Ever since Jancis Robinson described a white from Klaus-Peter Keller as the “Montrachet” of Germany, we have been trained to think of the Rheinhessen as a bit like Burgundy. In the Mosel the wines are... Read More
Ever since Jancis Robinson described a white from Klaus-Peter Keller as the “Montrachet” of Germany, we have been trained to think of the Rheinhessen as a bit like Burgundy. In the Mosel the wines are usually sweet and the soils are slate. In the Rheinhessen the wines are mostly dry and the soils are limestone. Anybody who loves magnificent dry white wines that delineate different vineyard sites and age brilliantly in the cellar will be drawn to the Rheinhessen.
Jochen Dreissigacker was among those drawn to the wines of the Rheinhessen. He gave up a career in accounting to go learn wine with, among others, the great Keller himself. Then he took over his family winery in Bechteim, the historic center of wine production in the area. It's just one village over from the better-known Westhofen, where you find many of the region’s top Grand Crus and Keller’s own winery. Though Jochen has holdings in Westhofen too, he is a big believer in Bechteim's own great terroir.
Jochen’s wines have this in common with Burgundy: there is a clear hierarchy from the more general expressions of his terroir (like a regional or village Burgundy), up to magnificent Grand Crus.
