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Riffel

Carolin (née Entzminger) and Erik Riffel have accomplished wonders over the past 24 years. They met in 1999 when Erik Riffel ran the two-hectare bulk wine estate of his parents he had taken over in 1991. They sketched out their dream on their honeymoon and today farm 18 hectares in Binger’s best sites: first and foremost, the Scharlachberg, a site of quartzite with a reddish iron-rich loam cover that lends the term, scharlach meaning scarlet in German. They also own sites in the Binger Kirchberg, also on quartzite but higher in elevation, windy and east-facing, as well as the Binger Osterberg, a site of pebbly deposits on top of quartzite, and Rosengarten, a conglomerate of river pebble, quartzite and clay-marl. They have farmed organically since 2009 and became certified in 2012 when they also started introducing biodynamic methods. More than 70% of their plantings are Riesling, which is clearly their forte. In 2011, the Riffels were lucky to buy an abandoned 1.2-hectare parcel within the Scharlachberg called Katharinenzins – an ancient name derived from the fact that the farmers had to pay their tithe to Kloster Eberbach across the Rhine for this vineyard on St. Catherine’s day. Despite having almost six hectares within the Scharlachberg, this is where they produce their site-designate dry Riesling from. Rieslings are hand-harvested, crushed very slightly and pressed directly but gently over four to five hours with minimal pressure. The juice is sedimented overnight and then goes straight to steel or wood to ferment spontaneously. The wines stay on gross lees until the following summer when they receive their very first sulfur dioxide. The wines have precision, intensity and brilliance and are on their way to Germany’s top. Exciting Pinot Noir is also on the way. The 2022 harvest started on 12 September, the Riesling harvest on 27 September and lasted into the first two weeks of October. Erik Riffel spoke of the rain as a “boon” and noted: “The great, great advantage was that the nights were cool – which helped to prevent rot – had it remained hot and wet, it would have been a time bomb. This was our good fortune – and that the rain could be absorbed by the very dry soil.” During my visit, I tasted Rieslings from 2021 and 2022 and one Pinot Noir from 2021. With such a direct comparison, it is clear that the precision and depth of 2021s have the edge over the slightly less resonant 2022s.

From 2022 Rheinhessen & Nahe: Rain in the Nick of Time (Sep 2023) by Anne Krebiehl MW

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2022 Riesling Gutswein

Color: White

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Riffel

2022 Riesling Gutswein

2021 Riesling Gutswein

2022 Riesling Binger Quarzit

2021 Riesling Binger Quarzit

2022 Riesling Binger Kirchberg

2021 Riesling Binger Kirchberg

2022 Riesling Binger Kirchberg Kabinett

2022 Riesling Binger Osterberg

2021 Riesling Binger Osterberg

2022 Riesling Binger Rosengarten

2021 Riesling Binger Rosengarten

2022 Riesling Binger Scharlachberg

2021 Riesling Binger Scharlachberg

2022 Riesling Binger Scharlachberg Kabinett

2022 Pinot Noir Binger Scharlachberg

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