Lime & Stone – 2021

Kalk & Stein 2021 by the Rings winery combines two Burgundy varieties

Kalk & Stein 2021 from Weingut Rings is a bone-dry white Burgundy blend from the Palatinate. Chardonnay from cool Kallstadt limestone and Pinot Blanc from warm Ungstein sandstone are grown separately, aged separately, and only brought together shortly before bottling.

Kalk & Stein 2021 is a dry Burgundy blend from the Rings winery in Freinsheim, bottled as 85 percent Chardonnay and 15 percent Pinot Blanc. The two varieties grow on two different soils, which is exactly where the wine gets its name from. With 12.5 percent alcohol, it remains light on its feet despite having spent sixteen months in wooden barrels.

Pear and melon meet flint

The bouquet begins bright and fruity with pear and ripe melon, followed by white blossoms and a nutty note provided by the Pinot Blanc.

On the palate, the wine then shifts direction, as the soft fruit turns into a cool salinity that only limestone soils can impart. This is accompanied by a toasted note and a smoky hint of flint, carried by that powerful richness derived from the long time spent on the lees. Because the wine was bottled unfiltered, it may appear slightly cloudy in the glass.

The two varieties share the work visibly. The Chardonnay from the cool Kallstadt limestone soils provides acidity, salt, and an upright stance, while the Pinot Blanc from the warmer Ungstein sandstone soils provides breadth and nutty roundness. Together, this results in a white wine that seems neither lean nor heavy.

With poulard, risotto, and smoked fish

This blend has enough body for dishes with cream or butter while still maintaining the freshness that a heavy sauce requires.

Obvious pairings include roasted poulard with a light sauce, mushroom risotto, or smoked trout with a dab of horseradish, as the wine's salty vein finds its counterpart there. A leek quiche and a platter of semi-hard sliced cheese also go well with it.

Served at ten to twelve degrees, it reveals both sides; if it is too cold, the richness remains closed, and a year or two in the cellar will not hurt it either. You can find the single-varietal successor in the 2023 vintage without Pinot Blanc.

Grown separately, blended only at the end

At Rings, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc are treated like two independent wines and are only blended shortly before bottling.

Each variety is harvested by hand at its own time, with part of it going into the press as whole clusters. After a short period of skin contact, the vineyard's own yeasts begin the fermentation, which starts here in the wooden barrel. Afterward, the wine rests on the full lees in large barrels for sixteen months.

Only then is the decision made regarding the ratio in which the two varieties will be combined, and in this vintage, the choice fell on a clear preponderance of Chardonnay. It is not filtered or fined, which is why aromatic compounds that would be removed by filtration remain in the wine.

The vineyards carry the EU organic label, and buckwheat, clover, and radish grow in the rows between the vines as green manure. Further bottles from Freinsheim can be found in the Rings winery assortment, and more dry white wines are available in the category next door.

Kalk & Stein 2021 – a white wine and its technical data

• Origin Germany
• Region Palatinate
• Winery Rings
• VDP.Gutswein
• Grape variety 85% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Blanc
• 12.5% vol alcohol
• 0.0 g/l residual sugar
• 6.9 g/l acidity

Organic control number – DE-ÖKO-022 German Agriculture