The Story
The odd one out in Gunderloch's grand-cru lineup, and all the more interesting for it. Engelsberg sits high on the hill in Nackenheim, directly above the famous Rothenberg, but its soils are limestone rather than the iron-red slate that defines the Roter Hang below. That single geological swap changes everything: where the red-slate wines run savory and dark, this premier cru comes across firm, herbaceous, and almost umami-savory, dry to the bone and built for the table. Johannes Hasselbach farms it organically and ferments to total dryness, and the result is a serious, chalk-framed Riesling that plays a different game than its slate-grown siblings.
Description
The odd one out in Gunderloch's grand-cru lineup, and all the more interesting for it. Engelsberg sits high on the hill in Nackenheim, directly above the famous Rothenberg, but its soils are limestone rather than the iron-red slate that defines the Roter Hang below. That single geological swap changes everything: where the red-slate wines run savory and dark, this premier cru comes across firm, herbaceous, and almost umami-savory, dry to the bone and built for the table. Johannes Hasselbach farms it organically and ferments to total dryness, and the result is a serious, chalk-framed Riesling that plays a different game than its slate-grown siblings.
