Jamie Goode and Treve Ring explore Sekt, Germany's sparkling wine
Part 7: Schloss Vaux

Founded in 1868, this Sekt house specializes in Traditionelle Flaschengärung sparkling wines. Vaux derives its name from a small village in France, where they started out. They moved to their current location in the Rheingau after the first world war. It’s a listed company but with just 69 shareholders, and annual production is 385 000 bottles. Since 2014 Vaux has had its own vineyard in Geisenheim; previously everything came from 10 growers in long-term contracts, whom they are still working with. They are currently working with numerous clones, including traditional Mosel Riesling ones, as well as various Chardonnay clones.

 

The focus here is on Brut style fizz, with just one of the wines with a dosage higher than 10 g/l, and most coming in under 8 g/l. They have more than a million bottles of sparkling lying underground, with average lees contact of 24 months.  ‘We’re trying to get more minerality in our sparkling wines,’ says Christoph Graf, chief operating officer. ‘When we have a long lees contact we are not moving into autolysis character (but we could do if we went down with the sulphur) after 36 months. Our definition for German sparkling is still something that is driven by fruit: showing the region, the terroir and the vintage.’ To that end, they are moving all of their wines to vintage-dated.

 

Goode Reviews

Schloss Vaux Cuvée Vaux Brut 2013 Germany
Fruity and rounded with attractive citrus fruits with some grapey richness. There’s a hint of melon here. Lovely rounded fruity style with good concentration and richness. There’s a little bit of pithiness. 88/100

Schloss Vaux Steinberg Riesling Brut 2013 Germany
Disgorged March 2016. Very lively and focused with lovely acidity and really nice citrus and pear fruit, with a hint of grapiness. Lovely generous fruit allied with lovely acidity. Has real personality and depth of flavour. Good complexity. 90/100

Schloss Vaux Rosé Réserve Brut 2013 Germany
100% Pinot Noir, zero sugar and no added sulphites. Dry, savoury and fruity with a subtle creamy edge to the sweet cherry and plum fruit. Subtle toast and herb notes. Nicely savoury here with some mineral undertones. Some red apples, too. 88/100

Schloss Vaux Berg Schlossberg Brut 2009 Rheingau, Germany
100% Riesling, 6 g/l residual sugar. Complex, taut, pithy, citrussy nose. Rich and waxy with a nice spiciness. Bold flavours here. This has real depth of fruit with pear, melon and some citrus pith. Intense and fruity with a hint of cherries. Really rich with a hint of sweetness. 89/100

Schloss Vaux Pinot Blanc 2013 Germany
27 month lees contact time. Very lively and fresh with some appley notes and keen citrus fruit. Lovely pear fruit too, with lovely dense fruit. Pithy, pure and direct. Lovely wine. 90/100

Schloss Vaux Grüner Veltliner Dr Sekt Brut 2014 Germany
The area under vine with GV is growing especially in the Pfalz, but this is the first GV sparkler in Germany. Disgorged last week. Lively, taut and fresh with herb and citrus characters. Lovely weight and focus. 1200 bottles. Crisp, bright and lean with keen lemony acidity and real precision. Really fresh and fine. 91/100

Schloss Vaux Riesling Dr Sekt Brut 2014 Germany
From a grower in Geisenheim. More entry level disgorged March 2016. Lovely fruitinesswith rounded citrus fruits. 6.5 g/l dosage but tastes sweeter – it’s the flavour of Riesling from the Sandstone soils. Fruity and lively with bright lemony fruit and a hint of sweetness. Very pure and fresh. 89/100

Schloss Vaux Rhiengauer Réserve Sekt b.A. Brut 2014 Germany
From 18 casks, one of which was spontaneous fermentation and 3 casks with simultaneous malolactic fermentation and alcoholic fermentation (creates more layers and complexity in the base wines). Complex and fresh with lovely lemony fruit. Complex with some appley notes and lovely lemony fruit. So expressive and pure, with lovely acidity. (Geisenheimer Rotenburg vineyard.) Very appealing and direct with some complexity. 92/100

Schloss Vaux Blanc de Noirs Dr Sekt Brut 2014 Germany
A touch of pink here with a hint of cabbage to the cherry fruit nose. Sappy and herby with nice precision and a juicy lemony edge. Fresh, pure and vivid with nice weight. So juicy with nice focus and some creaminess. 88/100

Schloss Vaux Rosé Réserve Sekt b.A. Brut 2014 Germany
Just a hint of sulphur, with no dosage. Very pale pink in colour. Lively, pithy and powerful with nice acidity and some direct fruit. Lovely precision here. Juicy and focused with lovely bright lemony fruit and some subtle cherry notes. 91/100

Schloss Vaux Assmannshäuser Pinot Noir Sekt b.A. brut 2013 Germany
Red! Quite rich and powerful, with some sweet fruit. Nice tannic structure and some savoury cherry and herb fruit. No oak. Lovely cherry and plum fruit with nice tannin and some zip. Very satisfying and balanced and a great food fizz. 90/100


Ring Reviews

Schloss Vaux Cuvée Vaux Brut 2013 Germany
 The “business card” of the estate. Very fruity, with white peach, pear sherbet and streaking acidity making riesling apparent here. Off dry and round to a citris bitter finish. 87/100

Schloss Vaux Rosé Réserve Brut 2013 Germany
 Pale peach hue, this Assmanhausen pinot noir is light peach toned, with apricot, stone and bitter thorn bush notes. Tightly framed, this zero dosage pinot noir brut has a bitter cut of acidity that shears on the finish. Severe style, no added sulphites. 88/100

Schloss Vaux Berg Schlossberg Brut 2009 Rheingau, Germany
 A light plastic note lingers on this prestige Riesling fizz. Sea shells, pear, yellow apple is cut with peach pit bitterness. A melon and gooseberry perfume sticks out on the finish. 6 g/l RS. 88/100

Schloss Vaux Pinot Blanc 2013 Germany
 From 2 organic growers and with 27 months of lees contact (in the future they will employ 30-36 month of lees contact to allow for lower sulfur, and RS). Crisp and brisk white flowers, mandarin, pear and a crash of peach fuzz / apricot kernel on the finish. 4.2 RS. 87/100

Schloss Vaux Grüner Veltliner Dr Sekt Brut 2014 Germany
The first, and reportedly only GV fizz in Germany, there are currently 2 places for GV in Rheingau. Disgorged last week. Crisp, herbal and brisk with tight crisp florals and pithy white grapefruit. Sharp through the snappy finish, with great structure and cut. 90/100

Schloss Vaux Riesling Dr Sekt Brut 2014 Germany
 Designed for the export market. This is from a single grower in Geisenheim, planted on yellow and red sandstone soils. The sandstone yields a fruity richness (yellow fruits), though the acidity holds all tight and nimble. DRD March 2016. 6.5 RS. 88/100

Schloss Vaux Rhiengauer Réserve Sekt b.A. Brut 2014 Germany
 A blend of 18 casks, larger format, one with spontaneous fermention. Tight lemon pith, anise, green apple, light mineral salts on a complexed and focused palate. A rasp of bitter citrus pith on the finish. 2 RS. 91/100

Schloss Vaux Blanc de Noirs Dr Sekt Brut 2014 Germany
 Light pear hue. Lovely darker cherry hints woven throughout, with a cushion of heft afforded by the red grapes. Slight grip on the finish, inviting numerous food pairing possibilities. 89

Schloss Vaux Rosé Réserve Sekt b.A. Brut 2014 Germany
 Zero dosage, very tiny amounts of sulfur. From their Geisingeim estate. Fragrant roses, youthful strawberry and light cherry. Quite focused and linear, driving through the finish, one cherry/bitter ringed. Bright acidity throughout. 90/100

Schloss Vaux Assmannshäuser Pinot Noir Sekt b.A. brut 2013 Germany
 Dark red hue. Plum, currants, cassis, kirsch and cocoa are swept with brisk tannins. This was open fermented, then straight to stainless for 30 months on the lees. Dark cocoa hints on the finish. Structured, bright, interesting, and able to take on bigger proteins. 89/100

EXPLORING SEKT

 

Wines tasted 09/16  
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

 

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