2016 Ziereisen Grauer Burgunder

100% Grauer Burgunder (aka Pinot Gris), (uncertified) organically farmed on vineyards planted on limestone with tons of iron deposits. Short maceration, fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel and racked into large and old neutral barrel. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. Owner and winemaker Hanspeter Ziereisen said that he probably would never have planted white varieties at all except that his wife (Edel) insisted on it, and his own favorite variety is this one, Pinot Gris, probably due to its mass and muscle.

Tasting Notes

This is the white wine that Ziereisen is known for, and it’s drinking so great with a few years of bottle age on it. Bone dry, with rich, layered aromas of mineral apples and pears with nutty undertones. Focused acidity runs across the palate and carries generous fruit by a long finish. Medium bodied with some phenolic grip.

About Weingut Ziereisen

The trained carpenter Hanspeter Ziereisen was already enthusiastic about wine in his childhood and youth days and as a teenager he finally began to search for and taste the best wines of the world. He developed a particular passion for the wines of Burgundy. He founded his winery in 1991 and, with the help of his wife Edeltraut, expanded it to what is now 21 hectares of vines. In the meantime, his two children Ida and Johann also support their parents in the family business, with the aim of possibly taking it over themselves one day.

The work on the vines is almost exclusively done by hand in order to gain a feel for the soil and the vines. Of course, the harvest is also done manually. Parts of the grapes are even double selected to ensure a maximum of flawless grapes and thus the highest quality. The process continues with the selection of the barrels. For many years, the Ziereisen winery has exclusively used new barrels from the Büttnerei of Andreas Assmann, one of the few barrel makers in Germany still working by hand.