Three Bottles Wechsler
Thematically matching the recent Maxime Open, we are drinking three bottles from Wechsler Winery in Rheinhessen: a Fehlfarben Scheurebe 2023, a Sexy MF Pinot Rosé 2022, and a Silvaner Alte Reben from 2021.
Sometimes things just fall into place. I had absolutely no idea that Katharina Wechsler would be pouring at the Maxime Open. Technically speaking, she wasn’t there on Sunday either. I think it was two staff members from Australia who were at the booth, enthusiastically guiding us through the range they’d brought. If I remember correctly, though I didn’t take notes, since we’re about to drink these anyway, then the Rosé and Silvaner from Mommenheim were included, too. That’s ultimately why I’m writing things down, otherwise my brain is like a giant sieve, especially with the sheer number of wines over the weekend. But this way, armed with fragmented memories and bottles I had already planned to open, we’re now, quite by chance, arriving at our first recap on Rheinhessen. And that’s a lovely thing.
Katharina and Manuel Wechsler cultivate about 18 hectares around Westhofen in Rheinhessen. And they haven’t been at it that long. Katharina only started in 2012 to transition the family business from bulk wine sales to bottling and direct marketing. She took over completely in 2017, and Manuel joined in 2022. Also, since 2022, the operation is certified organic. We’re tasting three wines from the pair. The Cloudy By Nature line is their natural wine range. The Sexy MF is an unfiltered motherfucker, sorry, Mariafelder Pinot clone. Direct pressed, a bit of skin fermentation, a bit of carbonic maceration, aged in both tonneau and stainless steel. Fehlfarbe is a skin-fermented Scheurebe from the Kirchspiel site. I do get triggered by this mix of uppercase and lowercase, but I do spend too much time on Reddit. If that means nothing to you, just ignore it. The wine spends three weeks on the skins, then goes into stainless steel and finally into the bottle. And just so things don’t get too funky, we round out this trio with a 2021 Silvaner “Alte Reben” from Westhofen. One day on the skins, then stainless steel.
The Scheurebe starts with a monumental funk in the glass. There’s no sugarcoating it, and it’s celebrated across the table. I’m a bit more reserved in my assessment. It actually takes a while before I slowly recognize the Scheurebe behind it. The wildness gradually becomes more yeasty, and yet the wine is delicious right from the first sip. The acidity is present, but remains gentle, the tannin gives structure, and with the wine in your mouth the nose turns lemonade-like and increasingly fruity. That’s when the Scheurebe’s exotic character really starts to show. So nose and palate take turns and encourage each other in their development. It’s citrusy, has an acidity that actually reminds more of passionfruit than lemon, and is really fun, if you make it through the first five minutes.
Or just wait a day. Because on the second evening, the wine feels just like soda, iced tea, or Almdudler. Herbal lemonade and tannin, a bit of soap, rosemary, apple, and ginger. No more exotic fruit, no more funk. A truly exciting wine.
We stay the course with white and drink Silvaner. Unsurprisingly, it’s the clearest, least wild wine of the bunch. The aroma is reductive, cool, and actually just how I always imagine the 2021 vintage, restrained stone fruit and spice. That spiciness is even more pronounced on the palate than on the nose. Actually, not at first, but then it builds more and more at the back of the tongue and refuses to leave. And although the wine is much less wild, you still recognize a signature style: the same robust character, the same structure. Just very clear this time.
Day Two brings more fruit, which is more orange than yellow in hue. After plenty of swirling, the herbal spiciness comes back. Now it drinks really creamy, and again it needs air to tease out the structure. So we’re slurping, it’s not like anyone else is in the room. The acidity is fruity, the aromatics a little warmer and fuller. The more Silvaner I drink like this, the more I become a fan of Rheinhessen Silvaner.
The Rosé is still bubbly from fermentation. More in the bottle than the glass, but in the bottle it fizzes quietly away. And this Rosé also brings some funk, though it disappears much quicker than in the Scheurebe. What remains is a mix of reduction and red fruit that stubbornly refuses to be pinned down. For three minutes I find the wine incredibly challenging, and after half an hour I find it incredibly good. It’s smoky, spicy, tastes a bit like red gummy bears, is simultaneously soft and edgy, has tannin and acidity. Red Haribo cherries that have fallen into the dirt. Whatever, three-second rule, that’s what it reminds me of. I’m sorry, but I have to say it again: This isn’t a Rosé for classic Rosé drinkers. But then again, why not? You should never let your perspective become a boundary. And that wine was great at the stand in Mommenheim, and it’s even better now at the kitchen table at home. Even pairs well with pasta in red sauce. A surprise.
By now it smells like freshly mown grass, herbs, red berries, and fruit gummies. The acidity in the mouth is also getting fruitier, though the tannin, unfortunately, isn’t, it was better for me on the first night, though it doesn’t bother me. Still: For me, a wine to drink up on the first evening. And then, with a whole lot of fun.