Jamie Goode and Treve
Ring explore Sekt, Germany's sparkling wine
Part 4: Raumland
Volker
Raumland (pictured above) is one of
the stars of high quality
traditionnelle flaschengärung
Sekt in Germany. He made his first sparkling wine back in 1981 when
he was studying in Gieshenheim. When he finished his studies, he
began to offer his services at Fersektung, the German term
for turning base wine into sparkling wine. Raumland’s lucrative Sekt
specialist business catered to wineries not able to invest in an
in-house sparkling program, and brought him more than 100 clients.
He later bought a small house with 6 hectares of vines, then got 6
hectares from parents and leased a further 10 hectares to create the
current Raumland vineyard sources. The Sekthouse Raumland began in
1990, and is based in the Rheinhessen region.
Raumland focuses solely on traditional method sparkling wine. It
seems that the best Sekt producers are the ones who just do fizz,
because it requires a particular way of thinking.
Raumland has moved to organics, and since 2002 has been certified,
but not labelled as such. Production is 100 000 bottles per year.
Whereas some Sekt producers are looking to make fruity sparkling
wines that express that side of Riesling, Raumland is looking to
make something more complex, and more akin to vintage Champagne. He
has planted mainly Pinot Noir, along with Chardonnay and Pinot
Meunier, though also works with Riesling and Pinot Blanc. ‘I hate
primary fruit in sparkling,’ says Raumland, ‘and I love the toast
and bread notes from long ageing on the lees.’
His wines have
a minimum 3 years on the lees for first tier. Prestige is minimum 6
years on the lees, while his vintage level is 10 years on the lees
or more. He adds,
‘We are a young company but we are still very traditional.’ Raumland
is critically considered to be one of the top quality Sekt producers
in Germany.
Goode
Notes
Raumland Cuvée Katharina Brut 2012
Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier with some oak in the base wine
fermentation. 3-4 g/l sugar, disgorged March 2016. Very pure, direct
nose. Lovely pear and apple fruit character here with a touch of
toastiness. Some warm herbal notes. Ripe and fruity with a bit of
toasty development. Nice fruit expression. 88/100
Raumland Riesling Prestige Brut 2008
The malolactic stopped half-way, so we have 10.2 g of acid and 6
g of residual sugar here. Single vineyard in Pfalz. Limestone soils.
Linear, pure and tight with astonishing acidity. Subtle waxy hints
indicate the age of the wine, with a hint of cheese and toast, but
the driving force is piercing lemony fruit. Tangy and bright with
some ripe apple notes, too. So distinctive. 91/100
Raumland
Riesling Prestige Brut 2012
Dosage 3 g/l. Lovely
matchstick/mineral nose. Citrussy and direct with a pithy, mineral,
lemony palate. Very fruity with a hint of melon. Nice richness to
the fruit. 90/100
Raumland Cuvée Marie-Louise Brut 2012
From Pinot Noir, dosage 3 g/l. Lively cherries, citrus and pear
with nice precision. Lovely pure fruit: direct with high acidity.
Linear and pithy with some bitterness. 88/100
Raumland Chardonnay Prestige Brut 2009
Very pure and direct with lovely pear and lemon fruit. Very
clean and focused with good acidity and a deliciously focused,
linear core of fruit. Great acidity here. Not overly complex but
nicely direct and fruity. 90/100
Raumland Triumvirat Grand Cuvée Brut 2009
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, first made in 2001.
Less than 3 g/l sugar and acidity around 7. 6 years on lees, 6
months on cork. Some of the wine is fermented in barrels, mostly
barriques, but also some 350 litre barrels. Lively, powerful, pithy
and a bit waxy with very bold citrus and pear notes, as well as
honey and almond notes. Very linear with good acidity. Has real
precision and depth with some red cherry and pear on the finish.
91/100
Ring Notes
Raumland
Cuvée Katharina Brut 2012
Salty, with fine earth, savoury biscuit and cherry notes hallmarking
this Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier blend. Cherry and pear dominate, and a
fine line of acid holds the whole taught to the toasty finish.
Lovely balance. Disgorged march 2016. 89/100
Raumland
Riesling Prestige Brut 2008
Savoury throughout, with large flake sea salt, stones, biscuit and
yellow apple shaped with the razor cut of Riesling on limestone. The
pervading freshness was contributed to MLF stopping on its own this
year. Linear and streaming, with citrus pith on the brisk, lingering
finish. A beaut; this has aged very well. Disgorged march 2016. 10.2
TA. 6 g/l RS. 91/100
Raumland Riesling Prestigue Brut 2012
Crisp lemon, pith and peel, is shaded with appealing biscuit and
light toast, coloured with the sweet warmth of tangerine pith. Fine
smoke, savoury herbs and a finer fog of autolysis pad this serious
and well structured, if a touch severe, brut. Mineral salts linger.
3 g/l RS. 90/100
Raumland
Chardonnay Prestige Brut 2009
A small amount of this chardonnay brut spent time in barrique, which
is apparent through the biscuit and cracker notes weaving throughout
pure and shining green apple and lemon. A fine buzz of acidity
frames this tight, bone dry fizz, finishing with bitter citrus pith.
Presenting youthful still, this will settle more with time in the
bottle, 3-4 g/l RS. Disgorged March 2016. 89/100
Raumland
Triumvirat Grand Cuvée Brut 2009
The Triumvirat Grand Cuvee is a brut blend of pinot noir, chardonnay
and pinot meunier, and a premium bottling from Raumland. Light
smoke, light biscuit and fennel is broken by crunchy acidity and
large flake sea salt. The palate leads with lox and toasty spice
before introducing light cherry and red pear, finishing with a
raspy, almost assertive acidity. Fermented in barriques and barrels
before more than 7 years on the lees, this could pass for a decent
supermarket-bottled Champagne in a blind tasting. 91/100
EXPLORING SEKT
Wines
tasted 09/16
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
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