2021 Riesling Bacharacher Wolfshöhle Grosses Gewächs

Ratzenberger is a Mittelrhein stalwart, tucked away in the narrow Steeger valley that opens towards Bacharach and the Rhine and grew by ten hectares in 2017 to reach a total size of 20.5 hectares. “It was a huge step. We restructured, keeping the best sites and letting go of lesser ones,” says Jochen Ratzenberger. “At this size, we are fine.” He farms 73% Riesling, 6-7% Pinot Gris, 5-6% Pinot Noir with the rest taken up by Pinot Blanc. His top sites are the Steeger St. Jost and the Bacharacher Wolfshöhle and, two lateral valleys further south, the Oberdiebacher Schloss Fürstenberg, classified as Erste Lage and now a monopole for the estate. In a more recent development, the Ratzenbergers also bought a neighboring house across the street that is currently being fitted out as a tasting room, cellar door and event space. Ratzenberger had joined his home estate back in 1994 after training at Schloss Vollrads in the Rheingau – then still under Graf Matuschka von Greiffenclau – and a stint working at Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt and the Chamber of Agriculture. Ratzenberger’s daughters Anna-Maria and Paula are still in education – but increasing the hectarage and investing in a swish tasting room indicates an optimistic outlook for the future. The Ratzenberger Rieslings are made in stainless steel. Only Pinot Noir sees wood. Ratzenberger says “2022 was a brutally dry” year. He notes that the vines of 35 years of age or more took drought in their stride, and the younger ones suffered. Two of his plots are fitted with drip irrigation, and he notes that the difference “in vitality and must weight was striking.” The 2022 harvest started on 15 September, as early as never before, and concluded on 12 October, interspersed with rain that spelled botrytis pressure, so much sorting was necessary. He notes that while ferments were slow, it was possible to ferment everything with native yeasts. He decided to leave the wines on their gross lees until June 2023: “They needed this to gain more substance,” he says. The 2021 harvest started on 25 September and finished on 22 October. During my visit, I tasted Rieslings from 2021 and 2022 as well as a Spätburgunder from 2017, the current release.