Weingut Tesch

Country: Germany

Weingut Tesch is one of Germany’s most exciting producers, creating delicious dry Riesling from five great sites in the Nahe. Their history stretches back to the beginning of the 18th Century, where the Tesch family have been winegrowers in the village of Langenlosheim for many generations.

Martin was handed the reigns from his father in 1997 and made fundamental changes such as cutting down significantly on the number of different varieties grown and focussing predominantly on the noble varieties Riesling and Pinot Noir. He also uprooted vines in less favourable sites, made great improvements in the cellar, and turning his back on tradition, shifted the style towards five dry, single-vineyard wines, expressing that he “wanted to leave no winemaking imprint on the wines, to have the wines express their origins, as they do in Burgundy”. And this, he does with perfection as each wine shows a distinct personality – a reflection of the soil and terroir in which it comes from. These are amazing mineral-driven Rieslings, full of richness, complexity and depth that holds great ageing potential.

Robert Parker listed Clos des Papes as one of the Top 155 Producers in the World.

Today, Tesch is a benchmark for dry Rieslings around the world, earning rave reviews from Jancis Robinson, James Suckling, Stephen Reindhart (Wine Advocate) and also Stuart Piggot, who awarded him the title “Winemaker of the Year 2012” in Frankfurter Allgemeine, one of Germany’s most influential news publications.

"It boasts a cool, fresh nose of strawberries, cola and tree bark, yet it's full-bodied and tannic on the palate."

WA96 by Joe Czerwinski

2017 Clos des Papes • Chateauneuf du Pape

He blends grapes from his different plots to co-ferment in large vats, after which he then re-blends in to large 20-55 hectoliter wooden foudres (casks) to mature for 15 months. New or small barrels are never used, “I like the oak to make an indirect impact – I only want tannins from the grape skins not even the pips and certainly not the stalks” says Avril. And though it may not be widely known, this domaine has been buying corks from the same producer in Portugal ever since 1926!

The wines are no doubt enticing, garnering great praise from many publications and critics such as Wine Spectator who awarded their 2005 vintage as “Wine of the Year”, stating that “in the Southern Rhône's recent trio of great vintages starting with 2003, no other Châteauneuf-du-Pape domaine has produced better wines than Clos des Papes”. But the accolades don’t stop there, as Robert Parker followed on to pronounce the 2007 vintage “the greatest Chateauneuf du Pape made since 1978 and 1990”.

We at Ginsberg+Chan are extremely proud to be the exclusive distributors of Clos des Papes, and with good volumes of both red and white back vintages too, we can ensure you a wide range of drinking windows for your cellar.