Eva Fricke is one of the stars of the Rheingau, and she produces some of the best rieslings you can buy. Having initially started the estate as a side project while working as a winemaker for the much larger Leitz winery, her wines have garnered awards and press recognition for their razor-sharp focus, energy and finesse. She has always been determined to work organically and biodynamically, even in a region where it wasn’t considered fashionable because of the rather challenging steep sloped vineyards.
Order by midday on Wednesday 12th February
From a mere 0.1 hectares in 2006 to just under 20 hectares today, Eva Fricke has managed to work with some of the best vineyard sites in the Rheingau, principally the village of Lorch with its breathtakingly steep slopes and old vines.
Eva largely focuses on producing drier riesling styles to enable the character of the soil to come through and for the wines to show a real sense of place and character. While her single-vineyard wines are produced in minute quantities and demand often outstrips supply, her Kiedrich and Rheingau rieslings in particular fly under the radar in terms of value for money. The Mélange is now exclusively from Eltville’s oldest and greatest vineyards and a true pleasure to drink. Wine writer for Jamessuckling.com, Stuart Pygott, describes the Keidrich 2023 as ‘wonderfully long’, the Rheingau 2023 as an ‘extraordinary wine’ and the Mélange 2023 as ‘stunning’. Quite simply, these wines should not be overlooked.
I am fortunate to have Eva’s wines in my cellar, and I encourage any riesling lover to do the same.
