2016 Leitz “Dragonstone” Riesling

2016 Leitz “Dragonstone” Riesling

Who: Josi Leitz
What: 100% Riesling
Where: Johannisburg, Rheingau, Germany
Tastes Like: Floral, tropical, hint of slate and petrol on the nose.  Lush, honeyed and tasting of nectarines in the front, with balancing acids and tannins in the finish.  Medium plus bodied.
Pairs With: Cheeses, spicy foods.

The Who:
Josi Leitz took over his father’s winery, Weingut Joseph Leitz in 1985.  Since taking the helm, he has expanded the family’s holdings from 2.6 hectares (a hectare is roughly the size of a football field) to over 40, including many of the Grand Cru vineyards in the area. 



The Where:
The Rheingau is a small region, stretching only 20 miles from east to west. It is marked by a course change in the Rhein River’s flow to the North Sea from its origins in the Swiss Alps. As the Rhein flows north along the eastern edge of the Pfalz and Rheinhessen, it runs directly into the Taunus Mountain range which has a subsoil comprised of pure crystalline quartzite. Rivers, no matter how mighty, are lazy and the Rhine has yet to break through the quartz infrastructure surrounding the town of Mainz. At Mainz, the Rhein turns west and the 30 km stretch between Mainz and Rüdesheim makes up the majority of the Rheingau. Even though the region is further north than the middle Mosel, its south facing slopes get hotter than the narrow Mosel Valley which therefore provides important diurnal temperature variation.

Leitz’s estate vineyards lie entirely on the westernmost part of the Rheingau on the Rüdesheimer Berg—a steep, south-facing hillside of extremely old slate and quartzite—planted entirely to riesling, encompassing the Grand Crus of Schlossberg, Rottland, and Roseneck. Leitz trains his vines in a single-cane, cordon system to improve the quality and character of the fruit, differing from the majority of Rheingau growers where the practice has long been to prioritize yield via a double-cane system. Johannes is a firm believer that the crucial work of the vigneron takes place in the vineyards. Focused on farming as sustainably as possible and working by hand, the grueling hours of labor on the ultra-steep slopes allow these ancient vineyards to reach their maximum potential.

The Wine:
The grapes are sustainably grown and hand harvested.  Fermentation occurs in stainless steel.  Coming from the Rüdesheimer Drachenstein, the pure quartzite soil, being a silicate, lends a saltiness to the orange citrus-flavored wine which buffers the acidity and counterbalances the palpable sugar.  After harvest, Josi is equally focused on working gently in the press house and ageing the wines on their gross lees. Johannes selects bottle closures to reflect, and more crucially serve, the individual cellar practices employed for each wine; Stelvin closures are used for wines raised in stainless steel to preserve freshness while wines raised in cask are bottled under cork to allow for a long development in the cellar.