Weingut Ratzenberger, located in the beautiful Renaissance town of Bacharach, is in the heart of the Mittlerhein. The vineyards are steeped and terraced, blessed with excellent sunshine even for its northern latitude. The Rhine River protects these vineyards from strong winds and helps to regulate temperatures. The Rieslings of the Mittlerhein typically have great extract and structure — yet are always marked by outstanding acidity — making them excellent candidates for dry or sparkling wines. In the towns of Bacharach and Steeg, where Ratzenberger owns vines, the soils are pure devon black slate and lie on a single hillside, about a kilometer wide. The vineyards St. Jost, Wolfshöhle, and Posten are so steep that they can only be tended by hand. Jochen Ratzenberger produces wine with fine aromatic elegance, length, and structure.

In 2004, Jochen made just a few, precious barrels of Spätlese Riesling from the Grand Cru vineyard, Wolfshöhle. It’s an incredible Riesling... dazzlingly aromatic, loaded with jasmine and petrol-tinged peach and apricot fruit. The wine is very fine — a whisper/almost ethereal — and layered with savory and secondary flavors that complement the fruit. The finish is classic Bacharach, tantalizingly slatey and mineral. This is a wine just entering the peak of its life; remarkably starting to hit its stride at a mere 20 years of age! Drink it all year long, or tuck it away in your cellar for the next 10 years. Pair with sausages, any type of seafood, spicy or exotic dishes or just a perfect, contemplative, after-dinner glass of wine. This is German vin de garde.