2002 Balthasar Ress Rheingau Blanc de Blancs (Pinot Blanc) Sekt / Sparkling Wine brut exposé

The producer is the renowned VDP wine estate Balthasar Ress. Founded in 1870 by the Rheingau hotelier Balthasar Ress, the wine estate numbers among the large, family operated enterprises in the Rheingau today. Consistently high standards of performance and reliability have been hallmarks of the estate since its founding. Today the estate is run by Stefan and Christian Ress, who represent the fourth and fifth generations of the founding family.

After an early and quick blossoming, temperatures and precipitation in July and August remained very balanced in the Rheingau. Perfect weather in late summer, i.e. warm days and cool nights, enabled the grapes to ripen optimally. If there were only one wish that went unfulfilled in 2002, it was the weather in October. Basically, if we had had a "golden October" as in 2001, 2002 would have easily qualified as a vintage of the century.

The wine estate first produced sparkling wine in 1995. The Ress family’s sparkling wines are subject to the same high standards as its still wines. The base wines for each Balthasar Ress sparkling wine are made from one grape variety of one vintage to ensure that varietal and vintage character are shown to their best advantage.

The grapes for the base wines are selectively har-vested, exclusively by hand. The base wines for the 2002 Blanc de Blanc are from very healthy and ripe Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) grapes in the Hattenheimer Hassel vineyard.

Fermentation and aging of the base wines take place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with as little exposure to oxygen as possible, in order to preserve fruit aromas.

100% Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc)

White currants, light brioche tone, lively mousseux. Helge Hagen, (Sommelier, Kronenschlösschen/Hattenheim)

Oysters. Helge Hagen, (Sommelier, Kronenschlösschen/Hattenheim)

This sparkling wine should develop well until 2009-2010. Helge Hagen, (Sommelier, Kronenschlösschen/Hattenheim)