Appellation: Mosel
Cuvée: Papa Panda’s Rising
Colour: White
Grapes: Riesling
About: in between Little Bastard and Magnus Madcap in terms of quality lies Panda’s Rising, named after another of Jan’s new ventures Pandamonium. Part of the fruit comes from a local Polish friend André in Kröv, wine grower and traveller of the natural wine route, and part from Jan’s cousin. It’s not as straightforward as at first it seems and some vintages will demand time in bottle (like classical Rieslings) before revealing their potential. Nevertheless it’s in the style of Jan’s other natural wines.
Vines
Location, parcels: all Kröv, some Kirch Lay, some Steffenberg (the top site)
Size ha: less than 1
Age: planted in 1980s
Soils: grey slate
Exposition: south in Kirch Lay, south west in Steffenberg (no west facing slopes in Kröv)
Altitude m: 200
Training: on wire
Farming and philosophy: certified and uncertified Organic.
Climate: cool (but changing)
Winemaking
5 hours on skins then pressed to inox, fermented with temperature controlled to around 15º then aged in big old foudres
Vintage Notes 2020
The weather: dry and hot season until mid September, then cold and a bit rainy, mid to end of September giving some juice to the grapes.
Yield hl/ha: 65
Harvested: early October
Bottles produced: 6500
Date bottled: 2021-06
Alcohol %: 11,5
SO2 Total: 0 added
Vintage Notes 2021
The weather: cool and rainy season, lots of problems with downy mildew and black rot, compare yield with other years, had to buy quite a lot of fruit from other organic producers that were less affected. Still…, not the flood disaster of neighbouring regions.
Aged in a new 2000L cask. German oak.
Blend of 2020 and 2021
Yield hl/ha: 30hl/ha in 2021
Bottles produced: 4000
Date bottled: 2022-07
Alcohol %: 11,5
SO2 Total: 0 added
Tasting: 2022-12-12 smokey, toasted aromas of apricot tart and cream, quite rich and intense. Palate is rich, the vibrant acidity of the grape toned down by the barrel’s spice, intense apricot and white pepper fruit.