Silent & Small

Stumm & Klein

Chardonnay in its purest form, almost as a life's mission – that's the idea of

Torsten Klein and Frank Stumm in Gau-Weinheim in northern Rheinhessen.

Frank is the winemaker and takes care of Weingut Schuster-Stumm,

Torsten is the dynamic sales and ideas partner.

During an internship in 1999 at Schlossgut Diel, Torsten met Frank, who was completing his winemaker training at Weingut Pieroth across the way.

They lost touch for a while, but in 2013, the two coincidentally met again in Rheinhessen. In 2016, Frank, on Torsten's advice, planted two parcels of Chardonnay in the

Gau-Weinheimer Kaisergarten vineyard.

The site is ideally suited for the grape variety, with marl and hard limestone subsoil. A very high carbon content with an eastern exposure and high pH values. The soil here is among the most calcium-rich soils in Rheinhessen, a true gem.

In total, 0.5 ha is cultivated, and the number of bottles usually amounts to just under 500 bottles per wine. The first official vintage was bottled in 2020.

The plan includes a Gutswein (estate wine), an Ortswein (village wine - Gau-Weinheimer), and a single vineyard bottling. It must be noted that there has been no single vineyard bottling so far, as strict quality selection is paramount to both of them.

Of course, the grapes are hand-picked, and whole cluster pressing leads to spontaneous fermentation in the cellar. There is a separate small cellar for the wines, where they mature in Burgundian barrels (Pièce). Malolactic fermentation (BSA) occurs spontaneously, and 18 months of yeast aging is obligatory, as is unfiltered bottling.

I already knew Torsten from his Josten & Klein project, and through various detours, we reconnected last year. I then had the chance to taste the wines and am now delighted to accompany this project.

Florian Fine Wine's small wine cosmos has gained a new member with Stumm und Klein.

I hope you enjoy discovering the Chardonnays.