2020/23 - Stein
2020/23 - Stein
A true one-off cuvée, incredible special - golden concentrated fruit, profound acidity and length, beautiful oxidative shading, a wine that evolves dynamically over multiple weeks open (our longest test is 3.5) with a freshness that persists until the end.
Cuvée: Stein
Style: Still
Colour: White
Grapes/Blend: Riesling
ABV: 12.6%
Vintage: 2020/23
Winemaking: From vines besides the house that JP planted with his father 30 years ago, the Leu dit Stein grown on Grey Marl and Limestone. 2020 was whole-bunch pressed, fermentation and ageing on fine lees for 43 months in barrels. 2023 had a 6 day maceration infusion, aged on the lees in tank. Indigenous yeasts. Light sulphiting during the 2020 fermentation. Assembled as two-thirds 2020 and one-third 2023 before bottling in April 2024. Grapes harvested on 23 September 2020 and 28 September 2023.
Yield: 57 hl/ha for the 2020 and 37 hl/ha for the 2023.
Sulphur: 10mg/l added during 2020 fermentation
Soil: Clay-limestone, marl-limestone
Initially a mixed farm with crops including tobacco, the land has been in the family for seven generations. Jean-Pierre’s parents started cultivating vines in the 1970s, and passed it to Jean-Pierre in 1987. Organic farming with no use of chemicals. In the cellar, very little sulphur is used, and only when necessary. There is a precision and clarity to all the wines. Having become bored with making late-harvest wines with aromatic varieties; Jean-Pierre is one of few in his area to experiment with skin-contact wines and has gained a reputation for these.