Gunderloch

  • Rheinhessen, Germany
Gunderloch
  • Johannes Hasselbach would be the first to tell you that the wines he is rendering today are very different from those made by his father in the 1990s and 2000s."

    —David Schildknecht, Vinous

One hundred and thirty years after its founding, the story at Gunderloch, one of the Rheinhessen's most revered estates, is evolving. The changes happening here are cause for real excitement, and all of them are springing from the restless mind of Johannes Hasselbach, the master and commander of the estate since 2016. He is taking Gunderloch in a new direction, and the resulting wines are achieving levels of grace, balance, and natural energy they have never seen before. 

Gunderloch is a thriving estate of approximately twenty-five hectares of vines in some of the top vineyards of the "Roter Hang" ("red slope") area in the Rheinhessen appellation. In Nackenheim they own the dominant portion of the grand cru Rothenberg (sixty-five percent of the estate’s holdings) which is planted completely to Riesling. Their GG from here is the flagship of the estate; their noble sweets from the site are legendary. The other part of their production comes from five kilometers down the road in Nierstein, where they work steep parcels of vineyards whose names resound to the ears of German wine lovers:  Niersteiner Pettenthal and Niersteiner Hipping, which both provide GG wines for them. The average yield is held to forty-five hectoliters per hectare, among the lowest in Germany, resulting in wines of high extraction and great quality. Minimum ripeness for the various quality levels is significantly above the requirements of the German wine law. The wines are never de-acidified and in high acid vintages bottling is often delayed to allow the wines to harmonize and soften. The cellar work is accomplished with a minimum amount of handling and has traditionally been reductive in style—although that is now changing as Johannes pursues his explorations in winemaking. After much experimentation and rethinking of received wisdoms, Johannes is making signifcant changes at Gunderloch. To wit: 

- Less handling of the wines and less “winemaking” overall in favor of hard work in the vineyards. This can be called his guiding philosophy.

- The previously all-reductive cellar is now seeing more barrels, longer maturations, and more skin contact on the wines. This is having a profound impact on the house style. 

- Spontaneous fermentations are now the norm; all the estate wines are fermented with native yeasts. Johannes is also doing groundbreaking work starting his fermentations in the vineyards before bringing the wines into the cellar. His experimental wine called VIRGO is entirely fermented by vineyard yeast started outside during harvest. 

- The estate has been practicing organic for five years. Johannes started the certification process in 2020. He has also become one of the "young guns" leading the charge for studying and promoting chemical-free viticulture at the VDP.  

- The wines at Gunderloch have all been VEGAN since the 2017 vintage.

- The wines are getting drier, more focused, and less baroque. Lowering his alcohol levels on the dry wines is a priority for him--and a challenge, given the warming climate and placement of his vineyards. His residual sugars across the board are starting to skew lower as well, which of course reflects the general trend in German winemaking.

In sum, Johannes is actively directing his steps forward at Gunderloch, not passively staying with past practices or assumptions. He feels that with changes to the ecology and culture around him, this is not only a good idea but crucial to the success of his family's estate.

Meanwhile, the Rieslings here, particularly those from the Rothenberg, remain among the finest and most important in the Rheinhessen and in Germany. Taste them and it is obvious why: these are rich, elegant wines full of yellow fruits, great structure and fine acidity for long aging. But it is their newfound balance and the intrinsic energy within them--a direct reflection of their winemaker's youth, vitality and new ideas--that we find so compelling. 

www.gunderloch.de

 

BOWLER E-Zine Issue 1 | Q4 2020: Learning and Relearning German Wine
2021 Autumn Harvest at Gunderloch
Image Producer PRODUCT Description Country / Region

DB7787-22
Sustainable
Gunderloch Fritz's Riesling
2022
Riesling
A feinherb or "off-dry" style (around 20-25g/l RS depending on the vintage) named in honor of Johannes' father, world-renowned winemaker...
Germany

DB3541-22
Sustainable
Gunderloch Hasselbach Riesling Trocken
2022
6.5g, 7g acid, 12% alc. Juicy, sleek, fabulously aromatic and lively DRY Riesling, grown along the Rhinefront in soils of red slate and... Germany

DB8057-22
Organic
Gunderloch Riesling Kabinett "Jean Baptiste"
2022
Riesling
Always a pleasure and always great value for Riesling-lovers, the grapes for Jean-Baptiste are grown on the lower terraces of Gunderloch's...
Germany

DB3540-22
Sustainable
Gunderloch Hasselbach Rosé
2022
Portugieser
60% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier, 20% Portugieser from estate-owned organic vineyards plus some contracted fruit. Sites include the "...
Germany

DB8154-21
Gunderloch Riesling Auslese Nackenheimer Rothenberg
2021
Riesling
90g/l RS, 9g acid, 7% alc. There was botrytis in this vintage, but at Gunderloch it was the dry, clean kind that winemakers love. Tasted...
Germany

DB8060-22
Sustainable
Gunderloch Riesling GG Hipping
2022
Riesling
(2g RS/7.5g acid/12.5%) Niersteiner Hipping is Gunderloch’s smallest grand cru, sourced from an extremely steep portion of the vineyard....
Germany

DB8059-22
Organic
Gunderloch Riesling GG Pettenthal
2022
Riesling
(2.5g RS/7.5g acid/12.5% alc) A site made famous by many winemakers in the region, the Niersteiner Pettenthal is a finer soil than...
Germany

DB0736-22
Sustainable
Gunderloch Riesling GG Rothenberg
2022
Riesling
(3.5g RS/8g acid/12% alc) Gunderloch’s crown jewel vineyard is the Nackenheimer Rothenberg, one of the top grosse lagen (grand cru’s) of...
Germany

DB8153-21
Organic
Gunderloch Riesling Spätlese Nackenheimer Rothenberg
2021
Riesling
Powerful and lavish Spatlese, completely swet and sensuously textured--YET somehow balanced on a dime with a finish that floats. How do...
Germany

DB8056-21
Organic
JS:90
Gunderloch Riesling Dry Estate "vom Roten Schiefer"
2021
Riesling
Very dry at just 3.5g/l RS. Sourced from Gunderloch's three grand cru sites (Rothenberg, Pettenthal, Hipping), spontaneously fermented and...
Germany