Village wine vs single site: one step up the Rheingau ladder
- Schloss Vollrads — 1716 Cabinet Riesling trocken 2024, VDP.Ortswein (Rheingau, Germany)
- August Kesseler — Lorcher Schlossberg Alte Reben Riesling 2022, VDP.Erste Lage (Rheingau, Germany)
Two Rieslings from the same region, one step apart on the VDP quality ladder. Schloss Vollrads, near Oestrich-Winkel, is one of the oldest wine estates in the world, with records of wine sales going back to 1211. Its organic Cabinet trocken is a VDP.Ortswein, a village wine: young, dry and made to drink now.
Kesseler’s wine comes from old vines on the Schlossberg in Lorch, a steep slate slope at the western end of the Rheingau, classified by the VDP as an Erste Lage, and has had two more years in the bottle. We taste what a single site, old vines and a little time add to the same grape.
What to expect
Schloss Vollrads, 1716 Cabinet trocken 2024. Bright and lively: green apple, lemon, a hint of white flowers and crisp acidity.
August Kesseler, Lorcher Schlossberg Alte Reben 2022. Fuller and more layered: ripe peach, citrus, a smoky, flinty note from the slate and a long finish.
At home with these wines
Fresh goat’s cheese, smoked trout or salmon, Thai or Vietnamese dishes, pork with apple.
Wine conversations
How to read a German wine label
Cabinet or Kabinett, Erste Lage, Alte Reben, trocken or no word at all: what do they tell you? We read the two labels on the table word by word, so you can pick a good Riesling in Alko without guessing.
Book your seat
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