Stefan Vetter Sylvaner CK 2019
Type: White
Country: Germany
Region: Franken
Grape Variety: 100% Silvaner
Viticulture: Natural Wine | Biodynamic | Organic Farming
Climate: Continental climate with defined seasons and harsh winters
Terroir: Steep south-facing with layered plaster clay from the Late Triassic period (Keuper) on top of red sandstone, a few meters into the ground
Winemaking: The grapes are whole-cluster pressed without any maceration or crushing and put directly into old/neutral barrels. The wine is topped up while in barrel, but not sulfured. The wines are normally racked only once and then bottled unfined and unfiltered with lower SO2
Color: Pale yellow
Nose: Herbal nose of cut flower stems, anise, menthol, lemon thyme and mint
Palate: Concentrated and intensely minerally, yet elegant and highly refreshing – right in the wheelhouse of anyone who enjoys textured, powerful versions of Chablis
About the Winery:
Stefan Vetter is punk rock. He has done nothing that has even the slightest commercial logic to it. His old friend Andreas Adam (of the celebrated Mosel estate A.J. Adam) must shake his head, watching Stefan, like a wild hermit, run himself up into the terraced vineyards of Franconia. Yet from a scant few hectares of old terraced vineyards, Stefan is redefining what Sylvaner can be.
Stefan is at the forefront of the natural wine movement in Germany. As such, he farms both organically and biodynamically, working only old vines in steep, terraced sites. Pressing is done gently and can take four to six hours. The juice may see a short bit of skin contact, but for the most part, it is just moved directly into old barrels. Stefan has bought 300 and 600-litre barrels from Stockinger. During the elevage, the wine is topped off but that’s about it. The wines are bottled without fining or filtering.
