Schloss Reinhartshausen - Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Riesling Auslese 1971

Schloss Reinhartshausen - Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Riesling Auslese 1971

Summary

The 1971 Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Riesling Auslese from Schloss Reinhartshausen is a rare, mature German Prädikat wine from the Rheingau. After more than 50 years, the wine presents itself with a medium caramel colour, a restrained nose characterised by botrytis and a palate dominated by honey, fig and caramel notes, with only subtle residual sweetness. The 1971 vintage is considered excellent for the Rheingau.

1. The winery: Schloss Reinhartshausen

Schloss Reinhartshausen is one of the most renowned wine estates in Germany. Its history dates back to 1337, which means it can look back on over 680 years of winegrowing tradition. The estate is located in the heart of the Rheingau and has around 80 hectares of vineyards, making it the largest privately owned wine estate in the region. Today, the winery is run by the traditional Lergenmüller family, who have been involved in winegrowing since 1538.

The winery owns several of the best vineyards in the Rheingau, including the Marcobrunn and Schlossberg Grand Cru sites as well as the Nussbrunnen, Siegelsberg and Wisselbrunnen Erste Lage sites.

2. The site: Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen

Wisselbrunnen is a single vineyard in the municipality of Hattenheim. The name is presumably derived from the old terms "Wiesel" or "Wiese". The 18-hectare vineyard is located on a southwest-facing slope and is characterised by light, tertiary marl soils with calcareous loess loam. This soil composition gives the Riesling grapes cultivated here a particularly fine minerality. The vineyard has been cultivated by various owners over the course of its history, including Schloss Reinhartshausen, the Schloss Schönborn winery and the Spreitzer and Georg Müller Stiftung wineries.

3. The 1971 vintage in the Rheingau

The 1971 vintage is considered one of the most outstanding vintages of the 20th century for the Rheingau. It is considered excellent by many connoisseurs and produced wines of exceptional quality and great ageing potential. These climatic conditions enabled the production of high-quality Prädikat wines of all levels, from Kabinett to Trockenbeerenauslese. Wineries such as Schloss Reinhartshausen produced a large number of top wines from various sites in 1971.

4. The wine: Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Riesling Auslese 1971

4.1 General information and provenance

This wine is an AusleseRiesling , which means that only fully ripe and botrytised grapes were selected for its production. The wine was bottled by Weingut Schloss Reinhartshausen itself (original bottling). The bottles are sealed with a natural cork in keeping with their age.

Batches of this rare wine are sometimes still offered at auction, both as part of collections and as individual bottles. There are also known versions with a particularly long cellar ageing period that have been declared as 'ex Chateau 2018'.

4.2 Sensory description (tasting notes)

After more than five decades in the cellar, the 1971 has undergone a remarkable development. A tasting from 2021, conducted by renowned wine expert Benjamin Lewin, describes the wine as follows

• Colour: The wine shows a medium caramel to deep golden colour, which is typical of a mature sweet wine.

• Nose: The nose is restrained and characterised by botrytis influences, which is expressed in aromas of ripe fruit such as figs and notes of honey and caramel.

• Palate: The wine is honeyed on the palate, with fig and caramel flavours and a buttery texture. The original typical sweetness of an Auslese has diminished significantly over time, so that the wine is now only described as "off-dry " (i.e. with a very subtle, barely perceptible residual sweetness). Despite its age, the acidity is still present and lends the wine vibrancy. The overall impression on the palate has changed to an almost savoury profile with increasing age.

An older tasting note from 2007, which was awarded 92 out of 100 points, describes the wine at this time as still significantly sweeter and almost Beerenauslese-like. The wine was described at the time as a harmonious combination of sweetness and mineral, almost tart notes, with a long finish.

4.3 Maturity and ageing

The wine is now at the peak of its maturity and should be consumed in the near future. As Peter Winter from the Georg Müller Foundation remarked to Benjamin Lewin, the quality of aged bottles is subject to certain fluctuations; not every bottle is equally good. Storage over the decades was decisive for the state of preservation, whereby a certain level loss (shrinkage) is normal for such an old wine.

5. Market presence and price

The 1971 Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen Riesling Auslese from Schloss Reinhartshausen is an extremely rare collector's wine. Due to its age and origin, it is mainly traded at wine auctions. A bottle of the Beerenauslese (BA) from the same vintage, which comes directly from the castle's wine cellar ('ex Chateau 2018'), was traded at €692.86 per litre (or approx. €485 per 0.75-litre bottle). Prices for the regular Auslese are variable and depend heavily on the condition and provenance of the respective bottle.