Bibo Runge

Halfway between the venerable Eberbach Monastery and the small town of Oestrich-Winkel lies Hallgarten. The historic wine village is just over a kilometer from the Rhine. Here you will find the wine cellars of the Bibo Runge winery. The orientation of the slopes is exclusively towards the south, since between Wiesbaden and Bingen the Rhine takes a strong east-west bend. Hereby the excellent conditions for the viticulture of the Rheingau are given. Vines have probably been planted in Hallgarten since the Middle Ages; it is certain that it was founded as a supply village for the large Cistercian monastery of Eberbach and was cultivated by farmers and lay brothers.

In addition to the south-facing slope, the Rhine forms a natural heat reservoir and a reflection surface that should not be underestimated. In the back of the vineyards of Bibo Runge is the Taunus. Its wooded ridges stop the cool north-south wind somewhat, so that only a gentle, fresh breeze can cool the vines during the warm summer nights. The Riesling vines here are rooted on a mixture of river sand, shale and clay. The drainage properties of the subsoil are optimal for plant health. The terroir for high quality Riesling wines is therefore ideal.

Walter Bibo, a true Rheingau native, and Kai Runge, a native of Baden, met a few years ago through a mutual friend and winemaker in Baden. Bibo, who earned his spurs after studying viticulture at the Kaiserstuhl, was director of the Schloss Reinhartshausen winery in the Rheingau for a long time. Runge was a restorer and consultant for large companies, so he knows how to make good things even better and has an innate weakness for quality. Together they have set themselves the goal of bringing exceptional wines into the bottle.

In doing so, Bibo Runge always treads new paths. The credo is that good wine needs time, and Walter Bibo and Kai Runge give it to their creations. This starts with the harvest. Until then, everything is still quite conventional. With the press, things get more extravagant. While pneumatically operated, horizontal tank presses are the standard in modern German wine cellars, Bibo and Runge are not going down an undercutting path with their basket press, but a very overgrown one.

The vertical basket press has been rediscovered in recent years in the best Bordelais wineries because it produces a very fine, clear must that contains little lees. However, the basket pressing process requires a higher level of artisanal effort and is therefore more time-consuming. After fermentation, which is carried out with pure yeasts as well as the vineyard's own yeasts, the Rieslings are aged in large wooden oak barrels where they can harmonize and stabilize. After the wine has been given the time it needs, it is drawn into the bottles and may then be called one of the best drops of the Rheingau. Thanks to the basket press and the long aging in the wooden barrels, the Bibo Runge Rieslings are incredibly sharp, brilliant and clear wines without any off-tones that simply make you enjoy the wine.