Louis Konstantin Guntrum Louis Dry Riesling 2016 (750ml)

 

Louis Konstantin Guntrum Dry Riesling 2016

 

The 2016 Louis Guntrum Dry Riesling has a delicate fragrance of white peaches, apricot and juicy pears.  Impressive mouthfeel, and lasting flavors.  The classical Riesling in expression and elegance.  Winemaker Notes

 

 

The Story

 

Louis Guntrum was established in 1648, and since 2003 has been owned and operated by Louis Konstantin Guntrum, who is the 11th generation of the Guntrum family to make wine.  During the French Revolution, the Guntrum family fled across the Rhine river and temporarily relocated in Bensheim.  In 1909, Louis Guntrum returned to Nierstein and founded the Louis Guntrum winery as it is known today.  In February 1945, during World War II, U.S.General Patton occupied the winery and the family mansion, having crossed the Rhein river directly at the Louis Guntrum estate.  The current generation is focused on producing high-quality wines that are produced with passion and rooted in history.

 

Levels of Sweetness

 

Trocken:  Dry
Halbtrocken:  Slightly less dry
Kabinett:  Fruity but still not showing sweetness
Spatlese:  Very fruity, still dry enough to drink with food
Auslese:  Richly fruity, beginning to show more residual sugar. Beautiful alone or with select food
Beerenauslese:  Rich with concentrated residual sugar;dessert wine with some botrytis
Eiswein:  Eiswein is picked when the grapes are frozen in deep winter; varies in degree of sweetness
Trockenbeerenauslese:  The most intensely concentrated: sweet, rich, botrytisy dessert wine, almost syrupy in texture.

 

Region:  Rheinhessen, Germany

 

Year Founded:  1648

 

Proprietors:  L. Konstantin Guntrum

 

Winemaker:  Dirk Roth

 

Size of property:  11 hectares (27 acres)

 

Amount of Property Planted:  11 hectares (27 acres)

 

Terroir:  Rheinhessen is the ultimate “cool climate“ with approximately 1, 800 hours of sunshine per year.  The growing season typically runs from late May until October.  Riesling grapes require 100 days of ripening between blossoming and harvest.  Typically, harvest begins in early October and can last as long as early November extending into late January if the conditions are right for Eiswein.  Annual rainfall averages 500mm (20 inches).  A range of soil types are found in the vineyards including: Niersteiner (red slate), Oppenheimer Sacktrager (chalky loam), Niersteiner Bergkirche (loam), Niersteiner Rehbach (red slate), Oppenheimer Herrenberg (loam), Hipping Grosses Gewachs (red slate).

 

Annual Production:  8.000 cases from Estate fruit; 60.000 cases from purchased fruit.

 

Varieties Cultivated:  Riesling, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris), Silvaner, Gewürztraminer.

 

Organic/Sustainable/Other Certifications:  Sustainable farming.

 

Louis Guntrum

 

Welcome at Weingut Louis Guntrum in Nierstein on the Rhein-Terrasse of Rheinhessen.

 

The Louis Guntrum cellars lay on the banks of the Rhine between Oppenheimer and Nierstein.  The 11th generation, Louis Konstantin Guntrum, the sole owner, is managing the estate today.  Modern cellar technology, combined with the best of traditional wine-making and philosophy have formed a harmonious relationship, and are responsible for the production of some of Germany‘s finest wines, of which we are truly proud.

 

Only the knowledge of vineyard-site, the grape, the atmosphere of cellars and tasting of these wines give you the unforgettable enjoyment.  The experience of generations – completed by latest knowledge in viticulture and vinification – serve this one and only aim: To offer, irrespective of vintage, site and grape-type, always the Speciality.

 

Weingut Louis Guntrum

 

A long-standing tradition - a small estate.  Our mission is to provide the very best - in wines and in service.  The foundation to this mission is our vineyards.  The Rhein-Terrasse, steep hillside vineyards on the banks of the Rhein river, rank amongst the best vineyards in Germany.  We limit ourselves to a small selection of the finest grapes in the world - both in white wine and in red wine.

 

The Estate of Louis Guntrum

  

The family roots go back until 1648, to the small village of Wörrstadt in Rheinhessen.  Ever since, the Louis Guntrum family has been growing grapes and making wine.  The 8th generation, Louis Jean George Guntrum, built today's Estate building in 1923 - it offers a perfect and spacious environment to produce some of the finest wines from Germany, but also impresses with its stunning location directly adjacent to the Rhein river.  Today, the estate is owned and managed by the 11th generation, Louis Konstantin Guntrum.

 

Oppenheimer Sacktrager and Oppenheimer  Herrenberg, Niersteiner Oelberg, Niersteiner Pettenthal and Niersteiner Hipping are amongst only a few vineyard names in Germany, that appeal to daily wine drinkers and connoisseurs alike.  This is, where you find most of the vineyards of Louis Guntrum.  At the turn of the 20th century, wines from our area were more expensive than the most expensive First Growth Bordeaux.  Today, the situation has changed - you realise, what great bargains you can find, buying a First Growth Riesling from the Rhein at the price of a Bordeaux table wine.

 

Our cellars offer both of "two worlds" - traditional wooden barrels and modern stainless steel tanks.  Thus is our philosophy in winemaking: Modern technology, where appropriate, but traditional approaches and ideas, handed over from generation to generation, for most of the grape growing and winemaking.

 

This combination of "new" and "old" we prove in our wines: Traditional, classic grape varieties only, such as Riesling, Silvaner, Spätburgunder (Pinot nero) or Gewürztraminer.  Moderate pruning of the vines to ensure long-term production of high quality wines generation after generation; use of fertilizers only upon natural needs, based on strict analysis of the soil; selective hand picking of the grapes to obtain the most suitable grape for each wine.

 

The transformation from grapes to grape juice to wine follows the well-tried rules of European winemaking traditions: Time rather than mechanical equipment, Nature rather than technology and chemistry. We aim at improving and refining the most precious gift of nature - the grape.  Every single grape we want to turn into a unique, special type of wine, that reflects perfectly the typicity of the soil as well as the vintage.  To your good health - salute!

 

Traditional winemaking with modern techniques

 

Traditional wine-making was done during centuries without much innovation concerning working procedures and equipment.  Modern techniques nowadays offer far more possibilities for careful treatment of vines, grapes, must and the young wine to achieve a harmonious and well-balanced wine.

  

Winemaking at Lous Guntrum’s follows certain well established and proven rules:  The beginning of the harvest is determined by the owner Mr. Louis Konstantin Guntrum himself, who checks the state of the grapes concerning ripeness and healthiness.  A selective harvest as late during the season as possible is strived for, treating both grapes, must and wine as carefully as possible.  Grapes are distinguished between early, medium and late-ripening cultivars.  Lous Guntrum harvests about 40 % - 55 % of the annual crop mechanically, the rest is done by traditional handpicking, the steeper slopes.

 

The white wine grapes are pressed as early as possible.  Only the grapes selected for Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are left on the skins for a couple of hours to extract beneficial and valuable components.  We use state-of-the-art Tank presses (Willmes), which press the grapes very carefully at a maximum pressure of 0,2 to 1,8 bar.  The obtained must is forwarded to a settling-tank by gravity.  The must settles for about 12 hours before it is racked into the fermentation tank.  It is inocculated with selected yeasts, to ensure a quick starting of the fermentation.  The musts are fermented at 15 to 17 ° Celsius.  Fermentation temperature is controlled by external irrigation of the tanks.  Fermentation vats are only made from double stainless steel.  To guarantee and protect the typical, fruity character of the must, we do not use any oak-barrels, as the additional wooden taste is not desired.

 

The grapes of red grape varieties (Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon) are destemmed prior to fermentation, which takes place on skins.  This traditional approach is chosen to ensure both the development of good intensity in color, extraction of tannins and strong varietal character.  To balance acidity levels, we induce the malolactic fermentation.

 

After fermentation is finished, the wine is racked, i.e. the wine is separated from the yeasts.  Subsequently, it will be sulfured and fined.  The addition of sulfur is necessary to avoid premature oxidation and to preserve the wine.  Sulfur is also developed naturally during fermentation.  Limits for sulfuring are very strict, enforced severely and far below hazardous levels.  Finally, the wine is filtered prior to storage, again in double stainless steel tanks.

 

Prior to bottling, every bottle is cold-sterilized.

 

All wines currently stored in tanks are sampled every eight weeks, bottled wines are tasted at least twice a year to control the development of the wines and to guarantee highest quality.