Thörle Hölle Riesling, Rheinhessen
The Thörle family has been making wine at Saulheim in Germany's Rheinhessen region since the 16th century,
This single vineyard wine comes from the Hölle (Hell) Vineyard at Saulheim in the north-eastern sector of Rheinhessen, the largest of Germany’s 13 major wine-producing regions. The vineyard lies in a small, protected valley at 150-230m, with mature, deep-rooted vines planted in the 1980s. The fertile overlay of loess has been completely washed away by erosion, exposing lime, clay, limestone marl with iron oxides, chalk gravel and sand from ancient sea-floors. The soil is barren, forcing the Riesling grapes to work hard, producing opulent Riesling with precise acidity and powerful limestone minerality.
Christoph Thörle and his brother Johannes have been running the estate since 2006. The vineyards are managed organically. These three flagships, single vineyard wines are naturally fermented, with some skin contact, 90% in stainless steel, 10% in barrel.
Still rather closed on the nose, however, what comes through on the palate more than makes up for that. Packed with citrusy fruit, herbal and mineral flavors this is a bold and dramatic wine that has a massive, but very clean finish.
95 points, JamesSuckling.com, September 2017
