Kühling-Gillot
The Kühling-Gillot winery is one of the outstanding addresses in German viticulture and cultivates over 25 hectares of vineyards on the famous sites of the Roter Hang and along the Rhine Terrace in Rheinhessen. The iconic vineyards between Bodenheim and Oppenheim are home to predominantly Riesling and a smaller proportion of Pinot Noir, which thrive in the prestigious VDP.ERSTEN and VDP.GROSSEN LAGEN vineyards.
Since 2006, oenologist and mother of two Carolin Spanier-Gillot and her husband Hans Oliver Spanier have been running the winery with great passion and a clear vision for authentic and sustainable viticulture. Working on the historic steep slopes of the Roter Hang, such as the famous Hipping with a gradient of over 60% or Pettenthal, the steepest vineyard in Rheinhessen with a gradient of over 70%, requires the utmost precision. Each vine is cultivated with a great deal of manual labour, patience and care - a real feat of strength, but one that is rewarded with wines of exceptional quality.
White wines from Kühling-Gillot
from Kühling-Gillot
For some time now, the vineyards have been consistently organic (certified) and now also biodynamic. The introduction of straw into the vineyards is just one of many measures to promote the vitality of the soil and the water supply to the vines. The soils of red slate and limestone marl, combined with the unique microclimate, form the basis for wines that express their origin and provenance in an unadulterated way.
The exclusively dry wines mature in a careful balance of large and small wooden barrels as well as in steel tanks. The ageing cellar, built deep into the mountain, offers ideal conditions for their slow and gentle development. Maturation is like a purification process: the fruit flavours of the grape recede, while the unmistakable nuances of the site, soil and stone become ever more apparent. This is how ‘the spirit of the place’ finally unfolds - the essence of the Rhine terrace and the slate soil on the Roter Hang. Every sip of a Kühling-Gillot wine is a tribute to the craftsmanship, closeness to nature and passion that go into these exceptional wines.
Producer
Luc Massy
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Dominio de Pingus
The first Pingus was bottled in 1995. This limited production wine from Ribera del Duero made history with a legendary rating from Robert Parker Junior (1998): "One of the greatest young red wines I have ever tasted." The vintage is also at the centre of a somewhat mythical-sounding story – the freighter carrying a quarter of the limited production sank off the Azores, with the wine ending up in Davy Jones's locker at the bottom of the sea.
