At a tasting in our wine club yesterday, we explored a line-up of Grosses Gewächs Rieslings from the newly released 2023 vintage. Among the highlights was Katharina Wechsler’s Morstein.
The 2023 vintage in Germany, and particularly in Rheinhessen, offered conditions that many growers described as “classic.” Early impressions suggest, in short, that this is a year of finesse rather than power.
Morstein is one of Rheinhessen’s great limestone vineyards, perched above the village of Westhofen. First mentioned in the 13th century, it is now firmly established as a Grosses Gewächs (GG) site, producing Rieslings of impressive longevity and mineral tension. The combination of deep clay and active limestone gives the wines both weight and energy.
Since taking over her family estate in 2009, Katharina Wechsler has become a leading figure in the new wave of German winegrowers. Her style is defined by organic farming, spontaneous fermentation and long lees ageing in large neutral oak, resulting in wines that are textural, articulate, and deeply rooted in place.
The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested in several passes to capture optimal ripeness. After gentle foot-trodding of the grapes, the must was fermented with wild yeasts in large oak casks and matured on its fine lees for several months. The approach is low-intervention but carefully guided, allowing the site’s signature to shine through.
Morstein 2023 (K. Wechsler)
Pale colour. Aromatic with lime, white peach, green herbs and wet stone. Expressive on the palate, with a saline drive and laser-cut acidity. Fine texture from lees ageing, and a long, stony finish that speaks of its limestone origin. Still youthful, probably with an excellent ageing potential, but already compelling in its linear, elegant style.
Price: High