Description / Reviews
As per the Klosterberg site, the vines here are in the 30- to 50-year-old range. The name Turmberg—or ‘tower hill’—derives from the ruins of the last surviving tower of the former castle, Burg Scharfenstein (12th century), positioned dramatically atop the vineyard. The infamous German wine law of 1971 made this site a part of the neighbouring Gräfenberg, yet in 2005, Weil succeeded in having this 3.8-hectare plot reinstated as an individual classified site in the vineyard register (historically it had been a separate vineyard, reflecting the unique terroir). The Kiedrich Turmberg is a monopole, owned in its entirety by the Robert Weil Estate and, alongside Gräfenberg, is today classified as a Grosse Lage (although Weil chooses not to bottle a Grosses Gewächs from this site). With its base of phyllite rock (metamorphosed slate) and thin topsoil, the Turmberg vineyard offers up fruit of much more mineral voltage than the Klosterberg, and in general is a far racier wine (think great St Aubin as opposed to great Chassagne).
“From a cooler side valley and pure gray slate soils, the 2024 Kiedrich Turmberg Riesling Trocken opens with a deep, intense and coolish, very clear and stony bouquet of crushed stones, herbs and lemon zests. Full-bodied, finely creamy, vital and very saline on the palate, with fine tannin grip and a certain kind of sweetness or texture, this is a tight, savory, saline and persistent Turmberg with excellent aging capacity. 12.5% stated alcohol.” 96 points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
