Holger Koch 'Ja Goutte!' Swabia 2022

From the vineyards that belong to Holger Koch and his wife Gabriele in southwestern Germany, it is just a short drive to the French border. Their wines, in similar fashion, straddle the divide between a German and a French sensibility. The name of this wine, for example, is a sort of bilingual pun: French goutte (‘drop’) sounding like the German for ‘good’. The blend is primarily grauburgunder (pinot gris in French), with small amounts of Müller-Thurgau, pinot blanc, and sauvignon blanc. The grapes are grown in the primarily loess soils of vineyards located around the village of Bickensohl. 5% of the grauburgunder macerates on the skins, and the whole ages on the lees in barrels for five months. With the texture of a rustic white Burgundy, plus a touch extra of salty minerality, it offers peach and preserved lemon on the palate and a lime-zest finish. Organically grown, low-intervention/natural wine.