Lukas Hammelmann - ZIMKAES Riesling Trocken 2023 750ml (11.5% ABV)
tightly-woung, ageworthy dry Riesling from a young under-the-radar producer in the Pfalz. Let this get a bit of air and warm up a bit before enjoying. Aromas of crushed stone and lime peel, more smoky gun flint notes emerge on day 2, lean and light to medium bodied, bracing acidity, crisp and clean finish, shy and acid-driven at first, eventually a bit of stone fruit is revealed.
Lukas tends to press directly; the wines ferment in used barrels of all sorts of sizes and ages. The basic estate wines and village-level wines are bottled after one year unfiltered. As they can sometimes be delicately cloudy, Lukas bottles them as “Landwein” so he doesn’t have to have them approved by the local tasting board. The result of this, however, is that he cannot use the village names, thus his village of Zeiskam has to become “Zimkaes”
Lukas Hammelmann is one of the most exciting stories in German wine.
In many ways Hammelmann presents a forceful rebuke, a dramatic counter-narrative to the more famous, blue-chip regions of the Pfalz, as Hammelmann's importer outlines here.
From the forgotten, cold, wind-swept plains of the Rhein basin, Lukas Hammelmann is shaping Rieslings of staggering force and cut. They have such thrust, such energy that more than one person has blinded the wines as coming from the Mosel.
The Rieslings are absolutely screeching and blaze across the palate with raw citrus, green herbs and a bone-chilling acidity (more than one taster has confused Hammelmann’s wines with the Mosel or Rheinhessen, both in general much cooler regions than the Pfalz). These wines rip.
They are ruthless and in the first months as I tasted them they reminded me quite a bit of Schäfer-Fröhlich, though Hammelmann’s wines are perhaps punchier, more rustic and raw. While Hammelmann direct-presses, preserving the fierce acidities, most of the wines are aged in oak barrels, many of which are on the newer side. This is not an aesthetic choice – he’s not looking for oaked Rieslings – he simply wants very specific barrels and he wants to know the provenance. This one can only do with new barrels. Yet the combination of this ultra-high-toned fruit (raw citrus, lime zest, orange oils) and the subtle undercurrent of wood creates an effect that is minty and herbal. I find it incredibly appealing. Most of the Rieslings are bottled unfined and unfiltered so they can have a saline, leesy quality. I also find this incredibly appealing.
we only got one case!
region: Pfalz, Germany
varietal: Riesling
style: dry white
farming/cellar: extended time on the lees, raised in Mosel oak fuder, unfined, unfiltered, minimal so2
pairing: scallops, grilled kielbasa, fried lake perch