2019 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling trocken, Saar

13%, GG = Großes Gewächs according to DER RING Mosel 1899, to which the estate belongs: very noble, riped and highly developed fragrance with honey and fine herbal notes; on the tongue rises an extremely large amount of minerality, the wine tells a story about its terroir, so to speak; a lot of elegance in the finish with notes reminiscent of lemon zest. A drop that I rated with 97 bonvinitas points (from 95 out of 100 points = excellent, top wine - more see below). The site Bockstein is one of the "Grand Cru Sites" of the Saar, which rises above the municipality Ockfen with a slope gradient of up to over 50

2018 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Alte Reben Saar

12.5%: As soon as you pour it, the spice of the bouquet flows towards you, which breathes a lot of citrus flovors and minerality when you sniff closely; on the tongue powerful elegance from which the minerality rises again, accompanied entertaining finely salty, which inconspicuously transforms into white pepper, of which a fine glaze rises at the end. Which I have rated with rare 98 points. . 

The monopoly site of Filzener Herrenberg and controlled idleness

The Filzener Herrenberg site, which is not far above the winery, is exclusive privately owned. The vines, most of which are 60 to 70 years old, grow on Devonian slate, which gives them the minerals. The total vineyard area is around 20 hectares, and no more than 5,000 litres are produced each without the use of herbicides and pesticides. Of course, the harvest is done by hand and well selected. A caterpillar serves as a vehicle to prevent higher soil compaction. "Controlled idleness," is what farm manager Andreas Pourat calls the work in the vineyard. Riesling is mainly grown, but Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc are also grown. Of course, all wines are fermented spontaneously.

In general, the estate bears the FAIR'N GREEN seal of the International Organization for Sustainable Agriculture, to which belong not very many but very committed and well-known wineries throughout Europe. "A one-time certification is by no means enough there. They are coming every year and check the entire operation, including the CO2 footprint, and also want to look in the books," explains Pourat.

Dry with power

this is how I would like to characterize the Crémant brut from Riesling 2010 and matured for four years in the bottle, which I also liked very much: Fine fragrance and highly individual on the palate, animated to the next sip, only to fall back into elegance, so to speak. "By the way, we produce extra wines for the sparkling wine," says Pourat.

View of the cellar

Here, too, Hans Maret has done a lot of renovation and purchased new tanks and barrels. The entire winery is a listed building and was honoured with a plaque for this very special preservation of historical monuments.

To the points

The bonvinitas rating system. It is used for the bonvinitas wine guide with blind evaluations by experts as well as by me, which then represents my personal opinion.

https://weingut-reverchon.de

Text: Dieter Simon, editor of www.bonvinitas.com. Bottle photos in the header: estate Reverchon, all others and header's design: bonvinitas