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Leitz

Josef Leitz’ first vintage at home was in 1985 when there were just 2.5 hectares of vineyard. “People like Dönnhoff and Breuer were my heroes, then,” he says. Today, with 80 hectares, his is the largest privately owned estate in the federal state of Hessen. Two-thirds of these are estate-owned, and one-third are farmed under long-term leases. Leitz also buys fruit from an additional 80 hectares of vineyards. Leitz is not a mass producer, he is a passionate and conscientious winemaker who eschews herbicides, even on steep slopes, keeps bees, and has painstakingly restored old vineyards at huge cost. The winery, built in 2016, is a large operation, as Leitz covers the entire market spectrum, from popular and widely distributed entry-level brands like Eis, Zwei Dry or Dragonstone, to top GGs. In his case this also includes de-alcoholized wines that are a hit in both the UK and Scandinavia and a growing segment. In the cellar, there are four presses, two for 15 tons of fruit, one for 10 tons and one 3,000-liter press. “This is quite deliberately more than we need, but flexibility and ability to process is very important,” he says. There is lots of stainless steel, of course, but Leitz has also invested in oak barrels, ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 liters, which are seasoned with Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay before Riesling is vinified in them. Estate wines are released the year following the harvest, GGs are released two years after the harvest. Grapes are harvested by hand and by machine. GGs are hand-harvested only. In cooler years, there is some skin contact, but grapes are not crushed; sometimes, the time in the press is the only skin contact they get. The pressed juice is cooled to 18°C and sedimented for 24 hours, then fermented from fairly clear juice with ambient or cultured yeast. The wines stay on gross lees until the following year, then crossflow filtered once and finally bottled. The GGs are made in old Stück in a separate cellar in Rüdesheim, and malolactic fermentation is avoided. Son Antonius Leitz joined the estate in 2017, after training in Württemberg and working a New Zealand harvest in 2023. Leitz’s five GG sites are all in Rüdesheim: Rosengarten, a monopole, Berg Rottland, Berg Roseneck, Berg Schlossberg and Kaistersteinfels. The simpler wines, Riesling and other varieties, are clean-cut and expressive. The GGs all come with superb creaminess and expression. During my visit, I tasted a selection of 2022 whites and the 2020 GGs.

From 2022 Rheingau, Pfalz and Mittelrhein: Before, During and After the Rain (Dec 2023) by Anne Krebiehl MW

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2022 Chardonnay

Color: White

2022 Chardonnay

2022 Riesling Eins Zwei Dry

2022 Riesling Eins Zwei Dry Organic

2022 Riesling Magic Mountain

2022 Riesling Rüdesheim

2020 Riesling Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Grosses Gewächs

2020 Riesling Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Grosses Gewächs

2020 Riesling Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg Grosses Gewächs

2020 Riesling Rüdesheimer Kaisersteinfels Grosses Gewächs

2020 Riesling Rüdesheimer Rosengarten Monopol Grosses Gewächs

2022 Sauvignon Blanc Eins Zwei Dry

2022 Weissburgunder

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