Wasenhaus - Gutedel 2018
We drink Gutedel from 2018 from the Wasenhaus winery. Partly macerated on the skins, with a lot of tension and little alcohol an interesting summer wine.
While we Swabians have a special connection to Trollinger, in Baden they have this towards Gutedel. A grape variety that at first glance appears to have a dubious reputation and which is not really known far beyond the borders of the region, although being very popular within the region itself. Sometimes however one finds proof that the bad reputation in its generality may not be justified. The Wasenhaus winery, with its simple labels bearing Landwein, a very basic classification, in bold letters, is run by two winegrowers who both learned their trade in Burgundy. Tiny quantities, natural low-tech cultivation and cellarwork with a lot of manual labour and mainly Burgundy varieties along with Gutedel (In some places also called Chasselas). We have a Gutedel from the current 2018 vintage in our glass today.
The Gutedel is partially fermented on the mash and you can smell and taste that. The first nose after the pouring is clearly reminiscent of natural wine. You have some acidity in the nose, apple cider, a little tonic and in the background also a light fruity sweetness. There is hardly any fruit on the palate, the wine is full bodied, you can still feel a little carbonation, which is certainly due to the still very fresh 2018 vintage and will pass, but actually it fits quite well. The wine reminds us somewhat of lemonade without the sugar, in the nose there is plenty of apple skin and the apple is also very noticeable in the taste with a bit of ventilation.
The wine drinks effortlessly, and with less than 10 percent alcohol this is no problem. In the course of the evening, however, despite the low percentage, it still gets a slight alcohol note in the nose and mouth, which hopefully integrates itself better after some time in the cellar. In the end, this is a very interesting variation of summer wine, which is certainly not suitable for every day or for every wine drinker, but with mixed antipasti and a decent olive oil and rosemary on the terrace it’s pretty cool.