Saumagen Riesling GG – 2021

Saumagen Riesling GG from Weingut Rings grows in a warm valley basin

The 2021 Saumagen Riesling GG from Weingut Rings is a dry Grosses Gewächs from the VDP.Grosse Lage Kallstadter Saumagen, grown on tertiary limestone full of limestone rocks. Only 2,200 liters are produced per hectare, and the wine then aged on its lees for ten months.

2021 Saumagen Riesling GG is Weingut Rings' VDP.Grosses Gewächs from the Kallstadter Saumagen, a small valley basin west of the village that opens to the south and southeast. The site covers around 40 hectares, of which Rings cultivates about 2 hectares of Riesling. The Grosses Gewächs is the highest classification in the VDP hierarchy and must be dry and produced exclusively from a Grosse Lage. At 13.0 percent alcohol, this wine carries its power lightly and upright.

Chalky and cool on the nose, salty on the finish

The basin captures the sun all day long, but at night a breeze flows through it and the temperatures drop significantly.

It is precisely this contrast that is reflected in the glass. On the nose, the wine appears chalky and cool, with local stone fruit, meadow herbs, and a hint of ethereal mint. On the palate, it is fine, delicate, and elegant, while a mineral saltiness meets juicy pear and yellow fruit.

The finish is long-lasting, remaining salty rather than sweet. A Grosses Gewächs of this caliber has many years ahead of it, and it is better to spend the first few of them lying in a dark cellar than open in a glass.

With turbot, lobster, and celery with truffles

A wine of this length needs a partner that gives it time and does not overwhelm it with spice.

It is a classic pairing with pan-seared turbot in a light butter sauce, with lobster and a touch of lemon, or with braised celery and shaved truffles, whose earthy side picks up the herbal notes in the wine. The wine's salty vein and the sweet meat of the crustaceans complement each other particularly well.

The wine reveals most at 11 to 12 degrees Celsius and in a large glass. Time benefits it, as it unfolds slowly over the course of an entire evening. Those looking for the red counterpart from the same site will find it in the Saumagen Spätburgunder GG.

Barren soil, low yield, dense wine

The subsoil in the Saumagen consists of tertiary limestone, calcareous clay, and limestone marl, interspersed with countless limestone rocks; it is permeable and barren.

This soil hardly retains any water, which is why the vines must root deep down to reach any reserves at all. Rings harvests only 2,200 liters per hectare here, while the local wine yields 5,000 liters. Less juice per vine means denser berries, more extract, and a wine that still has reserves even after years in the cellar.

The grapes are harvested by hand and whole-cluster pressed, followed by spontaneous fermentation. The wine matures for ten months on the lees, partly in Halbstück barrels and partly in stainless steel; sulfur is added only late and sparingly, and no fining is performed. All of the estate's Grosses Gewächs wines can be found in the Weingut Rings hub.

2021 Saumagen Riesling GG – a white wine and its technical data

• Origin Germany
• Region Pfalz
• Winery Rings
• VDP.Grosses Gewächs
• Grape variety Riesling
• 13.0% vol alcohol
• 0.6 g/l residual sugar
• 7.8 g/l acidity

Organic control number – DE-ÖKO-022 German Agriculture