Immich-Batterieberg C.A.I. Riesling Kabinett 2021

We had the pleasure of meeting and tasting wine with Gernot Kollmann, one of Germany's hottest winemakers today. After working at Van Volxem and then making the Knebel wines in 2008, Gernot had the opportunity to purchase the historic estate of Immich-Batterieberg with like-minded partners and is making some of the most exciting German wines have tasted in years. 

The Immich family history in the Mosel dates back to the Middle Ages, when Prince von Esch possessed the 12th-century building. Located in the center of Enkirch, the original section of the castle, Escheburg, is named after him. The Immich family would own the estate for over 500 years (1425–1989). In the mid-19th century, Carl August Immich needed more cultivable land on which to plant vines. His holdings included the Enkirch hillside, which was less a hillside and more a steep cliff face of solid stone; using sprengbatterien (a battery of explosives filled with gunpowder) from 1841 to 1845, he reduced the site to rubble, which not only made it cultivable but also gave the vineyard its name, Batterieberg (“demolition hill”). The estate's name refers to this site.

The estate consists of 13 ha. Holdings include 1.1 ha of the best parcels in the Batterieberg (grand cru in grey slate + quartzit), as well as parcels in the great vineyards of Ellergrub (grand cru in blue slate), Steffensberg (1er cru in red slate) and Zeppwingert (grand cru in grey slate + quartzit). All of these sites contain parcels of very old, ungrafted, pre-phylloxera vines--a genuine treasure trove of vine material almost unknown elsewhere in Germany.

The wines are all produced in a dry style (but not overwhelmingly so, you can still taste the fruit, these wines are so lovely!!), in a combination of used casks and stainless steel with full fermentations, ambient yeasts and nothing added to the wines except a low amount of sulfur. The wines are therefore natural and vegan. They are also compellingly vibrant, long-lived in the cellar, and most profoundly terroir-driven. Immich-Batterieberg has been practicing organic viticulture for 10+ years and was certified in 2022.

This wine, which we tasted and positively LOVED, is this estate's calling card wine named C.A.I. Winemaker Gernot Kollmann crafts this crisp, crunchy, keenly balanced, TOTALLY DRY Riesling from multiple sources along the Mosel, including the Saar, Mitelmosel and Gernot’s own vineyards in Enkirch. His only cuvée vinified in steel. 

*Batterieberg is a 1.1 hectare monopole within the Zeppwingert, and also the place that gives the estate its namesake: the name C.A.I. is a tribute to "the guy with the dynamite", Carl August Immich, whose decision it was to dynamite this hill between 1841 and 1845 to create terraces and plant vines (Batterieberg translates to Battered Mountain). C.A.I. is pronounced <kai>.