Unbottled – Riehen Le Petite Sauvignon Blanc

To be honest, this was the first Swiss wine I tried. Yet, it is an excellent starting point. We had this at Christmas with Raclette and it was a perfect match.

The Riehen vineyard is located in the AOC Basel Stadt right next to the German border. Hanspeter Ziereisen leased the vineyard from the villlage of Riehen together with his Swiss partner Urs Ullrich. The wines are made by Silas Weiss with the coaching of Hanspeter.

The grapes for the Riehen Le Petit Sauvignon Blanc 2018 grow on silty clay soil. The fermentation is done with natural yeasts, afterwards the wine ages in big oak casks for 22 months. There is no fining, no filtration and a minimal addition of sulfur. In the end the wine is aged for another six months.

The Riehen starts with a lot of minerals reminiscent of flint. Afterwards, you get yellow fruits in the from of peaches, matchsticks, spices and pencil shavings. The aftertaste is quite long with peaches. All in all, this was an excellent Sauvignon Blanc which also goes well with food.