Episcopal Seminary – Kaseler Kehrnagel Riesling, dry, 1985

Episcopal Seminary – Kaseler Kehrnagel Riesling dry 1985

The Kaseler Kehrnagel Dry Riesling 1985 comes from the Episcopal Seminary in Trier, the oldest of the three church-owned vineyards that were merged in 1966 to form the current administration of the Episcopal Vineyards of Trier. The Seminary was founded in 1773 and has a long tradition of viticulture on the Moselle, Saar and Ruwer.

The Kaseler Kehrnagel vineyard is situated in the Ruwer Valley, in a side valley to the east of the Ruwer. The vines grow here on Devonian weathered slate and deep soils. The high slate content lends the wines a distinctive minerality. In dry years, the grapes benefit particularly from the soil’s good water-retention capacity, resulting in juicy, full-bodied Rieslings.

The 1985 vintage is generally regarded as a good one in Germany: following a difficult summer, a sunny, dry autumn saved the quality. The best wines – particularly from prime sites – developed into elegant, long-lived Rieslings. Dry vinification was not yet the norm in the 1980s and lends the wine a clear, taut structure.

After more than four decades of bottle ageing, such bottles are among the most interesting historical rarities from the Bishop’s Estates’ collection. Well-preserved bottles often display the typical development of mature Ruwer Rieslings: smoky, mineral notes, delicate tertiary aromas and an acidity that remains present and lively.

The Episcopal Seminary and the subsequent Episcopal Vineyards of Trier stand for the preservation of traditional steep-slope viticulture. The 1985 Kaseler Kehrnagel Dry Riesling is a silent testament to this history – a wine that reflects its origin, its era and the unique character of the Ruwer Valley.