Summary
Weingut Leon Gold in the Remstal is one of the most exciting young addresses in the Württemberg wine region. Leon Gold built the estate from nothing in 2015 in Gundelsbach near Weinstadt – with no winegrowing inheritance, but with a clear idea: wine should be the result of a healthy soil, not of a recipe in the cellar. The roughly 18 hectares have been farmed organically from the very beginning and biodynamically under Demeter since 2016. In the cellar the same restraint applies: spontaneous fermentation in wood and steel, natural settling, minimal sulphur. The result is a range that runs from juicy Trollinger to pét-nat – and that has put Württemberg on the international natural wine map.
History
The estate's history is short – and unusual. Leon Gold does not come from a winegrowing family. What fascinated him early on were the vines, the vineyards and the natural cycles around his home in the Remstal. That fascination turned into a career: Gold trained in viticulture and then qualified as a technician in viticulture and oenology at the state teaching and research institute in Weinsberg, with stints in several German wine regions along the way.
In 2015 he set up on his own in Gundelsbach, fulfilling a childhood dream. The estate grew step by step: a handful of parcels became around 18 hectares over the years. Formative influences came from the biodynamic scene – growers such as Sven Leiner in the Pfalz and Jochen Beurer, who farms biodynamically only a few kilometres away in the Remstal. As early as 2016, barely a year after starting out, Gold converted both vineyard and cellar entirely to biodynamic practice and had the estate certified by Demeter.
Location & Terroir
The Remstal is a side valley of the Neckar east of Stuttgart and one of the heartlands of Württemberg. The river Rems has cut deep into the landscape, leaving steep slopes facing south and south-west. The climate is comparatively warm and dry – warm enough to ripen red varieties reliably alongside Riesling.
Gundelsbach itself is a tiny hamlet in the north-east of Weinstadt's municipal area, sitting at around 275 metres above sea level and surrounded by vineyards, traditional orchards and beech woodland on the steep flanks of the Buocher Höhe. Geologically, alternating layers of gypsum keuper and sandstone define the parcels. That sequence means the wines differ noticeably from site to site, depending on how exposure, altitude and gradient interact. It is exactly these differences that Gold wants to make audible in his wines rather than levelling them out in the cellar.
Style & Philosophy
The estate's guiding principle is simple: quality begins in the vineyard. The focus therefore lies on healthy, humus-rich soils. Synthetic plant protection products and fertilisers are avoided completely; the estate's own composts and biodynamic preparations are used instead. Cover crops and hedges promote biodiversity, and the work through the year deliberately follows the lunar cycle, because Gold sees in it an influence on the growth and vitality of the vines.
That restraint continues in the cellar. The musts ferment spontaneously with the vineyard's own yeasts, and ageing takes place in a mix of wooden casks and stainless steel. Clarification happens naturally – through time and settling rather than technical intervention. Sulphur, if used at all, is added only minimally before bottling. The result are lively, often light-footed wines with clear fruit, a noticeable saltiness and little alcoholic weight: a counter-proposal to the broad, crowd-pleasing style that shaped Württemberg for a long time.
Notable Sites & Wines
Instead of a classic single-vineyard hierarchy, Leon Gold relies on a range with its own signature and plenty of wordplay around the family name. Among the best-known wines are:
- Gold Weiß and Gold Rosé – the estate's easy-drinking entry-level wines
- Neon Gold – a light, juicy Trollinger, often in a litre bottle
- Alte Reben Trollinger – the ambitious version of Württemberg's signature red variety
- Pink Gold and White Gold – pét-nats by the méthode ancestrale, finishing their fermentation in the bottle
- Cuvée Brut Nature – bottle-fermented sparkling wine with no dosage
- Pur Blanc – a purist white
- Lunar Herbs – a non-alcoholic herbal drink made in-house
Trollinger plays a special role here: many dismiss the variety as a Swabian everyday wine, but in Gold's interpretation it becomes a light red best served cool – and one that attracts international attention.
Awards
For an estate founded only in 2015, the response has been remarkable. The Alte Reben Trollinger 2023 was awarded 93 points by Falstaff critic Ulrich Sautter – an unusually high score for the variety. The Cuvée Brut Nature 2019 reached 92 Falstaff points, and the non-alcoholic Lunar Herbs 2024 scored 95 points in Falstaff's trophy for non-alcoholic drinks.
At least as telling is the international presence: the wines are carried by specialist natural wine importers in the USA, Ireland and other markets – far from a given for a young estate from the Remstal. Leon Gold is thus one of the producers quietly redrawing the picture of Württemberg as a red wine region.