2018 Weingut Braunewell Riesling Trocken

100% estate grown Riesling from various vineyards in Essenheim and Elsheim on limestone and marl soils. Hand harvested, native yeast fermented in stainless steel tank and aged on the lees for eight months. 12% alcohol. 

This dry Riesling is perfumed and exotic, with explosive aromas and flavors of peach, citrus, petrol, tarragon, mint, lemon, nectarine, green apple and mineral notes. Zippy and zesty in the mouth but starting to develop a bit of aged textural complexity. Super crushable and excellent quality to price ratio here. 

Braunewell is located in the village of Essenheim, not far from Nierstein in the Rheinhessen hinterlands. Just 7.5 miles southwest of Mainz, Essenheim is in the Setztal, an area just south of the Rhein, which is marked by a persistent wind. This is the coldest area of the Rheinhessen: “you could be in Mainz in a t-shirt and just 12km away in Essenheim you might need a jacket,” says Stefan Braunewell, the 3rd generation at the winery, who manages the property with his brother, Christian.  The estate is a family-run enterprise, with 68 acres of vines. The family looks back on 350 years of grape growing history and has been estate-bottling wines for the last three generations. The family was of French Huguenot extraction, settling in Essenheim from the Loire valley in 1655. “Breiniville” was originally the family name, changed after François Breiniville married a German woman and baptized their two children as “Braunewell.”