the 51st parallel in brutal winds, on gradients a mountain goat might prefer, it would take a madman or a genius to devote themselves to a project up here.
Farming is organic and biodynamic, on steep rocky limestone slopes and shares the same incredible attention to detail as every element of their project.
Varieties are all worked in more or less the same way in the cellar, making it easier to define the differences between each variety and site. Presses in their 600l basket press are hard and long over 20 hours, aiming for great phenolic complexity in lieu of high alcohol levels. 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.
Precise, singular and alive, here's what we now have available in Konni's words:
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.
AVAILABLE NOW
WHITE
2021 - SOS Weiss - Kerner, Bacchus, Silvaner, Chasselas
A co-planted parcel that we have had for 4 years now, with a little more heavy clay top soil for 30-40cm, rocky limestone beneath. Foot-crushed and cold macerated for 2 days, then pressed for 24 hours directly to our oak barrels (Halbstück 600l) from the Harz Mountain. 11 months ageing on the full lees, we do the same with each wine before bottling, racking gently by gravity to tank before bottling.
2021 - Silvaner - Silvaner
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 early in the morning to retain structure, 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.
2021 - Silvaner Hahnenberge - Silvaner
This is a south-west facing vineyard in Steigra, but directly on its west side is a dense forest, the wind that blows across the vineyard from this forest is very cool, so we have a vineyard with lots of sun but very slow, mellow ripening, picked 10 days later than the other vineyards. There's a little less rocky limestone here, and heavier soils, with some fine powdery limestone. Vines are 75 years old. The same process as the others, a couple of days maceration cold as crushed clusters before a long and hard press aiming for good phenolic extraction. Aged 1 year in barrel.
2021 - 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 days of maceration, and aged in barrel for one year. In this vineyard we always have a herbal tea taste, a little woody smokey bacon taste, people often ask 'are you using new wood?' and I have to say No! Its just the vineyard!
2021 - Alte Terrassen - Chasselas, Silvaner
These terraces are a co-planted Gemischter Satz, both red and white varieties of Gutedel (Chasselas) and the Silvaner. All are old vines up to 90 years. The vineyard sites are both grand crus: Schweigenberge and Ehrauberge in Freyburg.
Same procedure like 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, aged for a year.
2020 - Weißburgunder Ehrau - Pinot Blanc
Sadly this is the last vintage of this wine. We had a winter that dropped to -28 degrees in 2021 and it killed this vineyard, along with a few others, we lost 30% of our yield. It was a 65 year old parcel, so there hadn't been a winter like this in 65 years! We replanted it this year though - 2023 - so lets see how it will progress.
This is 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.
2021 - Grauburgunder - Pinot Gris
This is the only wine we press directly! I don't really like macerated Pinot Gris - for me - you need minerality and acid to touch the body that Pinot Gris has, if you do it on the skins, it can be too ripe and too much muscle. I don't like too many muscles! These are picked from 45-year-old and 10-year-old parcels in Hahnenberge and Mühlberge on rocky limestone.
We pick really ripe, it's the only wine that can get anywhere near 12-12.5%. We stomp directly into the press, and press really long and hard directly to barrel for that phenolic complexity. Aged for a year.
Charlie, a ram that thinks he’s a dog. In the Ziegental vineyard.
SKINS
2021 - Müller-Thurgau - Muller Thurgau
From two plots on rocky limestone, half from the Ziegental (Goat Valley) vineyard planted in 1933, and the other from slightly younger vines at 50 years old. Macerated on the skins for 10-14 days, and pressed during fermentation to retain a little reductive character and keep tannin low.
ROSE
2021 - SOS Rose - Portugieser, Pinot Noir
Here is Pinot from the Kasi vineyard, south-east faced, ripening really late, the Portugieser vineyards are between 50-90 years old, from some really small parcels in Steigra and Freyburg. The Pinot Noir we've been making sparkling with - its still ageing, we haven't sold yet - but with the last 30% of the press we use for the rose, for a little more phenolic complexity and acid, its like a power-up for the Portugieser. The Portugieser is just macerated overnight so we don't take too much colour, then pressed directly to our oak barrels, and aged for a year.
CIDER
2021 - Cidre HUY - Apples
These are apples we share with a friend up in the Harz Mountain, he's at an elevation 150metres higher even than us, so these have a beautifully long, slow ripening, we can pick quite later and keep so much freshness. Lots of ancient varieties, aged for a year on the full lees in barrels, sparked with 5% of the 2021 juice for secondary fermentation, with one and a half years of bottle fermentation. The Huy is a name for the place the apples are grown, it means a windy, high mountain.
