“Carsten Saalwächter is undoubtedly onto something in demonstrating that Silvaner can do anything Riesling and Chardonnay can do. His wines are liquid testimony.” - Anne Kriebl MW

Anyone who went to business school will remember their first lesson, the one where the lecturer says that if you want to make a fortune in business, start by selling Silvaner from the Rheinhessen at £94.00 a bottle and you will never look back! It’s ‘page one’ stuff.

I don’t know if this wine is worth £94.00, but what I can say for sure is that you won’t be disappointed by it, especially if you like great white Burgundies of the kind made by Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey or Domaine Leflaive, displaying beautifully judged reduction, spangling minerals, mouth-watering lime juice acidity and a salty margarita flourish on the long and textured finish. A stunning wine both in terms of its quality (up there with the very best Puligny-Montrachet Premier Crus), but also in the sense that we were stunned that something this good could be made from the humble Silvaner grape! It’s a triumph for the terroir and the winemaking brilliance of Carsten Saalwächter. 13% alc. Drink now-2036.

Press review:

The Wine Advocate: “From vines planted in the 1960s in the St Laurenziberger Kapelle and vinified in two 800-litre barrels, the 2022 Sylvaner St. Laurentius is from hard limestone soils west of Ingelheim. The wine is pure and chalky yet also intense on the reductive yet attractive nose that is reminiscent of toasted sesame and, yes, Chablis. Very elegant and perfectly round on the palate, this is a textural, refined and balanced Sylvaner that is also intense, complex and powerful. This is a superb terroir wine with a long, saline and salivating finish. It would be fun to include this wine in a blind tasting of Chablis. Drink now-2050.” 95 points