With prices for great white Burgundy showing no signs of coming back to earth, what's a lover of tense, limestone-infused, elegantly reductive white wines to do? The Jura was the next logical stop, but the secret’s out, and many of the best wines are now simply impossible to find. And so, the hunt for minerality, electricity, and transparency leads us to new frontiers: the north-facing limestone slopes of the northern Rheinhessen, and to one of Germany’s most exciting young growers, Carsten Saalwächter.

Carsten farms a small patchwork of vineyards in and around the village of Ingelheim, loaded with mature vines of Chardonnay, Silvaner, and Weissburgunder (aka Pinot Blanc) all rooted in ancient limestone. He farms organically, harvests by hand, presses gently with a lovingly restored vintage basket press, and ages the wines on their full lees in top-flight barrels from Stockinger and Hirsch. Nothing is rushed or forced. The result is wine of startling clarity, cut, and mineral intensity.

We’ve been following Saalwächter’s work for a few years now, and these freshly landed 2023s are without question his most confident and complete collection yet. The vintage offered the ideal balance of ripe fruit and racy acidity, and Carsten hit it out of the park. The wines are bright, finely chiseled, and vibrating with energy.
The Silvaner Alte Reben comes from 50-year-old vines rooted in pure limestone. It’s all citrus and smoke, with gentle yellow fruit and a firm phenolic grip. It’s the perfect introduction to the Saalwächter style and one of the finest Silvaners you’ll ever taste.

The Weissburgunder is beautifully fresh and crunchy, with crystalline white fruit and remarkable tension and length. If you’ve ever thought Pinot Blanc was too soft or one-dimensional, this wine will make you think again. High-toned, precise, and just impossible to resist.

And finally, the Chardonnay. We are clearly in a revolutionary moment for German Chardonnay. Between the magical wines of Keller, Moritz Kissinger, and Wasenhaus, these bottlings now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of the Côte d’Or, and Saalwächter deserves to be right at the center of that conversation. His 2023 Chardonnay is bright and racy, with cool white fruit, crushed herbs, and loads of mouthwatering, limestone-kissed minerality that hums with energy and persistence.

Saalwächter is one of the essential voices in Germany’s new wave, combining classical precision with a modern sense of nerve and vitality. These new releases are not to be missed. Don’t sleep on these — they’re the real deal.

Saalwächter, Silvaner Alte Reben, 2023 $39.99

Saalwächter, Weisserburgunder, 2023 $54.99

Saalwächter, Chardonnay, 2023 $79.99