Schieferkopf Riesling Trocken Sec, Baden

Description

Schieferkopf Riesling Trocken Sec is a dry German white wine made in the Baden wine-growing region. Schieferkopf is owned by the French wine company Chapoutier, who are most famous for their vineyards in the Rhone and Southern France. They have gradually been acquiring vineyards outside of their Rhone home region not only in France, where they have vineyards in Provence and Languedoc, but also in Germany and Australia.

Maison Chapoutier has grown into one of the largest and most recognisable producers of Rhone wines. The company dates back to 1808 when Michel Chapoutier’s distant ancestor Polydor Chapoutier bought a parcel of vines in the Rhone Valley. Michel is committed to making the best wines whilst respecting the environment. Chapoutier now owns the largest biodynamic vineyard in Europe. It is his personal conviction that “the complexity in a wine comes from the level of microbiological activity around the vine roots”.

Chapoutier’s Schieferkopf project includes wines made in Germany and wine made in Alsace, France. On the French side, the Domaine, which uses organic farming, is located on the only vineyard on blue Alsace shale. In Germany, three vineyards enjoy exceptional terroirs with granite soils. Common to both is the maximum sunshine exposure and a mosaic of complex soils which brings subtlety to the grapes. Organic and biodynamic principles are used in order to allow the terroirs to shine through these unique wines. A number of Sélection Parcellaire (single vineyard selection) wines demonstrate why Riesling is the noblest of grapes.

The grapes for Schieferkopf Riesling Trocken Sec sourced from vineyards planted on granitic and arkose sandy surface with Granitic subsoil. The grapes are harvested and also sorted by hand. The grapes undergo a direct pressing without destemming (pneumatic press) followed by a cold static settling. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel vats (16-20°C). Finally the wine is aged in stainless steel vats on the fine lees for 12 months.

As with all Chapoutier’s wines, the label also features a description in Braille.