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Helmut Dolde

Riesling Neuffener 2018

Price: $27.95
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Tasting notes

This is one of the highest-altitude Rieslings produced in Germany, grown on Jurassic white marl at up to 528 meters in Neuffen — and it shows: the acidity is vivid and precise, the finish has a distinct chalky, saline pull that lingers. The 2018 vintage adds a touch more body and ripe stone fruit than cooler years, making it unusually complete for a 12% ABV mountain Riesling.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
Lemon PeelWhite PeachFlintSaline
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied white; pale straw; citrus, stone fruit, and chalk minerality; 12% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Riesling; uncertified sustainable farming; Weißer Jura (Jurassic calcareous marl); Neuffen, Württemberg; up to 528m elevation
  • Winemaking: Indigenous yeast; 90% stainless steel / 10% used barrel fermentation; 6 months lees aging in tank; unfined, unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve at 46-50°F; no decant needed; drink now through 2026
  • Pairing: Oysters, langoustines, freshwater trout, Comté, mild shellfish preparations
  • Similar To: For fans of Chablis Premier Cru and Alsatian Riesling who want a high-altitude German equivalent at lower price

Helmut Dolde's Neuffener Riesling comes from the village of Neuffen in Württemberg, southern Germany, in the foothills of the Schwäbische Alb (Swabian Alps). The vines grow in Weißer Jura soils — calcareous Jurassic marl formed by ancient marine deposits, the same formation known in Burgundy as marne blanche — at elevations up to 528 meters above sea level in the Schloßsteige single vineyard, one of the highest vineyard sites in Germany.

Dolde describes 2018 as the best vintage he had ever produced at the time of bottling: a warm year with enough rain, no disease pressure, and a long growing season that delivered ripe fruit alongside retained freshness and slightly more body than typical. Fermentation uses indigenous yeasts in 90% stainless steel and 10% used barrels, with six months of lees aging in tank before bottling.

The Neuffener Riesling is fully dry. The Weißer Jura soils give the wine a chalk-driven freshness and saline lift that distinguishes it clearly from Rieslings grown on the Brauner Jura (brown marl) plots Dolde farms around Linsenhofen and Metzingen. The result sits closer in character to a fine Chablis or an Alsatian Riesling than to the Mosel: lean, mineral, and citrus-driven, with stone fruit aromatics and genuine length.

Dolde holds no organic or biodynamic certification by choice. He avoids copper sulfates — permitted under organic rules — and instead works with biodegradable soil treatments that he judges to do less harm. His 2.5 hectares in Württemberg are among the most unconventionally and thoughtfully farmed in the region.

The saline, chalky character of this wine makes it an ideal partner for shellfish — oysters, clams, langoustines. It also works well with freshwater fish prepared simply, like trout with brown butter, and alongside mild aged cheeses such as Comté or Gruyère.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, White Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Riesling
Farming:, Sustainable
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 12%
Country:, Germany
Region:, Württemberg
Appellation:, Württemberg
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

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Producer profile

Helmut Dolde

Helmut Dolde and his wife Hedwig are based in Frickenhausen-Linsenhofen, a small village in the Remstal-Stuttgart area of Württemberg. Dolde spent his career as a high school biology and chemistry teacher in Filderstadt and began making wine in 1982 as a side pursuit, teaching himself through books and close observation of his own soils and vines. The estate now covers approximately 2.5 hectares, which counts among the smallest serious wine operations in Germany. Dolde's family has ties to Linsenhofen for generations, and he has spent decades working to put the Neuffener Tal on the map as a serious wine-growing zone.

Dolde farms plots in three distinct soil types across the villages of Linsenhofen, Neuffen, and Beuren. The Neuffener Riesling comes from Weißer Jura parcels — Jurassic white calcareous marl, the same formation as marne blanche in Burgundy — at elevations up to 528 meters in the Schloßsteige vineyard above the town of Neuffen, below the medieval Hohenneuffen Castle. A second Riesling, the Linsenhöfer, comes from Brauner Jura plots at lower elevation. Dolde holds no organic or biodynamic certification, explicitly rejecting it because organic rules permit copper sulfates, which he considers harmful to soil health. Instead, he works with biodegradable soil treatments that he considers less damaging than those sanctioned by certification bodies.

In the cellar, Dolde uses indigenous yeasts and aims to preserve freshness above all else. The Neuffener Riesling is fermented in 90% stainless steel with 10% used barrels, then aged six months on lees in tank before bottling. Dolde blends in a small portion of barrel-fermented wine to add texture and length without imposing oak character or weight. Temperature control during fermentation is minimal and low-tech. The wines are unfined and unfiltered, bottled with minimal sulfur additions.

Wine region

Württemberg, Germany

Württemberg is located in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany, east of the Rhine and Baden, between the Tauber Valley and the foothills of the Swabian Jura. Vineyards are concentrated along the Neckar River and its tributaries — the Rems, Enz, Kocher, and Jagst — with the Remstal-Stuttgart district stretching southeast toward the Swabian Alps. The climate is mild, moderated by the protective hills of the Black Forest and Swabian Jura, with river valleys tempering temperature extremes. Soils vary widely and include shell limestone, Jurassic marl (both white and brown), keuper, loess, and volcanic rock.

Württemberg is Germany's fourth-largest wine region, with over 11,400 hectares under vine. It is unusual among German regions in that roughly 65% of plantings are red varieties, led by Trollinger, Lemberger (Blaufränkisch), Schwarzriesling (Pinot Meunier), and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). Among whites, Riesling dominates with nearly 2,000 hectares. The Neuffener Tal, a valley at the exposed southern edge of the Württemberg wine zone near the Swabian Alps, is one of the highest and coolest subzones in the region. Around Neuffen and the neighboring village of Linsenhofen, Weißer Jura (white Jurassic calcareous marl) and Brauner Jura (brown marl with volcanic intrusions) define two distinct soil-driven styles. These sites, at altitudes reaching 528 meters, qualify as some of the highest vineyard land in all of Germany.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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