Roman Niewodniczanski of Van Volxem makes some novel wines. Rather than the traditional practise of labelling the wines according to ripeness of the grapes, and thereby making several wines from one vineyard, Van Volxem wines are all just labelled with a vineyard name, no ripeness. Moreover, the wine is fermented drier, to a higher alcohol level, than most German wines. Niewodniczanski claims his wines are traditional, but doesn’t everyone who is doing something novel?
Scharzhofberger 2003, Van Volxem
The nose is very ripe and oily. It is only vaguely citric, but smells more like a very ripe Sauvignon Blanc. The finer characteristics of Riesling have been baked out of this. The palate is full-bodied, with ripe fruit and a reasonable amount of sugar. What it lacks is a decent whack of acidity. This wine is highly atypical. It is not bad, though, and was nice with German sausages for lunch.
