Sekthaus Griesel – Grande Cuvée – Zero Dosage – 2018

The Griesel Grande Cuvée Exquisit 2018 is the flagship sparkling wine of Sekthaus Griesel. Only 1,484 bottles of this highly limited vintage sparkling wine were filled. It comes from the 5th vintage of Sekthaus Griesel & Compagnie. The Griesel Grande Cuvée Exquisit is actually a classic Champagne Cuvée made from 56% Pinot Noir, 22% Chardonnay, and 22% Pinot Meunier. It has aromas 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 wonderfully soft mouthfeel. It persists, carrying the pull of acidity and the slightly tart, spicy notes of wood aging, until only an invigorating freshness remains at the end.

Sekthaus Griesel – how the Grande Cuvée Exquisit is made

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

The grapes were 100% hand-picked in September 2018 and then very gently pressed. As in Champagne, Niko Brandner also understands the importance of gentle pressing, because the less tannins and wax from the berry skin enter the must, the finer and more long-lasting the perlage in the sparkling wine will be later. Only about 50% of the juice present in the berries is pressed.

In the cellar, Niko Brandner gives things time, so the grapes are allowed 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 barrels of stainless steel (70%) and wood (30% tonneau) for aging, which gives the sparkling wine more complexity.

One year later, on July 19, 2019, the sparkling wine is bottled without filtration or fining and tirage is added to trigger 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 turned upside down until, at the very end during disgorging (06/2023), the yeast plug is removed from the bottle, and the Griesel Grande Cuvée Exquisit 2018 goes on sale without the addition of dosage or sulfur. Acidity 7.5g/l

Time and enjoyment of a special kind

A Sekthaus Griesel sparkling wine of the Reserve classification 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 Exquisit 2018.