# Thörle Natural Grauburgunder (2022)

- **Producer:** Weingut Thörle
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Grauburgunder
- **Region:** Rheinhessen, Germany
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.0%
- **Average price:** €19
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** No
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** grapefruit, lemon, redcurrant, raspberry, smoke

## About this wine

Weingut Thörle, located in the Saulheim municipality of Rheinhessen, Germany, has been a family-run estate since 1517. Since taking the reins in 2006, brothers Christoph and Johannes Thörle have elevated the winery to international acclaim. They champion a philosophy of minimal intervention, allowing the unique limestone-rich soils of their vineyards to speak directly through the wines. This Natural Grauburgunder represents their avant-garde exploration of Pinot Gris, sourced from some of the estate's oldest vines situated just above the prestigious Hölle grand cru vineyard. By embracing ancient techniques and rejecting modern additives, the Thörle brothers craft a wine that challenges conventional expectations of German white wines, offering a bridge between traditional craftsmanship and modern natural wine movements.

## Interesting facts

- Though legally classified as a white wine, its extended skin contact gives it a striking, cloudy coppery-pink color.
- The Thörle brothers practice 'kontrolliertes Nichtstun' (controlled inactivity), allowing nature to guide the winemaking.
- It is classified as Deutscher Landwein to bypass rigid regional tasting panels that often penalize unfiltered natural styles.

## Food pairing

This skin-contact white wine behaves much like a light red or robust rosé. Its notable phenolic structure (tannins) and high acidity make it exceptionally versatile. It has the weight to stand up to rich proteins like duck, beef carpaccio, and seared tuna, while its vibrant acidity cuts through creamy cheeses and earthy beetroot dishes beautifully.

## Wine making process

The winemaking process for this cuvée is defined by deliberate, controlled inactivity. Sourced from organically farmed, old-vine Grauburgunder grapes, the fruit is hand-harvested with meticulous selection. The grapes undergo an eight-day skin-contact fermentation (mash fermentation) using only spontaneous, wild yeasts, a technique typically reserved for red wines. This extended maceration extracts both its distinctive copper hue and fine structural phenolics. Just before fermentation completes, the must is gently pressed and transferred into traditional, large German oak casks (Stückfass). The wine then ages for 10 to 11 months on its full lees (Vollhefe) to build texture and complexity. It is bottled completely unfiltered, unclarified, and with zero added sulfur dioxide.