Weingut Balthasar Ress

Is a “normal” vintage a thing of the past? It almost seems that way, given the erratic weather of recent growing seasons. Vintage 2015 was no exception. 

Vintage 2015 by Balthasar Ress / Rheingau

It was warm – actually, hot – for weeks and months on end. In addition, it was extremely dry. Memories of the unusually hot and dry weather of 2003 automatically come to mind. While 2015 was similar, it was also quite different – or perhaps “normal” by today’s standards. Fortunately, the grapes withstood the heat and dryness quite well. Budding and flowering were perfect; spraying was more like taking a stroll through the vineyards. In fact, plant protection measures required very little effort this year – a situation that was quite pleasant and not bad at all. Even the spotted wing drosophila, the pest that caused us many a headache last year, was not a problem in 2015. It was simply too hot for them to thrive.

At the beginning of September the weather changed and it began to rain. However, by then it was too late to ensure that the grapes would have enough juice later, yet far too early to think about picking. Less than favorable circumstances...and cause for increasing worries. Yet, it turned cooler and cooler and the rain didn’t damage any grapes. Ultimately, the main harvest began even somewhat later than in 2014.

The quality of the grapes was exceptionally high. Even in sites that are often a problem there was hardly any rot, and if botrytis was present, it was of the “noble” sort. Those who were able to wait were able to harvest fully ripened and highly aromatic grapes with extremely good must weights. There was no need for chaptalization or deacidification this year. We were able to harvest all that we had hoped to and could even add a crowning touch with some grapes ripe enough to produce a few lusciously sweet wines. On the down side: the quantity of Riesling harvested was once again very small. Not surprising given the extremely dry year. Pinot Noir, though, was a completely different story. Our casks were finally full.

As always at this point in time, it’s difficult to say how the finished wine will turn out. The juice is fermenting. Sometimes faster. Sometimes a bit slower. But what we could taste thus far is promising. Time will tell... 

From vineyard to cellar /June 2015

Growth in the vineyards has slowed down a bit and returned to a normal pace. The reason for this was fairly cool weather in April that diminished the head start the grapes had enjoyed up until then. This also slowed down the onset of bud burst, which we originally expected to be early. The progress of vegetation is now in line with the 30-year average. That’s good. It was, however, too dry in April. We used considerable quantities of compost this spring, particularly in Hallgarten. Healthy soil and all that comes with it is a crucial prerequisite for the production of exceptional grapes.

We’ve loosened the earth in many of our vineyards and reseeded. We put our trust in a seed mixture that ensures biodiversity. This year we also began to change our green cover, mulching less, and rolling more often. These measures support the whole process.

Bottling of the 2014 wines is now in full gear. The basic, entry-level wines have had a chance to achieve balance and are now ripe, round, and juicy. The acidity is noticeably more harmonious at this stage in time than was the case a year ago with our 2013 wines. All things considered, the 2014 wines are developing into an exceptional vintage. This was not foreseeable from the start. It’s all the nicer to now “see and taste” the success of our enormous efforts. The labor-intensive process of selection, over and over again, paid off. Overall, quantities are smaller than desired, but qualities are excellent.

The great, premium wines are all still resting in cask as they continue to develop. It’s already clear that there won’t be a dry Riesling from the Wisselbrunnen site in 2014. Despite an absolutely painstaking selection, we’ve consciously decided to forgo this wine. It simply lacks the depth and substance we expect. Schlossberg musts are still fermenting and need more time. A portion of our Schlossberg wines will have some residual sweetness. They will be very exceptional wines that we’ll be showing in autumn. The wines from the Rottland and Nussbrunnen sites have completely fermented (i.e. are dry in style); they’re resting on the coarse lees, which are stirred periodically (battonage).

The Ress family is an old, established family in Hattenheim. For generations, they were butchers, and the butcher shop "Metzgerei Ress" exists to this day. In 1870, Balthasar Ress, who was a butcher himself, founded the inn "Gasthof Ress" on Hattenheim's main street, thereby laying the cornerstone of a long tradition in the hotel and restaurant business as well as the wine estate and wine business. In the 1880s, he purchased the property of a bankrupt estate on Rheinallee 1, the site of today's hotel and restaurant Kronenschlösschen and its predecessor, Hotel Ress, which Balthasar Ress opened in 1894. Under the management of the Ress family for nearly a century, it decisively helped shape the hospitality trade in the Rheingau. When Balthasar Ress began his career as a hotelier-restaurateur in 1870, the family also began to produce its own wines - literally, "Von Unserm" (our own) - a brand that is still used by Weingut Balthasar Ress to denote its most important house wines.

Hotel Ress

Kronenschlösschen

Karl Ress

By the 1920s, a thriving wine business had developed. In 1919, the cellar of the neighboring Wachendorff estate had been leased, and in 1923, one of Balthsar Ress' sons, Carl, purchased the Heimes estate situated between Hattenheim's main street and Rheinallee. Valentin Heimes (1741-1806) was the suffragan of Mainz, a staunch defender of the separation of church and state in Germany, and no great friend of the Curia Romana. He spent his final years at the Hattenheim estate. Ultimately, Carl Ress built the entire complex into an impressive winery and to this day, the site of the estate's manor.

Hotel Ress as well as the winery "Kellerei Carl Ress" had primarily always marketed the wines of well-known VDP estates. For many years, for example, Ress was exclusively responsible for bottling and marketing the entire crop of the Freiherr Langwerth von Simmern estate. Finally, in 1947, Carl Ress founded "Balthasar Ress KG - Wine Estate Proprietor, Winery, Hotel Ress." Because he had no children of his own, he made three of his nephews limited partners. At that time, Balthasar Ress' other sons - he had seven children - had long established businesses of their own. The restaurant at the monastery Kloster Eberbach, a bus line between Hattenheim and the monastery, and an agency of the Köln-Düsseldorf Rhine steamer line were all Ress family operations.

Paul Ress

In 1947, the wine estate owned nearly three hectares (ca. 7.5 acres) of vines, including holdings in the Oestricher Doosberg site that are still cultivated today. At the end of the 1940s, Balthasar Ress KG acquired more and more vineyards, among others, those owned by Baron von Frentz, which contained the so-called "Stellwerk," a parcel in the Hattenheimer Engelmannsberg site that is also still owned by the Ress estate. During these years, Paul Ress, one of Carl's nephews, increasingly assumed responsibility in the business. He married Gertrud Breuer and moved into the former Hotel Schwan in Lorch. Until World War I, it had been a highly esteemed hotel with a distinguished clientele, including the last German emperor, who was a regular guest.

In 1950, Balthasar Ress KG procured the Wilhelm Hess wine estate in Rüdesheim and with it, parcels in today's Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland, Bischofsberg, and Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg, which expanded the scope of the Ress portfolio. In addition, the purchase included the tavern "Weinhaus Engel" on Rüdesheim's world-renowned Drosselgasse. In 1957, the company was able to take over a leading export winery "Hasensprung - Joachim Bäumer," thereby laying the foundation for a strong international presence for Balthasar Ress KG.

Stefan Ress

In 1963, Paul's oldest son, Stefan Ress, joined the company as a limited partner. Although he was still quite young, his father gave him considerable free rein. For example, he succeeded in acquiring 1.2 ha (ca. 3 acres) in the famous Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen site at what was nearly a spectacular auction in 1968. The lease price for this vineyard was ca. 18 DM per "Ruge" (25 square meters) - an extremely high price in those days. Yet, it was from grapes grown in this site that the wine estate produced its very first Trockenbeerenauslese, in 1971.

In 1976, in the aftermath of Carl's death, the then Balthasar Ress KG was strategically reorganized in the course of estate distribution. The Stefan B. Ress KG Weinkellerei (winery) was founded to handle all export and winery business; Balthasar Ress KG was expanded in its role purely as a wine estate. Two years later, the bankruptcy of the Jakob Horz estate enabled Ress to procure parcels in the Geisenheimer Kläuserweg and the vineyards of Schloss Reichartshausen. This did not simply mean an additional seven ha (ca. 17 acres) of new vineyards for the estate, but also sole ownership in the appellation Schloss Reichartshausen.

After Paul Ress died in the early 1980s, the family's entire properties were once again redistributed. Stefan Ress' siblings received the properties in Rüdesheim; he remained the proprietor of the wine estate and winery. The wine estate continued to grow. In 1989, it became a member of the VDP. In 1993, Stefan Ress was elected president of the regional organization, VDP-Rheingau, and in 2010, the president of the Rheingau Wine-growers' Association.

Winery, Rheinallee 50, Hattenheim

Christian Ress

Since 1999, after several professional apprenticeships in Germany and abroad, Stefan's son, Christian Ress, entered the business as the fifth generation of the founding family. In 2004, he became a co-proprietor of the estate with his parents, and in 2010, assumed responsibility as director of business operations. Since then, he has continued to expand the wine estate, which today comprises 46 ha (ca. 114 acres). Christian Ress has achieved considerable attention in the wine trade for innovative projects, such as planting Germany's most northerly vineyard on the island of Sylt, near the border with Denmark, in 2009; opening thewineBANK in Hattenheim in 2009; "sinking" bottles of RESSpekt in 2010; and last but not least, through his tireless, quality-oriented efforts within the realm of sustainable viticulture.

Christian Ress has consistently pursued opportunities to steadily develop the brand Balthasar Ress in numerous, principal export markets by founding, in conjunction with strategically important partners, his own import and distribution company in Oslo, B&R Wine AS, and the sales agencies/brokers Veritable Wines & Estates KG and Veritable Vins & Domaines KG

”Native wine - origin is what counts”

Wine is emotional, vibrant, and captivating. Particularly, when it reflects its origin. Our wine is a "native wine." It stands for everything that defines our vineyards in the Rheingau. It stands for what we are - the fifth generation of Rheingau wine-growers.

Native wine cannot be contrived; it is conceived - by nature. As such, sustainable and ecologically sound vineyard management is absolutely essential. Our path is unfailing. Never dogmatic, but always steady. Our goal is to see that all of our operations are part of a harmonious cycle. We want to return to nature everything we reap from nature. We don't draw up plans; we have ideas. If an idea can't be realized, then we look for an alternative. We discuss things; we weigh the pros and cons; we discard the impracticable; and then, we get on with it.

Native wine is not just any product. A native wine is always a unique specimen, never the same, and influenced by different factors every year. Yet, it retains an underlying, identifiable profile, regardless of whether it is vinified in a dry or sweet style. Ultimately, though, Mother Nature has the upper hand - not man. Our task to preserve the quality of the grapes. As such, our intervention in the cellar is as minimal as possible. We seek to preserve, not alter. Fundamentally, we must work as gently as possible. The way we process our grapes definitely influences the finished wine...stress begets stress, from grape to wine.

Native wine is a "slow wine." It needs time to develop, to discover its personality.This is a process that begins on the vine, with a long time to ripen. As long as it takes for the grapes to reach the perfection of taste. Grape must (juice) needs time to ferment. Particularly, when it is fermented as naturally as possible. Sometimes, this takes one month; sometimes, two; sometimes, it can take up to a year until the must has completely fermented into a dry wine. Young wines also need time. Longer time on the lees enhances a wine's potential to mature, develop power, and age well. It all takes time...

Our goal is a simple one. We want to produce authentic Rheingau wines. Riesling is our grape variety with the ability to reflect its origin and thus, the authenticity of our wines.

Some 90% of the Balthasar Ress estate's vineyards are planted with Riesling, the grape variety that made the Rheingau popular and that has been an integral part of the region's viticultural history for many centuries. Nearly 80% - an area equivalent to 2,600 ha (5,900 acres) - of the Rheingau's total vineyard area is planted with Riesling. It is THE varietal most often associated with German wine culture. The first documented mention of Riesling dates from the 15th century, but there are several reasons to believe that it is related to wild vines: its growth, the size of its berries, its long ripening period and its frost resistance. Growers in the Rheingau and on the Mosel probably have the oldest Riesling tradition; in both regions Riesling is mentioned in historical documents from 1435 and 1465, respectively.

Although the precise origins of the name remain a mystery, it may have derived from "verrieseln" (coulure, or blossom drop) or "reissende Säure" (pronounced acidity) or "edles Reis" (noble vine or cutting) or "Rusling" (dark wood).

Riesling ripens slowly and has a distinctive, fruity acidity. As such, it is predestined for northerly growing regions, where is can fully ripen in the late autumn sun. It is a very picky grape in terms of site, but makes few demands on the soil. It brings forth wines of varying nuances, depending on location (type of soil and microclimate). Heat-retaining, stony soils on steep slopes along river valleys provide optimal conditions.

"Grapefruit, peach, pineapple, citrus, apricot, honey, caramel, bitter chocolate - when they get a whiff of the aromas in a glass of Riesling, connoisseurs are enraptured. The tremendous range of scents this traditional varietal evokes gives free rein to the imagination. On the palate one perceives juicy fruit that is often an extension of the aromas. The acidity can be racy, polished, sinewy, and sometimes even grassy and astringent, only mellowing with age. Often, a sip of Rheingau Riesling is like biting into a juicy apple. Its fruit lingers long on the palate. Regardless of quality level, if it's a well-made Riesling, it always offers a pleasurable experience." Rudolf Knoll, "Grosser Wein vom Rhein: 100 Jahre VDP Rheingau" (1997) Reprinted with kind permission of Fachverlag Fraund.

Young, light Riesling wines - depending on taste, ranging in style from dry to somewhat sweet, with a natural ripe fruitiness - are ideal summer wines. Mature Rieslings are often better partners with meals. When paired with food, even older Riesling Spätlese wines still show a touch of youth. Dry to off-dry Rieslings are especially well-suited to light dishes, steamed salt- and freshwater fish, cooked meat with light sauces, and small poultry. Off-dry to sweet Spätlese wines harmonize well with cream cheese. Spätlese with a naturally ripe, fruity sweetness or lusciously sweet Auslese are excellent with fruity desserts. Mature dessert wines (Auslese or Beerenauslese) are a perfect apéritif at the start of a festive menu.