2022 Salwey, Pinot Gris, Kaiserstuhl, Baden, Germany.
Coming vines in the warm Spa area of Baden, the Salwey Pinot Gris is a pleasant dry white wine with good varietal character and balance, showing off a core of bright apple and citrus fruits, along with a touch of mineral, fleshy melon, bitter nuttiness and a light herby/spicy note. This 2022 Grauburgunder, as it is known locally, is medium bodied, delicately aromatic and crisply dry, but with just the right amount of textural appeal to make an impression and is food friendly in style. Pinot Gris is quite popular in Germany and makes for a nice alternative to the intensity and tension to Riesling, but rarely makes for impactful wine. In recent years, there’s a lot more varietals available and Pinot Gris gets a bit lost, but Salwey has gained a solid following and the terroir here in Baden favors the grape, along with Pinot Noir, which they do well too. Baden, known for centuries for its hot springs, is not far from Switzerland and across the Rhein from Alsace, is maybe most noted for Sylvaner in modern times. I haven’t had the Salwey wines that often, but they are worth a look and the wines are impeccably hand crafted with a mind to sustainable farming and nice packaging.
The Salwey estate, I learned, is located in Oberrotweil, situated in the Kaiserstuhl area of the Baden region, which is situated in Germany’s most sun-drenched region atop an extinguished volcano. This historic area of Germany was favored by the Romans and others for the quality of the weather and the healing properties of the springs. The Weingut Salwey is led by Konrad Salwey, who has been an innovative and strong personality in the region, bring attention to this sleepy area that doesn’t get a lot of press for the wines, when compared to regions like the Pfalz, Rheingau, Mosel, Nahe and or the Nahe. The Salwey wines are always fermented completely dry and always characterized and defined by the Loess and volcanic soil of the area, with everything done as naturally as possible, and the wines see a native yeast fermentation and are aged in large oval barrels. Salwey, with roots back to the 1800s, was actually founded in 1950 by Konrad’s grandfather, is focused on Pinot Gris, but as noted does Pinot Noir, as well as Pinot Blanc, all from fanatically hand tended vines. This straw/gold Pinot Gris will maybe not thrill you, but it go very nicely with appetizers and smoked/cured meats.
($29 Est.) 89 Points, grapelive