Situated around the town of Enkirch, Immich – Batterieberg is known as one of the oldest estates of the Middle Mosel sub – region, which remained in the hands of one family for over 500 years. Sadly, this precious heritage was almost lost in the last decades of the 20th century, at the expense of the sweet, generic style of Riesling, which dominated the market at the time.

The revival of the historic Immich estate began in 2009, when it was taken over by the young and passionate winemaker Gernot Kollman, whom we were fortunate enough to visit last year. Having previously trained at prestigious Mosel houses of Dr Loosen, Weingut van Volxem and Knebel, he was more than ready to begin his personal project. In the area where not only all the vine tending, but also the soil work must be done manually, converting to organic viticulture in 2010, was the first brave step he took. “It’s a hard fight, but I believe it’s necessary. If you care about the soil, it will shine through (…)” – he comments.

And it does! In his single vineyard Rieslings, coming from mostly ungrafted, 60-80 years old vines, Gernot is searching for purity and terroir expression, as well as trying to transmit the character of the vintage. Uncompromising and honest in his winemaking, never interfering with what nature has delivered, he refuses to chaptalize and de-acidify. Following the old Mosel tradition, the wines are fermented with indigenous yeast, in large, old wooden casks. Long-time spend on the lees minimises the need to use sulphur, which is applied in small doses and only at the bottling stage.