Sekthaus Griesel – Grande Cuvée Exquisit – Zero Dosage – 2019

The Griesel Sekt Grande Cuvée Exquisit Zero Dosage 2019 is the flagship sparkling wine of Sekthaus Griesel. Only 2,870 bottles of this highly limited vintage sparkling wine were filled. It comes from the 3rd vintage of Sekthaus Griesel & Compagnie. The Griesel Grande Cuvée is actually a classic cuvée of 40% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Blanc, 20% Chardonnay, and 15% Pinot Meunier. It smells of green apple and ripe quince, with candied kumquats and fragrant jasmine, rounded off by notes of fine brioche. On the palate, the impressively fine perlage is immediately present, creating a pleasantly soft mouthfeel. It lingers, carrying the acidity and the slightly tart, spicy notes of oak, until the invigorating freshness remains at the end.

Sekthaus Griesel – how the Grande Cuvée is created

The grapes for the Grande Cuvée grow on soils of the Hessische Bergstraße, characterized by a high granite content, forcing the vines to dig deep into the earth. This and the cool winds from the nearby Odenwald ensure a good acid structure and minerality in the base wines.

The grapes were hand-picked in September 2019 and then pressed very gently. As in Champagne, Niko Brandner knows the importance of gentle pressing, because the less tannins and wax from the grape skins get into the must, the finer and longer-lasting the perlage in the sparkling wine can be later. Only about 50% of the juice present in the berries is pressed off.

In the cellar, Niko Brandner gives things time, allowing the grapes to ferment spontaneously and undergo malolactic fermentation, in which the malic acid in the wine is converted into the milder lactic acid, which gives the wine a special mouthfeel and creaminess. Cellar master Brandner combines large and small stainless steel (70%) and wood (30% tonneau) barrels for aging, which gives the sparkling wine more complexity.

One year later, on 19.07.2020, the sparkling wine is bottled without filtration and fining and prepared for tirage to initiate the second fermentation in the bottle. Now it is allowed to rest and mature for another 46 months on the fine lees in the cellar built in 1904. It is regularly riddles, and the bottles are increasingly inverted until the yeast plug is removed from the bottle at the good end during disgorgement (06/2024), and the Griesel Grande Cuvée 2019 goes on sale without the addition of dosage and without the addition of sulfur. Acidity 7.5g/l

Time and unique enjoyment

A Sekthaus Griesel Sekt classified as Reserve is produced using traditional bottle fermentation. After bottling the base wine, it matures for at least 36 months on the lees and undergoes the second fermentation, the conversion of wine to sparkling wine. The long yeast contact of a total of 46 months ensures a fine perlage and notes of brioche, of fine yeast dough, in the Sekthaus Griesel Grande Cuvée 2019.