Winery A.Gillot & Söhne - Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese 1956

A. Gillot & Sons Winery – Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese 1956: A testament to the winemaking tradition of Rheinhessen

Introduction

The 1956 vintage in Rheinhessen is one of those vintages that rarely takes centre stage in wine literature, and yet some wines from this year have undergone a remarkable evolution over the decades. The 1956 Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese from the A. Gillot & Söhne Winery is one such example: a wine that bears the hallmark of a long-established Oppenheim winegrowing family and, at the same time, serves as a record of a winegrowing era characterised by profound changes. Anyone who opens a well-aged bottle of this wine today looks back on almost seven decades of maturation and experiences a style that is hardly ever produced in this form anymore.

The A. Gillot & Söhne Winery

The A. Gillot & Söhne Winery is based in Oppenheim, a historic wine-growing town on the Rhine in southern Rheinhessen. The estate’s address – Wormser Straße 84, 55276 Oppenheim – is documented in numerous auction catalogues and wine databases featuring wines from the decades following the Second World War. The Gillot family looks back on a long tradition of winegrowing; for decades, the labels of their wines bore the proud inscription ‘Weinbau seit 1781’ (Winegrowing since 1781), referring to the winery’s foundation in the 18th century. The estate was run by the family for generations and developed into one of Oppenheim’s most renowned wineries.

The A. Gillot & Söhne winery was active for many decades, producing wines from the renowned vineyards of Oppenheim and the surrounding communities. The vineyards stretched across well-known sites such as the Oppenheimer Goldberg, the Oppenheimer Sackträger, the Oppenheimer Daubhaus and the Dienheimer Falkenberg. In addition to Riesling, the range also included Silvaner and Gewürztraminer, with a particular focus on the noble sweet Prädikat wines – Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. These wines continue to enjoy an excellent reputation amongst collectors to this day: an Oppenheimer Beerenauslese from 1943 scored 94 points in the Tastingbook database, making it one of the estate’s highest-rated wines.

The Gillot family remains active in the Rheinhessen wine-growing region to this day. The legacy of the A. Gillot & Söhne winery gave rise to today’s Kühling-Gillot winery in Bodenheim, which is run by Carolin Spanier-Gillot and her husband Hans Oliver Spanier and ranks among Rheinhessen’s leading estates. The family tradition stretches back well over two centuries: more than 200 years ago, Carolin Spanier-Gillot’s family settled on the Roter Hang and began making wine. The 1956 Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese is therefore a testament to the heyday of the original family winery, long before the current generation took over the running of the business.

The Oppenheimer Goldberg vineyard

The Oppenheimer Goldberg is one of Oppenheim’s historic vineyard sites and looks back on a centuries-long tradition of viticulture. The vineyard is situated on the steep escarpment of the Rhine Graben above Oppenheim – a terroir characterised by its exposed hillside location and unique geological conditions. The soils of the Goldberg are characterised by limestone and Cyrenen marl, as historical sources attest: ‘Limestone and Cyrenen marl thus form the soils on which the exquisite Oppenheim wines thrive, which we count amongst the very best of the Rhine’. This soil composition – a mixture of calcareous deposits and marl – lends the wines a pronounced minerality and a firm structure, making them ideally suited to long ageing.

The Oppenheimer Goldberg vineyard was one of Rheinhessen’s most famous wine-growing sites for decades and was cultivated by numerous renowned wineries – including the Oppenheim State Vineyard, the Georgshof Winery and the A. Gillot & Söhne Winery. The Goldberg produced wines of remarkable longevity: an Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Auslese from 1929 was auctioned at Christie’s, and a Trockenbeerenauslese from the Goldberg dating from 1953 is still regarded today as a rare gem. The Oppenheim Goldberg was also the home vineyard for noble sweet specialities across all Prädikat classifications – from Spätlese through to Auslese and right up to Trockenbeerenauslese.

The 1956 vintage in Rheinhessen

The 1956 vintage coincided with a period of economic recovery and the nascent wine boom in the young Federal Republic of Germany. At that time, Rheinhessen was Germany’s largest wine-growing region and was undergoing a phase of consolidation and expansion. In terms of weather, 1956 was a year of contrasting conditions: rainfall totals remained below average in many regions, with Rheinhessen among the driest areas. December of that year was unusually warm and overcast, and rather damp in Rheinhessen – the warmest December in many decades. These weather conditions affected the development of the vines and required a high degree of craftsmanship during the harvest and pressing.

The 1956 vintage produced wines in Rheinhessen characterised by fresh acidity and moderate alcohol content. The 1956 Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese has an alcohol content of 10.5% vol. – a figure typical for the time, which underlines the cool, elegant style of the vintage. These wines were often reserved and austere at first, but over the decades they developed into complex, nuanced wines with remarkable longevity.

Spätlese as a wine style

The term ‘Spätlese’ refers to one of the most traditional quality classifications in German viticulture. Spätlese wines are made from grapes harvested later than in a standard vintage, resulting in a higher degree of ripeness and sugar content. Depending on the vintage and the winemaker, the style of a Spätlese can range from dry to semi-sweet or sweet. In the case of the 1956 Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese, this is a wine with residual sweetness that has retained its sweetness over the decades.

In the 1950s, Spätlese was regarded as one of the most sought-after Prädikat classifications and was a key component of German wine exports. The combination of Riesling, a late harvest and the calcareous terroir of the Oppenheimer Goldberg laid the foundation for a wine that displayed fruit and freshness in its youth whilst also developing impressive complexity with age.

Winemaking and ageing

Winemaking at Weingut A. Gillot & Söhne followed traditional methods in the 1950s. The grapes were harvested by hand and pressed in the estate’s cellars in Oppenheim. Fermentation took place in wooden barrels, and ageing lasted several months. After fermentation, the Riesling was stored on the lees to gain body and structure.

An important aspect of winemaking at that time was the natural halt to fermentation: the sweet Spätlese style was not achieved through the addition of sugar, but through the natural end of fermentation, when the alcohol content reached a certain level and the yeast ceased its activity. This traditional approach preserved some of the grapes’ natural sweetness and contributed significantly to the wine’s longevity. Ageing in wooden barrels imparted additional structure and a subtle woody spice to the wine, which integrated into the overall aromatic profile over the decades.

Tasting notes and sensory development

A well-aged Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese 1956 now – nearly seven decades after the harvest – presents itself at a fascinating stage of development. The colour has evolved from an original pale yellow through golden hues to a deep amber, as is typical of mature Rieslings of this provenance.

On the nose, the classic tertiary aromas of mature German Rieslings are evident: dried apricots, candied citrus fruits, beeswax and acacia honey, accompanied by the minerality characteristic of the Oppenheimer Goldberg, reminiscent of wet limestone and damp earth. The fresh acidity typical of the 1956 vintage is still present even after decades and lends the wine a remarkable structure. This is complemented by notes of petrol – that unmistakable mature note that characterises great, mature Rieslings.

On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied to light, with a silky texture and lively acidity that ensures freshness and balance. The sweetness is subtle and well-integrated, whilst the tannins have long since softened. The finish is long, leaving notes of dried fruit, honey, nuts and a hint of salty minerality.

It is important to emphasise that bottle variation can be considerable in a wine of this age and vintage. A comparison with other matured Gillot wines illustrates the range of possible development trajectories: A 1983 Oppenheimer Riesling Kabinett from the same estate was described in 2019 as a wine that was ‘slightly sweet’ and ‘essentially just a very flat interplay of sweetness and acidity’ – an example of the fact that not every bottle ages equally well over the decades. The 1956 Spätlese from the Goldberg vineyard, on the other hand, with its higher sugar content and the denser structure typical of a Spätlese, had better prospects for long-term ageing from the outset.

The significance of the 1956 vintage for the winery

The 1956 vintage was part of a productive creative phase for the A. Gillot & Söhne winery. In the 1950s, the winery produced a remarkable variety of wines from the various Oppenheim and Dienheim vineyards. Auction catalogues and wine databases document Gillot wines from this era: a 1957 Dienheimer Falkenberg Riesling Cabinet, a 1956 Oppenheimer Daubhaus Riesling Auslese, a 1959 Dienheimer Guldenmorgen Riesling Auslese and a 1949 Oppenheimer Reisekahr Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese. This range demonstrates that the estate was capable of producing wines of high quality and longevity from different vineyards and vintages.

The 1956 Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese is a particularly interesting example in that it embodies the combination of three elements typical of Rheinhessen: the limestone-rich terroir of the Goldberg, the Riesling grape and the Spätlese style. Wines from the Oppenheimer Goldberg have enjoyed an outstanding reputation for decades; a 1921 Goldberg Spätlese was described by the Tastingbook database as ‘rare and exceptional’. The 1956 vintage continues this tradition and stands as a living testament to the art of winemaking during an era in which Rheinhessen laid the foundations for its current reputation as a quality wine region.

Historical context

The 1956 vintage coincided with a period of profound political and social change. In Rheinhessen, a referendum on rejoining Hesse was held in 1956 – an event that reflected the debate at the time regarding the reorganisation of the federal states. Whilst these political debates had no direct influence on winemaking, they did shape the environment in which winegrowers such as the Gillot family produced their wines.

The 1950s were a period of reconstruction and reorientation for German viticulture. Following the devastation of the Second World War and the hardships of the post-war years, the wine industry began to consolidate. Rheinhessen benefited from the growing demand for German wines both at home and abroad. Wineries such as A. Gillot & Söhne, which owned well-stocked vineyards in renowned sites, were able to capitalise on this upswing. The 1956 Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese is a product of this era – a wine that was created during a time of new beginnings and captures the spirit of optimism of that era in a bottle.

Conclusion

The A. Gillot & Söhne – Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese 1956 is far more than a historical rarity. It is a living testament to the Rheinhessen winemaking tradition, a record of Oppenheim’s wine history and an extraordinary sensory experience. Its amber colour, the intense aromas of dried fruit, honey and petrol, the balanced sweetness-acidity profile and the long finish make it a wine that has stood the test of time.

Anyone lucky enough to own or taste a well-aged bottle of this wine should be aware that they are not merely enjoying a wine, but a piece of Rheinhessen’s cultural and wine-growing history. The combination of an exceptional terroir, traditional winemaking, decades of ageing and the historical context of its creation makes the 1956 Oppenheimer Goldberg Riesling Spätlese a fascinating testament to the art of German winemaking – almost seven decades in a glass.