Balthasar-Ress- Hattenheimer Engelmansberg Spätlese Riesling 2005

Vintage: 2005
Varietal: Riesling
Appellation: Rheingau
Vineyard Designation: Engelmansberg
Sugar: Off-Dry
Acid: 6.8 g/L
Altitude: 90m (274 ft)
Residual Sugar: 19.7 g/L
Tannin: None
Alcohol %: 11.5

The grapes come from the Engelsmannsberg vineyard in Hattenheim. It is crisscrossed by several vineyard hedges. Although the vineyard is quite flat, one finds here - very rare for the middle Rheingau - isolated old natural stone walls to enclose the vineyards. To the west, there is a magnificent view over Hattenheim and the entire Rheingau as far as the Binger Loch. The soils are dominated by deep loess and loess loams as well as tertiary marl soils and clay lenses. Due to the deep structure, the soil can store a lot of water and ensure a high potential of water as well as mineral and nutrients in dry years. The vines can spread their roots well and get optimal nutrition.

Soil Type(s): Deep loess with marl and tertiary clay lenses.

The grapes are picked by passing through the vineyard several times between September and October, harvested by hand and carefully transported to the winery in small boxes. This is followed by a cold soak maceration period of up to 12 hours before the wine is fermented using spontaneous native yeast. Fermentation is stopped after a certain time to preserve the high residual sugar content for a late harvest style. The wine is aged mainly in used barriques and 600L barrels for a period of 18 months. The rest of the aging takes place in bottle in the cellars of the winery.

2005 is one of the best vintages since 1971! Maturity levels are similar to 2003 but with much more extract and much better acidity. The reason for this lies in the above-average sunny, albeit very changeable, weather conditions this year. In summer there was always rain when it was needed. In golden October, maturity and concentration increased extremely quickly. Engelmansberg translates to "angel man's mountain" in reference to the "noble servant Engilmann" from Hattenheim, who donated his wineries to the Eberbach monastery in 1321.

Fish Carpaccio, Spicy Crudo, Thai Curry, Panang Curry, Peanut Salad, Sichuan Chicken

• Seafood, Thai, Burmese, Sichuan Chinese