VetterSylvaner CK 2020 (750ml)

The “GK” and the “CK” are Vetter’s two, single-vineyard “Grand Crus.” The initials stand for the village and vineyard. In this case the “CK” refers to the village of Castel and the vineyard site Kirchberg.

The “CK” is really the only wine Vetter makes that does not come from the terraced hillside of Gambach, where he lives. This was one of the original vineyards that Vetter farmed. The site is basically all Keuper – so totally different soil from the sandstone and limestone of his other sites. He tells me nearly every year he’s going to stop farming this site – but in the end he can’t seem to quit it. For what it’s worth, I’m happy about this.

The 2020 “CK” is wild, unapologetically herbal with cut flower stems, anise, menthol, lemon thyme and mint. This is like a fucking mountain stream mouthwash. On the palate it is richer than the “GK” – it has a more oily, sappy texture to it. Even still, at 10%  the wine remains linear yet there is a wildness, a rustic force and cut. This is a firecracker of a wine.

These are, year in and year out, among the most thrilling Sylvaners made in Germany, at least for a certain palate that prizes rigor, focus and a certain bracing incisiveness. I’ve written this in regards to Jonas Dostert (who has a similar aesthetic and practice to Vetter), but these wines remind me of what the greatest Chablis of the 1980s must have tasted like. The “GK” and the “CK” are the best wines Vetter has made since the 2017ers.

Vetter’s technique is worth noting, as it’s unique. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed without any maceration or crushing and put directly into old/neutral barrels. The wine is topped up while in barrel, but not sulfured. The wines are normally racked only once and then bottled unfined and unfiltered with lower SO2

None other than the New York Times’ Eric Asimov wrote about one of Stefan Vetter’s Sylvaners as a “most memorable bottle of 2018.” Find the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/07/dining/drinks/eric-asimov-favorite-wines.html