Ziereisen, Gutedel Alte Rebe Jaspis 10 Hoch 4 - 2017

From 45-year-old vines, grapes hand-picked, spontaneous fermentation, aged for 22 months on its lees, unfiltered. RS 0.6 g/l. The 10 to the power of 4 is often called the world’s best Chasselas! 

Hanspeter Ziereisen is quick-thinking and full of energy, and his wines get better every year. After a love affair with new oak early this century, he has tempered its use so that it subtly supports, rather than dominates the wines. Based close to the Swiss and French borders just north of Basel, he makes a selection of Pinot Noirs (and a host of other varietals) that offer both purity and value. His vineyards are on a south-facing slope overlooking Basel, the vines grow at an altitude between 250 and 400 metres, and there is a constant breeze, allowing slower ripening. He does not chaptalise, and uses 10 – 20% new wood across the range. The musts are handled very gently, with no punching down and little extraction, and the wines are breathtakingly pure and long-lived.