C.O. STEINLINDEN LiquidEarth

The C.O. was originally conceived in 2005 as a wedding wine for Carolin and H.O. Spanier.

It was stored in the ageing cellar as a family reserve every year. The result was so exquisite that it earned a reputation as one of the best Rieslings in Germany and prompted the winery to add it permanently to its portfolio.

The development towards a wine of origin from the rockiest, stoniest limestone parcels of the Rheinhessen Zellertal is particularly reflected in the stylistics, but with the 2019 vintage also in the name:

C.O. STEINLINDEN (Lieu-Dit). This manifests our decades-long search for the identity of the Zellertal. STEINLINDEN is the name given to the ancient vineyards located between the Frauenberg and the Schwarzer Herrgott in the north-eastern part of the Mölsheim district, named after an olive tree that only takes root in particularly calcareous, rocky and nutrient-rich soils. As with many rare wines from Burgundy or Piedmont, the small-scale origin is not congruent with the vineyard classification.

You won't find fruit in the wine, but instead you will find a lot of salt, minerals, limestone and mineral spices. Reduced to clarity and finesse – a monolith from which time will first shape the sculpture.

Maturity makes the difference between a good and an extraordinary wine. That is why we have built an underground, naturally cooled ageing cellar of 1800 square metres. A large investment, but the ideal prerequisite for bringing perfectly matured wines to market. C.O. Steinlinden is only launched after a few years of bottle rest in the ageing cellar. It is one of the very few white wines in the world that is only shown to the public when it is in perfect condition.