Weingut Wittmann Chardonnay Steingrube Erste Lage Bio 2022 white

Weingut Wittmann’s Chardonnay Steingrube Erste Lage Bio 2023 is a sophisticated, organically grown Chardonnay from one of Rheinhessen’s most exciting terroirs. Known primarily for world-class Riesling, Wittmann shows here just how elegant and Burgundian their Chardonnay can be. Sourced from the Erste Lage Steingrube vineyard with its limestone-rich parcels, this cuvée combines precision, minerality and discreet oak into a finely balanced, gastronomic white.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, the Chardonnay Steingrube Erste Lage Bio 2023 typically shows a bright, pale straw to light golden hue with a fine, almost crystalline clarity that hints at its mineral drive. The nose opens with cool, refined aromas of citrus zest, ripe pear, crisp apple and white peach, layered with notes of roasted hazelnut, fresh brioche and a touch of vanilla and delicate spice from the barrique. Underneath lies a clear chalky-mineral tone and a hint of crushed oyster shell that ground the wine in its limestone origin. On the palate, this Chardonnay is precise and tightly knit rather than opulent. Expect a medium to full body with a vibrant, saline backbone and a long, linear acidity that carries lemon curd, stone fruit and subtle yellow plum. The barrel aging adds texture and creaminess without dominating: gentle toast, a whisper of smoke and nutty complexity frame the juicy fruit. The finish is long, dry and mineral, with a fine phenolic grip and a lingering echo of citrus, salt and delicate spice. Enjoyable in its youth for its tension and freshness, it has the structure and acidity to develop further complexity over the next 5–8 years, gaining more nutty, brioche-like and tertiary notes with bottle age.

Production
The Chardonnay for the Steingrube Erste Lage Bio 2023 comes from the Steingrube vineyard north of Westhofen, a site classified as Erste Lage and prized for its heterogeneous soils with significant limestone content in selected parcels. This calcareous subsoil provides excellent drainage and imparts the distinctive, chalky minerality that runs through the wine. All fruit is certified organic and harvested selectively by hand, ensuring only perfectly ripe and healthy grapes are brought to the cellar. After a gentle pressing, the must is fermented and matured for around one year in carefully chosen barriques from top coopers, with roughly a quarter of the barrels being new. The wine remains on the full lees during this time, gaining texture and complexity through bâtonnage as needed. It then spends an additional winter in stainless steel on the fine lees, a step that refines the structure, preserves freshness and further integrates fruit and oak before bottling.

Food & Serving
This Chardonnay is a natural partner for refined, subtly rich cuisine. It pairs beautifully with dishes such as roasted or grilled sea bass, turbot or cod, scallops in beurre blanc, lobster with herb butter, or classic poultry like roast chicken or guinea fowl with morel cream sauce. It also complements veal, porcini risotto, truffled tagliatelle and aged, but not overly pungent, cheeses such as Comté, Gruyère or mild alpine styles. Serve at 10–12 °C to showcase both freshness and aromatic depth. A short decant of 20–30 minutes in a medium-sized white wine carafe can help the young 2023 vintage open up, softening the oak spice and allowing the mineral and nutty nuances to unfold.

Producer
Weingut Wittmann, based in Westhofen in Rheinhessen, is one of Germany’s leading estates and a pioneer of quality-focused, organic viticulture in the region. The family has been growing wine here for centuries, but under the guidance of Philipp Wittmann the estate has gained international acclaim, particularly for its Grosses Gewächs Rieslings from iconic sites such as Morstein and Brunnenhäuschen. Wittmann was among the early advocates of low yields, meticulous handwork in the vineyard and spontaneous fermentations in the cellar, helping to redefine Rheinhessen’s reputation on the global stage. Their move into top-class Burgundian varieties—Pinot and Chardonnay—extends this philosophy, and wines like the Chardonnay Steingrube Erste Lage underline the estate’s role as a benchmark producer for precise, terroir-driven, organically farmed German wines.

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