Ökonomierat Rebholz, VDP.Weingut

Disclosure: I have a commercial relationship with this producer. See my ethics and disclosure policy.

Rebholz was an early leader in quality in the southern Pfalz. This rural region earned a demeaning nickname, the "Süssliche Weinstraße," for its massive output of sweet, cheap wine that filled grocery store shelves in the decades following World War II. While the Rebholz family had farmed grapes for centuries, Eduard Rebholz, a trained scientist, studied the region's climate and soils to improve viticulture and pioneered dry wine production in the Südpfalz.

The local government awarded Eduard the title "Ökonomierat (Economic Councilor)" in 1951, an Ehrentitel (honorary title) conferred on individuals for outstanding service and lifelong merit in agriculture. Eduard had taken a hard "natural wine" stance at a time and place far from fashionable, stating, "from my cellar you will only ever receive natural wines, which are the result of painstaking and loving care of the vines and equally careful cellar management (no sugaring, no artificial sweetening or similar fundamental structural changes that take away the wine's original character and, in my eyes, make it no longer appear as a natural product)."

Eduard's redefining and uncompromising approach continued with his son, Hans, and his grandson, Hansjörg, who took over in 1978 at age 19 after his father passed unexpectedly early. Hansjörg further refined the Rebholz style in the 1980s and 1990s, arriving at what we now know as "Typ Rebholz," a certain typicité that makes a Rebholz wine stand out from its peers.

I have tried for years to put my finger on what this actually means, recalling discussions with fellow sommeliers and even his neighbor, Franz Wehrheim, about what makes a Rebholz wine Rebholz. Several journalists have also pointed out that there's a certain something to these wines, though each has its own characterization. Everything from "austere, precise, and powerful" to "an almost fragile structure" has been written about these wines. What I've settled on is this: a Rebholz wine is energy-taut, but not sharp; walks the edge of reduction, but is not reductive; dense with fruit extract, but not fruity; fine, but not filigree.

Basically, Hansjörg and his sons, Hans and Valentin, strive for an untouched representation of the vintage, varietal, and site. The wines are neither chaptalized nor de-acidified, and while most of the production is dry, Gewürztraminer and Muskateller, the traditional varieties of Südpfalz, have natural residual sugar, never Süssreserve. Alcohol levels in the same wine can vary significantly from vintage to vintage, reflecting weather conditions. In other words, they are as naturally pure as Rebholz can make them.

The Rebholz family says that all the quality stems from their biodynamically farmed 22 hectares in Siebeldingen, Birkweiler, and Albersweiler near the southern end of the southern Pfalz. It's an area called the Queichtal (Queich Valley), with a river that feeds the Rhine; gaps in the Haardt range draw in cool air, and the geology is highly complex.

The famous vineyard here is the Birkweiler Kastanienbusch, source of Rebholz's signature GG Riesling. The 30-40% steep, south-facing cru climbs to 320 meters, making it the highest grand cru in the Pfalz. Kastanienbusch benefits from permanent air circulation and has iron-rich Rotliegend soil with slate, colored sandstone, and shell limestone. "Kastanien" because chestnut trees border the vineyard.

The other famous Rebholz site is the Siebeldingener Im Sonnenschein. Shell limestone gives a classic mineral-infused Rebholz Riesling GG as opposed to the exotic spice found in Kastanienbusch. Im Sonnenschein is also the source of the Rebholz GG Weissburgunder, which some argue is the finest Pinot Blanc produced anywhere. It is certainly one of the very best in Germany. The Im Sonnenschein Weissburgunder and the Riesling GGs age in stainless-steel tanks, as do the estate- and village-level wines.

Hansjörg began using barriques for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in 1989. These are known as the "R" series wines, which are, of course, outstanding, as is the estate's Sekt program. The aromatic varieties Gewürztraminer and Muskateller may be naturally sweet, but they always show remarkable freshness without the overt floral aromas of those varieties.

Rebholz has been organic since 2005 and biodynamic since 2006. The estate has been part of the respekt-BIODYNAMIC group since 2015.

A VDP member since 1991, Hansjörg was the VDP.Pfalz's long-serving chairperson.