Dominik Held – Riesling 2020

Riesling by is a classic wine made in Rheinhessen, which comes from a cool western slope, where a fresh westerly wind is constantly blowing. This leads to slow ripening of the grapes, which only build up a little sugar. The result is a lean, fresh Riesling that is still bursting with stone fruit aromas. The acidity is comparatively gentle for a Riesling, but still animating. Dominik actually wrote his thesis in Geisenheim about this Riesling. He researched which yeasts were at work when, and how the lees in the cask affected their populations. There were 23, as the bottle states. He often counted them!

Dominik Held is one of Germany’s rising stars in the natural wine scene. Based in Rheinhessen, Dominik grew up in a winemaking family and takes his wines in a different direction to his parents, using little to no sulphur (10mg at most, if any). He makes around 15,000 bottles annually from his 3.5 hectare plot.