From the atlas
Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan
At A Glance
| |
| Location | Deidesheim, Mittelhaardt, Pfalz, Germany |
| Founded | 1718 |
| Grape | Riesling (85%), Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and others |
| Vineyards | 21 hectares of vineyard across Forst, Deidesheim, and Ruppertsberg |
| Top tier | VDP.GROSSE LAGE (Grosses Gewächs) |
| Certifications | EU-Bio organic; VDP member since 1910 |
| Sparkling | VDP.SEKT and VDP.SEKT.PRESTIGE |
The Producer
Bassermann-Jordan farms 21 hectares of vineyard across Forst, Deidesheim, and Ruppertsberg. At the top of the range sit the Grosses Gewächs bottlings, site-differentiated dry Rieslings from grand cru parcels on volcanic basalt and limestone. Those bottles are the reason the estate's three-century continuity is worth knowing about.
Technical director Ulrich Mell shapes the cellar work. The approach divides cleanly between two styles: clear, primary-fruit Rieslings and spontaneously fermented Rieslings from the grand cru sites. The estate holds VDP membership, EU-Bio organic certification, and VDP.SEKT.PRESTIGE status for its sparkling Riesling. Founded in 1718 and in Deidesheim since 1783, it is one of the longest continuously operating wine estates in Germany.
Place
Deidesheim sits in the Mittelhaardt, the warm central belt of the Pfalz, where the Haardt mountains to the west catch rainfall and the Rhine plain to the east holds heat long into autumn. The warmth pushes Riesling toward full ripeness without losing the acidity that keeps the wines from being heavy. On the label, the village name comes before the vineyard: Forster Pechstein, Deidesheimer Hohenmorgen, Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad.
Forst carries the volcanic weight. The Pechstein vineyard sits on basalt, dark mineral soils left from ancient volcanic activity, and that origin reads directly in the wine: darker reduction aromas, mineral grip, a denser mid-palate. Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg shift toward limestone and sandstone, with flavors toward stone fruit and a lighter, more open texture. Across the three villages, the geology changes the Riesling register village by village, which is why the GG tier bottled separately by site is the clearest way to read the estate's full range.
Soil And Site
The Pechstein vineyard in Forst sits on basalt, the remnant of volcanic intrusion into the Mittelhaardt's otherwise sedimentary geology. Basalt holds warmth, drains well, and contributes a mineral darkness to the wine that limestone and sandstone sites do not replicate. Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg vineyards sit on limestone and sandstone, with lighter fruit profiles and a more open, accessible texture in the younger wines. The estate's grand cru sites, designated VDP.GROSSE LAGE, cover all three soil types and produce the site-differentiated GG bottlings.
Story
Peter Jordan left Cluses in Savoy in 1708 and arrived in the Prince-Bishopric of Speyer, a move driven by the religious and economic pressures that pushed many Savoyard families north across the Alps in that period. He founded the winery in 1718 and moved it to Deidesheim in 1783. The estate's standing grew in the early nineteenth century through his descendant Andreas Jordan, born 1775, who is credited with establishing quality viticulture across the Palatinate. His work shaped how the region's growers thought about vineyard selection, harvest timing, and cellar care. Among those who noticed: Goethe, who ordered a bottle of the 1811 vintage for his 1820 spa holiday, nine years after the harvest.
Vineyards And Cellar
Organic farming across 21 hectares of vineyard means no synthetic herbicides or pesticides. In the Pfalz's warm continental climate, that approach requires careful canopy management to prevent disease pressure through the long growing season. Harvest is selective: the GG parcels are picked to achieve ripeness without overripeness, targeting the acidity that keeps Riesling dry without feeling austere.
In the cellar, Ulrich Mell separates the GG wines by site and by fermentation method. The Forster Pechstein GG 2024 is 60% spontaneously fermented in oak barrels and 40% fermented in stainless steel. The two portions age on lees separately before the final assembly, and the wine stayed on lees until July 2025 bottling. The oak portion adds breadth and a faint textural weight without contributing obvious wood character; the steel portion holds the primary acidity and fruit definition. Extended lees contact builds mid-palate weight and rounds the finish without softening the wine's fundamental dryness. The primary-fruit tier is fermented in stainless steel throughout, preserving freshness and direct fruit over cellar complexity.
Wines
The range follows the VDP pyramid. At the base sit village Rieslings and village-appellation bottlings. Above those are Erste Lage wines, the premier cru equivalent, from classified single vineyards. At the top, the Grosses Gewächs tier collects the top dry Rieslings from Forst, Deidesheim, and Ruppertsberg grand cru parcels.
The Forst GG range includes Forster Pechstein Riesling GG and Forster Ungeheuer Riesling GG. Deidesheimer Hohenmorgen GG, on limestone, is lighter in body, more immediately open, with white peach and apricot over firm acidity.
Across all three GG villages, the wines are dry by VDP rule: residual sugar stays below the threshold for Spatlese sweetness, and the acidity in each wine holds the palate clean through the finish. The VDP.SEKT and VDP.SEKT.PRESTIGE sparkling Rieslings extend the range into a different format without leaving the grape or the region.
In The Glass
The primary-fruit Rieslings open with fresh citrus and white stone fruit, pale lemon, nectarine, a hint of orchard blossom. Acidity is firm and direct. The body is light to medium, the finish clean and short. These are wines for drinking in their first three to five years.
The spontaneously fermented GG wines need more time and give more back. Pechstein GG 2024 opens with a dark mineral note, almost smoky, alongside pressed lemon and yellow apple. In the mouth the basalt weight shows as a denser mid-palate, a slight grip on the tannin of the skins (from the barrel fermentation), and a long mineral finish with saline persistence. The acidity is firm, not aggressive, and it is what keeps the wine vertical through its weight. At release the wine is tightly wound; two to four years of bottle age opens the aromatic register considerably.
Both Forst GG wines share the volcanic mineral character; Pechstein is denser and darker, Ungeheuer more herbal and lifted.
A Bottle To Understand It
Forster Pechstein Riesling GG is the bottle that concentrates everything the estate does into one glass. It comes from the basalt vineyard in Forst, fermented partly in oak barrels with wild yeast and partly in stainless steel, aged on lees until July 2025. The wine is dry, long, and mineral-driven, with dark reduction aromas at the opening, a dense mid-palate from the volcanic soil and oak barrel component, and a saline finish that persists well past the swallow.
Anecdote
When Emil Bassermann married Auguste Jordan in 1883, both families wanted to carry both names forward. In Bavaria, that was not a private decision. Merging two noble family surnames into a single hyphenated name required a formal dispensation from the state, which in 1883 meant an application to King Ludwig II. Ludwig granted it. The name Bassermann-Jordan was formalized by royal decree and appeared on the estate's bottles from that point. What had started as a family wish became a legal act, and the name on the label has not changed in the 140 years since.
Final Word
Bassermann-Jordan has spent three centuries farming the same Mittelhaardt villages and the last several decades working back toward the dry, site-differentiated Rieslings that made the estate's reputation in the nineteenth century. Organic farming, spontaneous fermentation in wood, and extended lees ageing are all in service of the same idea: that Forst basalt and Deidesheim limestone taste different, and that the GG tier is where that difference is most audible. Pechstein is a Forst Riesling from basalt.
Sources
- https://www.vdp.de/en/die-winzer/pfalz/vdpweingut-bassermann-jordan
- https://wineguide.wein.plus/weingut-geheimer-rat-dr-v-bassermann-jordan-gmbh
- https://www.grosse-lage.de/en/bassermann-jordan
- https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/WeingutGeheimerRatDr.von_Bassermann-Jordan
- https://wineanorak.com/2025/06/24/bassermann-jordan-tasting-the-wines-from-this-historic-pfalz-estate-now-farming-organically/
- https://winesaveur.com/2025/06/24/exploring-bassermann-jordan-a-journey-through-organic-wines-from-a-historic-pfalz-estate/
- https://shop.bassermann-jordan.de/33-2024-forster-pechstein-grosses-gewachs-riesling-trocken.html