Home > Producer Profiles > German Profiles > Gunderloch

Gunderloch

The Gunderloch story begins with Carl Gunderloch in the latter years of the 19th Century. A wealthy banker from Mainz, Carl established the estate in 1890, acquiring property in the town of Nackenheim, and also some vineyards, including a sizeable chunk of the Rothenberg, the wall of red slate that rises up behind the town. Today, Gunderloch's name lives on not only in the estate, but also in the name of the square where the Gunderloch offices are situated. And the Nackenheim Rothenberg vineyard remains the one perhaps most readily associated with the estate today.

The property and vineyards have remained in family ownership since the days of Carl Gunderloch who died in 1935, the estate passing first to Gunderloch's granddaughter Elizabeth Usinger and her husband. They remained at the helm until 1965, when their son Carl Otto took on the management of the estate. Today it is his eldest daughter, Agnes Hasselbach-Usinger and her husband, Fritz Hasselbach (right) that are in charge, and they command a team of estate workers. Although it is Fritz that has been responsible for making the wine in previous years, this responsibility now falls at the feet of Friedrich Hasselbach, and no doubt mucking in from time to time are the other Hasselbachs - Kathrin, Johannes and Stefanie. With all this help at hand, I am sure Fritz has more time today to not only travel and publicise their wines, but also to enjoy his Harley Davidson - his main mode of transport - a little more often

The estate portfolio of vineyards totals about 12.5 hectares, and includes vines in several top sites, starting with the aforementioned Rothenberg near Nackenheim. The Rothenberg is dominated by the characteristic red slate that gave the vineyard its name (which translates to red mountain), and the Gunderlochs own 9 hectares, which accounts for 80% of the vineyard. The other main sites are Nackenheim Engelsberg, and the Pettenthal, Hipping and Ölberg vineyards in the parish of Nierstein. As with many other Rheinhessen vineyards the soil types in these sites are more variable, certainly more so than in Rothenberg, and there is a mix of slate and clay to be found underfoot. After Rothenberg it is perhaps Pettenthal, a steep slope directly upstream of the Rothenberg vineyard almost equidistant between the town of Nierstein upstream and Nackenheim downstream, that is the most significant. Overall the vines on the estate have an average age of 25 years, and Riesling predominates as all but 20% of Gunderloch's vines are of this variety, the remainder being Pinot Blanc (5%), Pinot Gris (5%) with smaller quantities of Traminer, Dornfelder, Pinot Noir and Silvaner. Vineyard practices include hand cultivation, hand harvesting and low yields with an average of 50 hl/ha for the estate as a whole.

Once the fruit reaches the winery it is crushed gently without destemming, and then fed by gravity to the vats where it sees a slow, temperature-controlled fermentation to preserve the fruit character of the wines. Bottling reveals a strong preference for screwcaps over corks, although in many recent vintages the two have been offered side-by-side as a choice for the consumer. The Hasselbach's report, however, much swifter sails of the screwcapped wines. When all this is done, Fritz and the team see 85000 cases ready for dispatch, with a range that kicks off with a trio of estate wines, including a straight Riesling QbA and an Auslese, as well as the Kabinett Jean Baptiste, named for a character in Carl Zuckmayer's Der fröhliche Weinberg (The Merry Vineyard). Zuckmayer, who went on to develop a successful career as a scriptwriter, playwright, poet and teacher, had been born in Nackenheim and had known Carl Gunderloch as a boy; his character Jen Baptiste was based on his childhood friend. All levels of the Prädikat are represented by the Nackenheim Rothenberg vineyard, as well as small bottlings of Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder and even a Scwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier) rosé. In my limited experience these wines have been superb, the 2001 Nackenheim Rothenberg Spätlese and Auslese are both stunning, and I look forward to drinking what I hold in my cellar over the coming decades. (27/5/02, updated 20/6/08)

Contact details:
Address: Carl-Gunderloch-Platz 1, 55299 Nackenheim
Telephone: +49 (0) 6135 2341
Fax: +49 (0) 6135 2431
Internet: www.gunderloch.de

Gunderloch - Tasting Notes

Click to locate stockists.

Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Spätlese 2001: A vibrant but pale gold in the glass, still with a little carbon dioxide judging by the blanket of tiny bubbles that appear on the inside of the glass, and by the lively palate. This latter finding is preceded by a very vivacious, sherbet-tinged nose, which is very mineral and rocky in character. A lovely cool character kicks off the palate, which is vibrant and fresh with tingling acidity cutting through the plump and fleshy sugar-imbued texture. Although predominantly minerally on the nose, here I find a wealth of fresh tropical fruit sitting at the end of the palate which provides plenty of pleasure. Brilliantly defined, with lovely purity, this is excellent wine. This should go for a very long time in the cellar. 18.5+/20 (June 2008) AP number: 4 379 904 306 02

Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Auslese 2001: A clean golden hue. On the nose a great intensity of citrus fruits, oils of limes and oranges. Alongside there are layers of minerals and stones, and gentle notes of flowers. Full and glossy, very bright, rich and very layered. There is substance and some stuffing to this wine, and there is considerable potential for the cellar. It is bright and structured, but quite tightly coiled and I think this is one that needs some considerable time in the cellar before it will be ready; another five years, if not another ten. 18+/20 (June 2008) AP number: 4 379 904 307 02

Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Auslese 1998: Good, lemon-golden colour, with a few bubbles of residual carbon dioxide. The nose has honeyed tropical fruits and candied peel, and although very pleasing, gives only a suggestion of the pleasures to come. On entry the palate immediately impresses with its carbon dioxide spritz and fine acidity. Then the texture and flavour march in, and very impressive they are too. Candied peel, honey and tropical fruits dominate the flavour profile, and the texture is glorious. Rich, creamy, hedonistic, almost oily on the finish, but never for one second unbalanced. Firm, upright and structured are more apt descriptors. There is plenty of length, which is filled with recurring waves of flavour. A superb effort from this under-rated domaine. 19/20 (May 2002) AP number: 4 379 043 06 99 Label