Latest from Decanter (Vanilla) in Germany-vintage-guide

Top five best value Grosses Gewächs to try

Caro Maurer MW — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 08:00:33 +0000

The Große Gewächs (GG) of the VDP – an association of 200 of Germany’s leading wineries – represents the highest quality wine made in Germany today.

These are the finest dry wines made from the country’s top-ranked vineyards made to stringent regulations.

Harvest yields are capped at 50 hectolitres per hectare, though in practice they are usually much lower, and hand harvesting is mandatory.

These are only the basic requirements, without even considering the experience, commitment and expertise of the winemakers behind these wines.

All of this comes at a price: the average GG costs around €49 per bottle. However, wines from some estates command several hundred euros per bottle and are sold exclusively by subscription to a loyal customer base.

Risk versus reward

The figures on a GG’s price tag can therefore be viewed from two perspectives – as a price or as a value. The latter increases with a winery’s reputation, its image and the loyalty of customers who secure their allocation year after year.

People tend to stick with what they know and avoid risk, and many are willing to pay a premium for that reassurance.

At the same time, those who have the courage to try something new are often rewarded.

Many VDP members produce wines that remain undervalued, particularly in relation to their quality and price. A number of family-run estates have recently passed into the hands of a new generation whose education and international experience are bringing fresh momentum to these wineries – though this still needs to be recognised by consumers and critics alike.

One example is Weingut Kranz in the Pfalz, where son Xaver has been working alongside his father Boris since 2023.

It would be presumptuous to speak of second-tier wineries. If anything, that perception applies more to visibility than to quality. Sebastian Schäfer of Weingut Joh. Bapt. Schäfer in the Nahe, for instance, is naturally reserved and takes a discreet approach to marketing.

Yet in Wiesbaden – where the annual GG release tasting is held – he has once again demonstrated that his dry GG wines rank among the finest, even if they are not among the most expensive.

Here are five GGs that won’t break the bank yet promise a richly rewarding tasting experience.

Five great value Grosses Gewächs to try

German Riesling: A buying guide for beginners

Anna Lee Iijima — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 06:00:17 +0000

Riesling grows prolifically from Alsace and Austria to New York and New Zealand. Nowhere but Germany, however, does Riesling shine with such kaleidoscopic brilliance.

After all, Germany is considered by many to be the birthplace of Riesling. Historical accounts of Riesling’s exact origin vary, but undoubtedly, Germany is the heartland where this majestic grape has flourished for centuries.

The earliest recorded reference of Riesling in Germany was found on cellar logs dated 13 March 1435, a date that’s celebrated as Riesling’s unofficial birthday.

Riesling is the chameleon of the wine world, adopting a unique persona and style in every region it sets its roots. But only in Germany does Riesling unveil the full technicolour spectrum of its abilities.

A mirror to the exacting intricacies of German terroir, German Riesling ranges from bone dry, or trocken, to the barely sweet feinherb and decadently sweet. German Riesling triumphs in both still and sparkling ‘Sekt’ forms.

See German Riesling wine reviews by Decanter experts

German Riesling guide: Five key regions to know

Despite straddling the historic limits of cool-climate viticulture, Riesling has flourished in each of Germany’s 13 wine regions thanks to a complex interplay of sun exposure, topography and soils.

Mosel

The most iconic of all German Rieslings are those of the Mosel, a region where legendary producers like Willi Schaefer, Joh. Jos. Prüm, Zilliken and others are so abundant, that they’re seemingly ubiquitous.

Spine-tingling and often laser-light in expression, the wines of the Mosel are born out of a contrast of extremes. Despite an extremely northerly latitude (in wine region terms), the steep, south-facing slopes of the Mosel enjoy maximum exposure to the sun.

The craggy outcrops of shale covering the region’s most famous vineyards reflect sunlight and hold in heat.

‘The depth, complexity and lightness of wines from the Mosel, especially our Kabinett, is singular to Germany and the world,’ says Andreas Barth, who, with his wife Susanne, operates Weingut Lubentiushof in Niederfell, a winery that dates back to 1711.

Rheingau

The Rheingau’s historic reputation for Riesling of aristocratic pedigree far outsizes its surprisingly small vineyard size.

Vineyards of the Rheingau stretch along the northern banks of the Rhine and Main Rivers, tucked around the many castles and abbeys that dot the region. The south-facing vineyards tumble down gentle slopes towards the rivers and are protected from northerly winds by the Taunus mountains to the north.

Compared to the Mosel or Pfalz, the region enjoys a ripening period that starts earlier and extends late, explains Catharina Mauritz, the eighth-generation owner of Domdechant Werner in the village of Hochheim. The Riesling there is ‘elegant and filigreed’ with ‘acidity that’s not too harsh’, she suggests.

Dry, distinctly supple Riesling with focused minerality is characteristic, but the region is also renowned for complex expressions of botrytised sweet Riesling.

Rheinhessen

Rheinhessen is Germany’s largest wine region – a sunny, fertile expanse that was once an epicentre for the mass production of industrial sweet wines. Today, the region is far better known for the renegade producers of the 1990s who spearheaded a quality revolution there.

Historically, Rheinhessen’s best sites were concentrated in the red-sandstone soils of the Rheinterrasse (‘Rhine Terrace’) and the majestic Roter Hang (‘Red Slope’). Winegrowers like Gunderloch, St. Antony and Kühling-Gillot were largely responsible for resurrecting this region’s reputation and producing some of Germany’s most profoundly spicy, savoury expressions of Riesling there.

Meanwhile, a roster of star producers – Klaus-Peter Keller, Wittmann, Battenfeld-Spanier, Dreissigacker and others – have brought new attention to the gentle limestone hills of the Wonnegau in the south.

Pfalz

The Pfalz, which extends south of Rheinhessen to Germany’s border with Alsace in France, is one of Germany’s driest, warmest wine-growing regions.

The northern Mittelhaardt is the historic centre of the Pfalz. This is ‘where power players like Bassermann-Jordan, Dr Bürklin-Wolf, Müller-Catoir and Christmann command big prices for their ornate Rieslings’, says Evan Spingarn, a German wine specialist and portfolio manager for US importer, David Bowler Wine.

But, he adds, ‘the moral centre of the region lies a few miles north where producers like Koehler-Ruprecht [champions classically] barrel-aged… dry wines from loess and limestone’.

The Südliche Weinstrasse, or southern region of the Pfalz, is characterised by ‘warm breezes, sunshine and fruit trees [that] are as close to a Mediterranean vibe as Germany is ever likely to get’, Spingarn says, with leading producers including Ökonomierat Rebholz and Leiner.

Nahe

Tucked away in a pocket nearly enclosed by mountain ranges, the Nahe wine region is one of Germany’s smallest. While protected from harsh wind and rain, the region is often surprisingly cooler than vineyards in the Mosel or the Rheingau.

Riesling in Nahe shares a thrilling tendency towards focus and linearity but the region also boasts a wide range of soil types and an eye-opening diversity of Riesling styles.

The red slate soils of Monzingen in the warmer upper Nahe, for example, ‘offer more fruit and a sense of openness’, juxtaposed with ‘spice and piquant acidity’, says Werner Schönleber, who helms Emrich-Schönleber, his family winery.

Schönleber’s Riesling stands in bold contrast to the crystalline purity of Riesling sourced from the grey slate and volcanic rocks of Dönnhoff’s Hermannshöhle vineyard, or the chiseled, smoky minerality of Riesling from Schlossgut Diel’s Burgberg vineyard from the cooler lower Nahe region.

Away from these major regions, a new generation of winemakers in Sachsen and Saale-Unstrut – respectively Germany’s easternmost and northernmost wine regions, are worth watching closely.

Guide to reading a German Riesling wine label

Riesling famously enjoys a fervent following among sommeliers, critics and wine geeks alike. But for the everyday consumer or budding wine enthusiast, navigating through German Riesling labels can feel like a never-ending onslaught of unpronounceable quality classifications and vineyard designations.

Even distinguishing between a sweet or a dry German Riesling can overwhelm. At its most basic, wines labelled trocken are dry with little to no residual sugar. Feinherb or halbtrocken suggest wines that are just off-dry.

Even without familiarity with these terms, simply checking a Riesling’s alcohol content can provide significant insight. Typically, Riesling above 11.5% abv will taste dry. The lower the alcohol under 11.5%, the sweeter the wine will likely taste.

Traditionally, German Riesling was classified according to the Prädikate, designations indicating the ripeness levels of grapes at harvest regardless of how much sugar remained in wine after fermentation.

Starting with Kabinett, the spectrum swerved riper with late-harvested Spätlese and then Auslese. Riper still are wines made from botrytised grapes, such as the intensely sweet Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.

Eiswein (or ice wine) indicates exceptionally sweet wines from grapes frozen on the vine until their sugars concentrate.

Today, the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter or VDP, a selective association of nearly 200 of Germany’s quality wine producers, uses the Prädikat system to classify only wines with sweetness.

But producers outside of the VDP may still use the Prädikat system to signify late-harvest grapes that were fermented into dry wines like the often-confusing Spätlese Trocken (‘late-harvest dry’).

Parallel to the traditional Prädikat, VDP producers have adopted a Burgundian model classifying wines according to the specificity of their origin.

Gutswein indicates good wines at the base of the VDP quality pyramid – akin to a regional Bourgogne. Ortswein equates to village wines.

Erste Lage, meaning first site, is comparable to the Burgundian premier cru. And finally, at the top of the quality pyramid are the Grosse Lage, or great-site wines, similar to the Burgundian grand cru.

Grosse Lage wines that are dry are specified as Grosses Gewächs, meaning great growths, or GG for short.

Many consumers assume that German Riesling is typically sweet. But as German taste preferences have swung drier and drier in the last few decades, an increasing majority of German Riesling today is actually dry.

At the pinnacle of prestige today are Germany’s super-premium, powerfully wrought GG bottlings. Yet for many veteran German wine devotees, it’s the much less expensive Ortswein (village) category that delivers the most revealing expressions of Germany’s diverse terroir.

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German Grosses Gewächs releases 2024: World class Pinot and the promise of great Rieslings

Caro Maurer MW — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 09:17:29 +0000

In late summer 2024, the winegrowers of the VDP presented their Grosses Gewächs whites from 2023 and reds from 2022 at this year’s tasting in Wiesbaden.

See Caro Mauer MW’s top 30 recommendations below

The annual event

It’s an annual marathon, albeit a seated one, where the only movement comes from lifting your glass.

That’s the essence of the presentation tasting for the new vintages of the Grosses Gewächse (GG) wines.

Only produced by members of the VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter, the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates), the release of these ‘grand cru’ level wines is highly anticipated.

This year, the red wines from the 2022 vintage were in the spotlight, while the white wines were predominantly from the 2023 vintage.

Around 200 wine experts from all over the world travelled to Wiesbaden to taste as many GGs as possible over three days.

A total of 462 wines were served in flights of up to six wines, organised by grape variety and origin.

The experts sit in silence from morning to night in the bright colonnades of the Wiesbaden Kurhaus, raising glass after glass, and filling page after page of their notebooks with the ratings.

And at the end of each day, it almost feels like you’ve actually completed a marathon. Each glass seems heavier than the last, as you struggle from flight to flight at an ever slower pace, except that it’s not your muscles that ache but your teeth from all that tartaric acid.

The results made it all worth it though. After 2018, the 2022 vintage is likely the best-ever for German Pinot Noir.

Vintage 2023, on the other hand, was not an easy one for the whites. The range of quality is much wider here.

Only those who accurately committed to early harvest were able to bottle what might be described as more classic wines.

Caro Maurer MW at the 2024 GG release tasting. (Image credit: Peter Bender)

A glimpse into the future

In simple terms, GGs refer to the best dry wines from the finest sites. They are rare, comprising only 0.4% of the total wine production of the country.

Moreover, they are not cheap, with an average price of around €49 a bottle. White wines can be released to the market from 1 September of the year following harvest, while red wines are available on 1 September after two years.

It is not easy to taste these young wines now, let alone to assess them. After all, the Grosse Gewächse are called so because they usually harbour great potential for development.

They often need years before they reveal all their facets and show their best side. The chief reason for tasting them so young is how hard they would be to find later.

Given this, the tasting in Wiesbaden can only be a snapshot – a glimpse into the future.

The verdict: 2022 reds

The 2022 vintage was notably warm and dry, which benefited the red wines, particularly Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Lemberger.

‘It was the best vintage for red wines that we ever experienced in Germany,’ recalled Klaus Peter Keller.

‘Even finer than 2018, because it was not quite as hot and the aromatic ripeness progressed more slowly and the sugar value did not increase excessively this time.’

Keller’s 2022 Pinot Noir from the Morstein vineyard is one of the best. Its resemblance to Burgundy is marked; it reminds me of a Gevrey-Chambertin – the wine is simply world-class.

The wines from the Centgrafenberg and Hundsrück vineyards of the Rudolf Fürst winery are also among the finest Pinot Noirs: elegant and radiantly beautiful, with tannins so silky that they seem to be wearing a dinner jacket.

Julian Huber from the Bernhard Huber winery in Baden is also no slouch with his Schlossberg and Wildenstein from the Bienenberg.

However, his wines appear more modern and determined, flirting with a slight reduction that cloaks the fruit of cherries and raspberries in graphite and cold smoke.

For the first time in 2022, a Pinot Noir from the Mosel also ranks among the top wines: Maximin Grünhaus’ Abtsberg with its polished, international style.

Grosses Gewächs (GG) refers to some of the top quality dry German wines. (Image credit: Peter Bender)

The verdict: 2023 whites

In contrast, 2023 proved to be more challenging for white wines. First, there was drought in spring, followed by persistent rain and warm temperatures that encouraged fungal diseases.

The weather stabilised in September, leading to a super-fast harvest, as everything was suddenly ripe at the same time.

Manual labour was necessary to sort and harvest healthy grapes. Throughout the summer of 2023, the employees of Tim Fröhlich at Schäfer-Fröhlich were kept on their toes constantly.

With the rain promoting foliage growth, the leaves in the fruit zone had to be removed repeatedly.

And the hard work put in by winemakers such as Tim Fröhlich and Hansjörg Rebholz certainly paid off in their wines.

The 2023 Felseneck and Kastanienbusch Rieslings from each respectively are exceptional wines, already displaying the promise of future greatness.

The best of the best also included the 2023 Treppchen (still a barrel sample) from Weingut Dr. Loosen on the Mosel: intense, still quite young, but already polished.

Other top producers who shone include: Weil and Künstler in the Rheingau, Kühling-Gillot and Wittmann in Rheinhessen, and Battenfeld Spanier, Philipp Kuhn, and Christmann in the Pfalz.

A newcomer among my favourites is the Kalmit GG from Weingut Kranz, which is an absolute bargain among the top wines.

Although the 2023 white wines need choosing with care, anyone who buys them now with an eye to drinking them in 10 years’ time can look forward to a great return on investment.

Best of the new Grosses Gewächs releases

Maximin Grünhaus: Producer profile and wines to try

Clive Pursehouse — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:18:17 +0000

The name Maximin Grünhaus has long been among the top legacies in Germany’s Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wine region.

Over the decades the name has consistently drawn eager bids at the famed Grosser Ring or ‘Great Ring’, the annual wine auction in Trier, with buyers happy to pay among the highest amounts to snap up barrels of Grünhaus Riesling that aren’t marketed elsewhere.

Located in Mertesdorf, just outside of the city of Trier, along the thin ribbon of the Ruwer River, the Grünhaus estate, the arched gate framing a manor house which dates to 1597 and, behind the house, its steeply sloping vineyards, cuts an impressive figure in this equally impressive landscape.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 16 new releases from Maximin Grünhaus

Historic in many ways

The Maximin Grünhaus estate was given to the Benedictine monks as the monastery of Saint-Maximin of Trier in the year 966 CE. Seized by Napoleon in the 18th century, it was acquired at auction by an ancestor of the von Schubert family in 1882, and now Maximin von Schubert, the sixth generation, owns and operates the legendary estate, having taken over from his father Carl in 2014.

In an interesting twist: Karl Marx’s father owned two hectares of vines on the modern-day Grünhaus estate in the Herrenberg Grosse Lage parcel. Heinrich Marx, a lawyer from Trier, bought the vineyard land as an investment.

When his father died in 1838, Karl Marx took ownership of the vineyard until his mother purchased it from him. Marx sold the last five full barrels of the family’s Riesling upon his mother’s death. While Marx may have eschewed the concept of profiting off personal property, he seems to have made an exception for Grünhaus Riesling.

Maximin’s great-great-great-grandfather bought the estate because of its long-held reputation. Documents from the 16th and 17th centuries show that the rate charged for grapes from Grünhaus vineyards was two and half times that from other nearby vines, a sign of the esteem garnered over the years. It remains a sterling expression of German Riesling today.

Bottle ageing in the Maximin Grünhaus cellar. (Image credit: Clive Pursehouse)

Many shades of green

The name ‘Grünhaus’ translates to ‘green house’ and dates back to 600 CE. There is plenty of speculation about the origins of the name, though, as it was not a colour historically associated with Saint-Maximin of Trier. There are theories of course. This portion of the Ruwer Valley where the one-time abbey stands remains verdant and largely undeveloped. The Grünhaus estate includes 34ha of vineyards, and the nearby lush Grünhauser forest (also owned by the estate) grows over much of the land.

The hill where the vineyards sit, the Grüneberg, has blue Devonian and red slates towards the top. Maximin von Schubert tells me the slate goes greenish in colour in some places. While he’s not sure of the chemical composition, he’s often found it in the roots of downed oak trees in the forest next to the vineyards. It’s likely veins of igneous diabase, a greenish basaltic rock which is found in the region.

On the other hand, the simplest explanation may be the most obvious. Renovations of the manor house in the 1980s showed evidence that, on more than one occasion, it was formerly painted green. So perhaps it was just that St Maximin lived in a green house.

The castle at Maximin Grünhaus dates to 1597. (Image credit: Clive Pursehouse)

A holy hierarchy

The three estate vineyards are the ‘Bruderberg’, the ‘Abtsberg’ and the ‘Herrenberg’ which run from right to left along the face of the unbelievably steep hillside. Like many of the top sites throughout the region, these names correspond to church hierarchies with wines of better quality going to those of higher rank. The south-facing slope of the Grüneberg is where the vineyards sit with gradients as steep as 70% in places.

Bruderberg

The Bruderberg is named for the simple ‘brothers’ of the Maximin Grünhaus priory when the abbey was established more than a thousand years ago, as the wines from this parcel were designated for their consumption. It is the smallest of the three sites, at only one hectare and planted exclusively to Riesling, at 140-170m in elevation with steep slopes between 50-70%. The soils are blue Devonian slate like the neighbouring Abtsberg cru.

The defining feature of the Bruderberg is that it abuts the forest on two sides. The forest protects the smaller parcel from cold winds from the north and west while also shading it from the afternoon sun almost completely. This means despite its lower elevation, it’s the coolest parcel of the three Grünhaus Grosse Lagen.

Herrenberg

The wines from the Herrenberg were designated for the abbey’s choirmasters; at 19ha, they must have done quite a bit of singing. Planted with both Riesling and Pinot Blanc, the size of this site lends it a good deal of diversity.

The Herrenberg sits between 190-290 metres with a gradient between 20-60%. There are sections of blue Devonian slate, with reddish slate (also Devonian in origin) appearing on the flatter portion of the cru, which abuts the forest. The slate breaks up, allowing the roots to go deeper, and at Grünhaus they believe this gives a spicy character to the wines.

Abtsberg

The Abtsberg sits dead-centre between the other two sites, representing the estate’s top wines, a veritable sweet spot of sorts. The wines from this site were designated for the Abbotts, the top of the monastery’s hierarchy. Pure blue Devonian slate, the Abtsberg slopes outwardly, facing both southeast and southwest at different orientations. This top site is 14ha in total, at heights of 140 to 270 metres and with gradients between 40-75%.

It is a legendary site and produces the estate’s top wines each vintage, some of the most age-worthy in all of Germany. The shallow, fossil-rich soils impart a more significant mineral impact to the wines than those from the slate subsoils. Pinot Noir is also planted in this Riesling-centric site, the top cru at Grünhaus.

The monopole cru of Maximin Grünhaus. (Image credit: Weingut Maximin Grünhaus)

Innovation meets tradition

Maximin von Schubert has been running Maximin Grünhaus since 2014. The young proprietor, named after the estate, believes that both the changing climate and modernity require innovation for things to retain their classical nature. His work maintaining character and elegance includes progressive stewardship of the vines and nearby forests and waterways.

‘Uniquely, we’re one of only three complete monopole estates in all of Germany,’ von Schubert explains. ‘We have 34ha of monopole vineyards and another 210ha of agricultural lands and forest. There is a great deal of stewardship that we are responsible for.’ For the region’s wines, mainly those made in the Prädikat style, to still be possible, progressive approaches to farming, viticulture, and even forestry will be necessary.

Climate change is unique in its challenge for Germany. Although warming temperatures in the near term have benefitted cool regions like the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, there are longer-term issues. Most glaringly are concerns about rising sugars without the accompanying acids, which have long made the ethereal Prädikat wines unique to this place. As temperatures continue to increase, crafting Kabinett or Auselese-style wines in some sites has become more vexing with every passing year, and German Eiswein production has almost entirely disappeared.

During my visit, von Schubert was experimenting with drones for spraying – something that hadn’t been used in the region up to that point, where they have historically sprayed the steep slopes by helicopter. Drones give them greater control and accuracy and are more sustainable and economical than flying helicopters.

His willingness to push what is possible regarding the best available technologies in vineyard management, while remaining steadfast to traditional approaches in the cellar, demonstrates his commitment to the estate’s 1,000-year-old traditions and his family and region’s future.

New releases from Maximin Grünhaus

Joh. Jos. Prüm: Producer profile & 10 wines tasted

Anna Lee Iijima — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 08:00:17 +0000

The Mosel Valley is seemingly rife with winemakers named Prüm. Indeed, members of the Prüm family have inhabited the village of Wehlen, a wine-growing epicentre of the Mosel, as far back as the 12th century.

The bedrock for generations of wine-growing at Prüm’s was the original estate of S. A. Prüm, the winery established in the early 1800s by Sebastian Alois Prüm. It was Sebastian’s brother, Jodocus Prüm, who installed a sundial on a rocky outcrop of the Wehlener vineyards in 1842, lending the word Sonnenuhr, or sundial, to the vineyard’s name.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 Rieslings from Joh. Jos. Prüm

In 1911, S. A. Prüm was split among Sebastian’s seven grandchildren, the oldest being Johann Josef Prüm. S. A. Prüm and its descendant wineries still thrive in the Mosel, among them, Weins-Prüm and Studert-Prüm, but also Jos Christoffel Jun, Dr Loosen and Dr Pauly-Bergweiler. In the Rheingau, even Robert Weil is a Prüm descendant.

Of all the Prüms, however, no winery has become more iconic for its singular, even stalwart, expression of the Mosel than Joh. Jos. Prüm. The wines of J. J. Prüm are a celebration of the German wine classification system, Prädikatsweine – luminous, ethereal expressions of kabinett, spätlese and auslese, along with the rare (and astronomically pricey) beerenauslese, eiswein and trockenbeerenauslese.

The estate produces only Riesling, and although dry wines increasingly dominate both production and sales in Germany, J. J. Prüm produces virtually no dry wines.

Since 2003, the estate has been helmed by Dr. Katharina Prüm and her father Dr. Manfred Prüm, who succeeded his own father at the estate in 1969. For twenty years, they have served as co-owners and co-winemakers of the estate.

‘There was never any deliberate division of labour or duties,’ says Katharina. ‘At first, I was functioning more as an observer. I took on responsibilities step by step and now, as my father turns 90 [in 2024], maybe things have flipped,’ she says.

Joh. Jos. Prüm vineyards. (Image credit: Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter / Peter Bender)

Jewels of the Middle Mosel

J. J. Prüm is anchored in Wehlen, a picturesque village of the Mittelmosel, or Middle Mosel. Compared to the cooler Saar and Ruwer valleys, the narrow, snaking valley of the Middle Mosel produces Riesling that is distinctly ripe, often brimming with fruit, yet racy, filigreed and electric too.

The estate’s holdings span 22ha in the heart of the Middle Mosel and include celebrated vineyards in Bernkasteler Badstube and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. But the crown jewels of J. J. Prüm’s estate are its sites in the Wehlener Sonnenuhr and Graacher Himmelreich – two adjacent vineyards known to produce many of the world’s most ageworthy wines.

The Wehlener Sonnenuhr and Graacher Himmelreich rise out from the Mosel River in direct view of the winery – majestic, dangerously steep slopes covered with shards of blue-grey Devonian slate. The vineyards are a familiar backdrop to anyone lucky enough to be invited into the estate’s parlour for a tasting (very few outsiders have stepped into the cellars or production areas of J. J. Prüm).

Joh. Jos. Prüm at a glance

Founded 1911 by Johann Josef Prüm following a division of the original S. A. Prüm estate

Co-owners and winemakers Dr. Manfred Prüm (third generation owner) and Dr. Katharina Prüm (fourth generation owner)

Location Village of Wehlen in the Mittelmosel (Middle Mosel)

Production 140,000 bottles

Grape variety Riesling

Area under vine 22ha

Key vineyards Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Bernkasteler Badstube

Soil Devonian shale

Of the two sites, Wehlener Sonnenuhr has a slightly more southern exposition and a higher concentration of pure, weathered Devonian slate. Graacher Himmelreich, which borders the southern edge of Wehlenher Sonnenuhr, is slightly less steep in gradient. It’s distinguished from Wehlener Sonnenuhr by pockets of blue slate and a deeper, water-retaining soil structure.

‘Standing in front of the two vineyards, it’s impossible to understand why they taste so different,’ says Katharina. But regardless of vintage or climate variations, distinctions between the two vineyards always shine through.

The wines of Wehlener Sonnenuhr tend towards richness, structure and complexity. ‘Wehlener Sonnenuhr offers more intensity, more stone fruits like white peach,’ says Katharina. Graacher Himmelreich tends towards clarity and focus. ‘The wines are a bit more racy in style,’ she says. ‘They have slightly higher acidity’ and fruit flavours that are brisk and cutting – more green apple or ripe pink grapefruits,’ Katharina suggests.

Wines from Wehlener Sonnenuhr also tend to develop at a more relaxed pace. ‘Graacher Himmelreich jumps at you a bit more quickly,’ says Katharina. ‘It’s charming earlier whereas Wehlener Sonnenuhr starts more slowly. Once it gets going, however, it runs and runs forever. Wehlener Sonnenuhr is the marathon runner of the two.’

(Image credit: Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter / Peter Bender)

An ageless approach to winemaking

In the two decades since Katharina joined her father, much of the estate’s production remains unchanged.

Because phylloxera is deterred by slate soils, roughly 90% of the estate’s vines are ungrafted. Yields are low and weather and climate permitting, the winery harvests late, allowing grapes to ripen over an extended growing period, intensifying in aroma, complexity and expressiveness.

Workers harvest grapes with no mechanical assistance, clinging to ropes as they manoeuvre rocky cliffsides with buckets in hand – one for healthy grapes and one for botrytised grapes. The wines are fermented spontaneously and matured on their lees for extended periods in stainless steel.

Tasted young, they can be nervous and tightly wound with a distinctly reductive sponti (short for spontaneous fermentation) stink. Katharina calls it a ‘wildness’ – a smoky, pungent odour reminiscent of struck matches and slate. It’s a signature of the J. J. Prüm style, a veil of youth that fades with bottle maturation to reveal thrilling complexity and freshness. To the Prüms, it’s an accepted part of an intentionally long evolutionary process.

A goldkapsel or gold capsule, with a single white stripe on the neck of a J. J. Prüm bottle, represents some of the estate’s best auslese bottlings, typically richer, more concentrated wines boosted with botrytised grapes. An auslese with a lange goldkapsel, or long gold capsule, has two white stripes at the bottom to indicate a much higher percentage of botrytis, closer in style to a beerenauslese. Beerenauslese, trockenbeerenauslese and eiswein are always adorned with the lange goldkapsel.

While approachable young, even a basic kabinett from J. J. Prüm can benefit from three to five years of cellar time. Spätlase and auslese may not approach their peak for 20-30 years, and a well-kept beerenauslese or eiswein can be shockingly vibrant for decades longer. Whether young or mature, decanting the wines is often recommended.

Joh. Jos. Prüm’s plots overlooking the Mosel. (Image credit: Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter / Peter Bender)

Embracing tradition, but always seeking improvement

A large part of J. J. Prüm’s allure is its timelessness. Regardless of vintage variations, their wines are remarkably faithful to a benchmark form that’s immune to fads.

Katharina, however, is emphatic that she’s neither immune to nor resistant to change. ‘For me, tradition means only to keep things that make sense,’ she says. ‘In producing great wines, you constantly have to ask what you can do better, and that was a continual process that my father carried out too.’

Change in climate, for example, has driven an increasing number of adaptations for the winery. Consistently warmer growing seasons prompt grapes to ripen much faster than in the past, shortening the long ripening periods the estate is known for. When Katharina started at the estate, harvest never began before October, she says. Today, the winery often harvests by mid-September.

‘Weather patterns today are much less predictable too,’ she says. Amid extremely dry vintages like 2022, the winery undertakes more green harvesting than ever before, cutting away higher percentages of grape clusters to help drought-afflicted vines restore their balance. It’s a difficult adaptation, Katharina suggests, that further compounds yields that have shifted lower and lower in contemporary vintages.

Subtle shifts in wine style over the last two decades also reflect Katharina’s philosophy when it comes to Prädikatsweine: that each level of ripeness must have a clear and distinct identity.

Today, J. J. Prüm’s kabinetts are most often just a shade off-dry – not legally dry, but much drier than you’ll find with most Mosel estates. Its spätlese is a bit more fruity but never sweet on the finish. And for Katharina, even an auslese is a food wine, she says: ‘Sweetness should never be the main impression for these wines.’ Her oft-repeated message is that at J. J. Prüm, kabinett, spätlese and auslese are all drier than they are sweet in style.

In educating consumers, Katharina steers clear of measurements of residual sugar. In fact, the winery does not publicise any of its analytical data. ‘The key is to find the right balance of sweetness and acidity in the context of every vintage,’ she says, ‘and that’s something we define by tasting, not just analytical data.’

(Image credit: Clive Pursehouse)

Forever sweet, or rather, not dry

Katharina’s career at the winery began amid a growing shift in German consumer preferences towards dry wines – a Trockenwelle, or dry wave – that catapulted the weight of German wine production from sweet to dry.

It’s a shift that’s also been championed by the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP), the powerful association of Germany’s most prominent estates as they focus efforts on the exclusively dry, super-premium Grosses Gewächs, or GG bottlings.

Despite being a founding member of the VDP, J. J. Prüm produces virtually no dry wines. Its off-dry and sweet Prädikatsweine wear the VDP Grosse Lage designation, reflecting the grand cru status of the vineyards, but the winery produces no GGs.

If a dry wine is made, ‘it’s usually by coincidence – we’ll have a little tank that just fermented super-fast and if it wants to be dry, we just let it,’ says Katharina. The last time she remembers producing dry wine was in 2011, most likely bottled as a kabinett trocken or spätlese trocken.

It’s not that Katharina doesn’t believe the Mosel can produce exceptional dry wines. In fact, she thinks the Mosel’s ability to produce dry wines has only improved as the climate gets warmer. But so many regions in Germany and even more around the world produce fantastic dry wines, she explains.

‘Here in the Mosel, we produce something so rare and unique, something only a few people can produce in the world,’ Katharina says; ‘that’s what our focus is.’

See notes and scores for 10 exquisite Joh. Jos. Prüm Rieslings

Producer Profile: Weingut Willi Schaefer

Clive Pursehouse — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:00:34 +0000

Blink and you could miss it. The village of Graach, or Graach an der Mosel, was first mentioned in historical texts in 975. Home to just over 600 inhabitants, it is a tiny town lying alongside the B53 road as it traces the meanders of the Mittelmosel while you’re making your way north from picturesque Bernkastel town towards the charming hamlet of Zeltingen.

That such a small place could be home to some of the world’s greatest wines and, in fact, one of the finest producers of Riesling on the planet, might be a little surprising. However, if you know anything about these steep Devonian slate slopes and the reputation of Weingut Willi Schaefer, you’ll understand that Graach indeed sits on hallowed ground.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for a selection of Willi Schaefer Rieslings

Christoph Schaefer, along with his wife Andrea, has been at the helm of Willi Schaefer since 2015, taking over from his father Willi. Christoph’s grandparents, Martha and Willibrord Schaefer, founded the winery in its current state after World War II. The family’s viticultural roots, however, go back nearly as far as the town of Graach itself.

There is mention in a document referring to a vineyard changing hands from 1121 of one of the Schaefer family ancestors. Local and historical documents from the region around Graach show evidence of the Schaefer family’s involvement in vineyard work as early as 1590.

When I ask Christoph how long his family has owned and tended their vineyards above the village of Graach, he chuckles. ‘Actually, more or less always,’ he says with a wry smile. And he means it literally.

Those centuries-old beginnings laid the foundation for Christoph’s father Willi, who would take the wines and the global reputation of Weingut Willi Schaefer to the pinnacle of Riesling producers, staking the label’s renown on its kabinett, spätlese and auslese wines – bottled poetry from the steep slate slopes of the Mosel.

A style is born

Willibrord Schaefer (Christoph’s grandfather) had been producing bone-dry Riesling for years when he stumbled onto the style that would become the calling card for his eponymous brand.

Europe experienced a series of extremely cold winters throughout the 1940s. Fermentations of the 1943 vintage Rieslings were not complete, owing to the very cold weather, leaving Schaefer with a cellar full of wines boasting a delicate sweetness. This style became his focus, with the aim being to find a balance between the bright and lively acidity of this region’s terroir and the graceful sweetness of the Riesling planted here when the fruit attains perfect ripeness.

Schaefer’s great growths

Slope: 65%-70%

Elevation: 110m-320m

Located in the village of Wehlen, the vineyard is named for a sundial built in the 1840s by Joducus Prüm. The site is known for producing wines of freshness, bright fruit and minerality.

Graacher Himmelreich is one of the two Grosse Lage sites associated with the village of Graach. Himmelreich means literally ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ and was so named because much of the vineyard land was owned back in the Middle Ages by the Catholic church. Weingut Willi Schaefer has 2ha of vines within this larger Grosse Lage cru.

Half of the estate holdings are located within the Graacher Domprobst Grosse Lage, where the most sought-after Schaefer wines are produced. Domprobst sits in the centre of the Himmelreich cru. Imagine a sort of bullseye. The term Domprobst means ‘Dean of the Cathedral’ (of Trier) – since it was of higher quality, 10% of the fruit from this most prestigious of sites went to the local religious leader.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr is located just downstream from the village of Graach on the Mosel river (in the direction of Zeltingen). The Willi Schaefer estate holdings in Wehlener Sonnenuhr are only 0.25ha.

Elegance & tradition

While a world of wine drinkers has fallen in love with the pinpoint acidities of the fashionable Grosses Gewächs [dry Rieslings from vineyard sites rated as top-quality by Germany’s VDP organisation], the Schaefers continue doing what they always have; making some of the Mosel’s best classic Rieslings. The tradition that Christoph carries on in the cellar is founded on one defining principle: ‘a pursuit of elegance’ is how he puts it.

This has become a challenge in a warming climate. The picking windows have become smaller and the margin for error has increased. ‘In the 1970s, just like the old days, it was simply a matter of waiting for the grapes to ripen. Now you must be ready to go, because if you are even just a few days behind, the grapes won’t give us the wines we intend to make.’

The hallowed, steep slopes of the Himmelreich vineyard above Graach village, Mosel. (Image credit: Christopher Arnoldi)

That approach is also a commitment to low-tech winemaking. In the face of global technological advances, the ethic at Weingut Willi Schaefer remains the same as it was in the days of Christoph’s grandfather and of those before him. ‘We don’t measure any data,’ Christoph tells me. ‘We just taste the grapes. You have to trust your tongue. I gauge the ripeness and aromatics through tasting in the vineyard. I taste the grapes again during the pressing and again at fermentation. When the wines taste as though they’re ready, and I like where they are, then I stop the fermentation.’

So the house style at Willi Schaefer is to do as close to nothing to the wine as they possibly can. Every barrel is stopped, Christoph says, ‘when the feeling is that we have a perfect balance of all the components’. And: ‘It’s the purity that allows us to see the terroir with clarity in these wines’. The wines are then racked into stainless steel tanks until bottling, with just a slight filtration beforehand.

‘In general we don’t use many techniques,’ says Christoph. ‘We focus on harvest strategy and we follow that closely. If we make the right selections and decisions in the vineyard, then we don’t have to worry about what happens in the cellar.’

Let the terroir talk

The Schaefer approach is refreshing in its simplicity. The cellar sits below Christoph and Andrea’s family home, built by his grandfather in the 1950s. They use only the gentlest pressing of the grapes and all fermentations are spontaneous and very slow. The wines ferment in old, 1,000-litre German fuders, some of them dating back to the 1950s.

They are driven by an obsessive respect for the terroir that has supported this family for centuries. They take what the vintage gives them. ‘If we don’t have the grapes for a particular wine, we simply don’t make that wine in a given vintage,’ Christoph tells me.

Their commitment has won them a cult-like following among Riesling devotees, driven by their purity of approach and strong commitment to tradition, one that feels so fleeting in our rapidly changing world.

Willi Schaefer: Top-flight Rieslings in high demand

Germany: red wines to watch

Olivia Mason — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 08:00:31 +0000

Vying for the attention of the expert judges at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020, Germany’s red wines performed better than in any other year, winning a record-breaking number of Platinum medals.

From elegant Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) to Lemberger and Syrah, below are some top-scoring examples to watch out for…

Jan Konetzki on judging German wines at DWWA 2020

Classically, Germany produces staggering Pinot Noirs from the slightly cooler areas, as well as from the warmer areas in the south. We have tasted some fantastic drinking wines, from “session” Pinot Noirs up to really top-quality, ageworthy grand cru styles.What really surprised me is that lesser-known and less-featured areas such as Württemberg and signature varieties, Lemberger for example, showed really well and exhibited, even on the grand cru side, some real promise. Slightly quirkier varieties, for example Syrah, have also shown fantastically well from Germany – so watch out for German reds!

91 points,

Silver

€9.80 (2018) www.cleebronner-weinshop.de

Heady liquorice, candied orange peel, cinnamon and clove lead on to vibrant spicy blackberry and supple, smooth tannins. Alc 13%

Pfalz

Schenk-Siebert, Neuleininger Feuermännchen Spätburgunder 2017

(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

95 points,

Gold

€20 (2018) https://shop.weingut-schenk-siebert.de

Inviting and smoky aromas of plush black fruit, dark chocolate, mocca and luxurious oak, then to a spiced palate of black cherry, blackberry and subtle tannins. Alc 14.1%

Weinbiet, Von Ersten Lagen Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

91 points,

Silver

€7 (2019) https://shop.weinbiet.de

Opulent with black cherry, black current leaf and dark chocolate nose, elegant spice, mocha and pristine tannins on the palate. Alc 14%

Rheinhessen

Lisa Bunn, Nierstein vom Rotliegenden St Laurent 2017

(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Schloss Proschwitz, Spätburgunder GG 2016

(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

94 points,

Silver

€23.50 www.proschwitzer-weinshop.de

Bright with pretty raspberry, heady gingerbread and red cherry leading to forest fruit, vanilla and plush tannins on the palate. Alc 13%

GG Grosses Gewächs

Search all DWWA 2020 results

DWWA 2021 entries are open – enter now

(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

German Grosses Gewächs 2020 releases: the top wines

Anne Krebiehl MW — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 09:56:15 +0000

Social distancing was ensured, masks were de rigueur, temperatures were taken and tasters were spaced on individual tables over three large rooms at the Kurhaus in Wiesbaden for this year’s VDP GG Release tasting.

477 Grosse Gewächse, or grands crus, could be tasted: most of them are whites from the 2019 vintage and reds from 2018. Since the annual VDP Weinbörse event, usually taking place in April, had been cancelled, this was the first opportunity to properly assess the 2019 vintage via the top-end, dry wines from single, classified sites.

This release tasting was also perhaps the first proper international wine event to take place since lockdown. It was a joy to be able to taste and the organisation, as every year, was flawless. Spaces were strictly limited but attendance was high, even if tasters from the US and Asia were missing. Europe was there in full force. The verdict: the wines are spectacular. 2019 whites benefited from a cooler harvest and have firm, ripe freshness, the 2018 reds show uncommon elegance and defy the heat of the vintage.

Scroll down to see the top 20 Grosses Gewächs recommendations

See the top 40 wines tasted here

2019 whites: The test of resilience

It is fair to say that Germany has not had such climatic conditions since the Medieval Warm Period. The heat and dryness of 2018 as well as the heat and heterogenous weather events of 2019 posed challenges all of their own.

Dry stress and sunburn foremost among them – it is clear that those estates that learned how to deal with the changing climate in their vineyards have made more complete wines than ever before.

‘2019 is a great, precise vintage,’ said Robert Haller of Bürgerspital in Franken.

‘The only downside was the low yield. Ripeness was optimal and we learned quite some time ago to go on freshness rather than alcoholic strength. There are super Silvaners and it was another fine year for Riesling – so harmonious with a very long life ahead of it.’

Dr Carl von Schubert of Maximin Grünhaus in the Ruwer Valley agreed and cited 2019 as ‘a year with much roundness. There are few vintages that are as much fun in their youth as this one. The wines have a silky consistency and beautiful acidity.’

He also noted a ‘real sense of joy, length, depth and fruity presence.’

Late spring frosts in some regions, several days of temperatures above 40°C in July and rainy days during harvest in September and October had all taken their toll on the yields.

But von Schubert – who has seen every kind of vintage since he took over in 1981 – praised Riesling as ‘the most ingenious grape variety and the most ingenious weed in the world, which brings great results even under difficult circumstances.’

Mark Barth of Weingut Barth in the Rheingau credited the lower temperatures at harvest with the freshness of the Rieslings, ‘The acid is precise and aligned to good volume. The GGs are a rather fine composition of body, acid and fruit.’

After the heatwave in 2018 that used up groundwater reserves, everyone said that 2019 would depend on water levels being replenished over winter. This did not happen, so the resilience of the vines was tested.

Old vines with deep roots coped surprisingly well, regardless of soils, even though they did make a difference. Haller noted that his limestone soils with their capacity for water retention were easier to deal with than well-drained sandstone soils, for instance. But he noted that soil management and humus content mattered more than ever – as well as climate-adapted viticulture.

2018 reds: Managing the heat

Regarding the 2018 reds, Rainer Schnaitmann from Württemberg said: ‘We learned in 2003 already that heat had to be handled. We really paid attention to freshness which may even be too much for some. But we captured great elegance despite the power – you sense the warmth of the vintage without fatness or plumpness. The 2018 reds will be great.’

Schnaitmann, as many of his more progressive colleagues across Germany, uses whole-bunch fermentation to lend backbone and firmness, rather than extraction or oak. With the super-healthy fruit of 2018 this produced gorgeously expressive wines of real purity.

‘Paying attention to pH levels was key,’ added Franz Wehrheim of Weingut Dr Wehrheim in the Pfalz.

The result

The result is that 2019 Mosel Riesling shines with utter fruit, Saar and Nahe are deliciously hair-raising and exacting, Rheinhessen is on a special path, especially along the Red Slope.

Rieslings from Franken, Württemberg and Baden are new hunting grounds for exceptional styles and quality. The Rheingau has its handful of world stars but also some complacent estates.

Where Spätburgunder is concerned, there no longer is any doubt that Germany’s Pinot Noirs are world class – across different soils and sites. Today they show more personality and finesse than ever.

Elegant Pinot Blancs, savoury Silvaners and spicy Lembergers are the sleepers the international wine world still needs to wake up to.

While the GGs are not cheap, they probably represent the greatest value in wine today – especially considering the steepness of the slopes and the back-breaking work these precipitous, stony vineyards demand.

Riesling, Silvaner, Pinot Blanc & Blaufränkisch: Anne’s 20 top Grosses Gewächs picks

Understanding Grosses Gewächs Riesling and wines to look for

The revival of Sekt, Germany’s signature sparkling wine

Anne Krebiehl MW — Sun, 20 Oct 2019 08:30:59 +0000

In New York or London you can still be forgiven for turning your nose up at Sekt – German sparkling wine – but in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich Sekt is the new ‘sexy’.

About time, too, since Germany has an illustrious but almost forgotten history when it comes to effervescence. In the mid-19^th century Sekt spelled pure luxury, but by the turn of the millennium it had become a byword for sweetish, mass-produced plonk. Sekt, which had lagged behind in Germany’s quality revolution, is the country’s latest category to experience a revival. It is back with a vengeance – and real quality.

When Georg Christian Kessler founded Germany’s first Sekt house in 1826, he was the disruptor of the day and soon various Sektkellereien sprang up. Kesseler had joined the business of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin in Reims, the widow herself, risen through the ranks and become partner in the Champagne house before founding his own business in Germany. The Germans had experimented with making sparkling wines for a while but Napoleon’s occupation and annexation of the German territories on the left bank of the Rhine from the 1790s until 1814 had left a distinct fashion for that new-fangled, fizzing French wine which soon turned into serious business. Making sparkling wine was, after all, a way of adding value to the naturally acidic and slender German base wines.By 1900 Germany produced more than 10 million bottles of Sekt. This roaring trade attracted taxation: in 1909 the Sektsteuer that had been introduced in 1902 to finance Kaiser Wilhelm’s navy, started taxing Sekt according to price. This turned the tide against the best and most expensive Sekts and allowed Champagne to cement its (well-deserved) place in the world. Two world wars did the rest and Sekt’s fortunes only rose again in the 1950s when big houses like Henkell and Kessler introduced 200ml Piccolo/Pikkolo bottles that popularised the former luxury.By the late 1960s most of the German Sekt houses changed to cheaper, more efficient tank-fermentation and turned initially German, then pan-European base wines into easy-drinking, very affordable Sekt. What had once been the preserve of the rich was now truly democratised – but the art of bottle fermentation was almost lost.In the late 1980s it was once again taxation, or rather a technicality in its administration, that changed Sekt’s fortunes. Winemakers could now hold untaxed Sekt in bond in their own cellars: traditional-method Sekt became a real option again. Experimentation duly started. Some made it their main business, others developed a serious side-line.

The 1990s then saw the legal framework for quality Sekt expanded with the definition of the terms Crémant and Winzersekt. Over the past decade the once demeaned term ‘Sekt’ has been revived and rehabilitated.

In 2018 Germany’s association of elite estates, the VDP, published its own Sekt statute – signalling that Sekt has finally come full circle. Making Sekt is now a serious and distinct discipline with ambitious producers setting their sights firmly on quality. Suitable plots are dedicated to growing base wines for Sekt and are farmed accordingly while quality notches higher and higher.

Sekt: What to look for on the label

Traditionelle Flaschengaerung (traditional bottle fermentation) This is the key term to look out for. While the law defines Sekt, Winzersekt and Crémant, not all producers choose to use these terms.

Winzersekt Prescribes traditional bottle fermentation and 100% estate-grown fruit, must state grape variety and vintage (min. 85% of that variety and vintage)

Crémant Now less used; prescribes whole-bunch pressing for white grapes and max. yield of 100l must from 150kg grapes, and traditional bottle fermentation

The VDP Sekt statute stipulates grape varieties, yields, pressing regimen and traditional bottle fermentation. It distinguishes between Ortssekt (village) with a minimum of 15 months on lees in bottle; and Lagensekt, from a single site classified as either Erste or Grosse Lage, with a minimum 36 months on lees.

Varieties

In terms of grape varieties, Sekt is either classical or uniquely German. When made from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay as single varietal or blend, Sekt takes its place neatly alongside other traditional-method sparkling wines from around the world – benefitting from inherent freshness. Increasingly, Pinot Blanc also plays a role.

But Germany’s unique proposition in the sparkling realm is Rieslingsekt. Natural lightness and acidity predestine Riesling for sparkling wine production, but its aromatic make-up, especially the terpenes and norisoprenoids creating its varietal notes of citrus, herbs and stone-fruit can result in very distinct Sekts. Some producers aim for very varietally pronounced Sekts, harvesting later to capture most of the aromatic development.

Such Sekts illustrate the aromatic evolution of Riesling-flavours to perfection. While Rieslingsekts can get quite honeyed with post-disgorgement ageing, even when bone-dry, some producers add an even greater varietal edge by adding a small dosage of a mature sweet Riesling. Others excel in bringing out Riesling’s essential, stony steeliness with long-aged, thrilling, zero-dosage Sekts that should carry the warning ‘for acid-loving adults only’. Rieslingsekt is a category to watch.

Niko Brandner, winemaker at Griesel & Compagnie, who turned heads with his first releases in 2015, speaks of a ‘minimalist’ approach that the top estates adhere to: no filtration, no fining, no enzymes, little or no sulphur and enough time on lees for both base wine and Sekt. This kind of ‘unadulterated, minimalist’ approach also tries to do with no or very low dosage to show off its purity. Brandner says: ‘Artisanal-quality Sekt is experiencing a real upswing and this affects all producers.’

While the production of premium-quality Sekt is still dwarfed by the vast production of tank-fermented Sekts, the Germans have upped their game, particularly over the past decade, and continue to do so – at a fundamentally different level from the initial traditional-method Winzersekts of the late 1990s and 2000s. The best bottles are still slumbering in deep, cold cellars waiting to be disgorged. If you know where to look, there is much to look forward to.

Anne Krebiehl MW’s top Sekt selections:

Anne Krebiehl MW is a freelance wine writer, wine judge and author of ‘The Wines of Germany’

Australian fizz: Bubbling under

Weingut Markus Molitor Rieslings and Pinot Noirs

Anne Krebiehl MW — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 09:00:22 +0000

When Markus Molitor took over his father’s Weingut in 1984, there were just three hectares of vines, today he owns 120 hectares across the most storied Mosel and Saar sites. But Molitor not only heads of one of the largest Mosel estates, he also is one of the best.

Few others work with such focus and dedication – if not to say obsession. But how else could he manage all this – since he still is the winemaker and mastermind, calling every decision in vineyard and cellar. ‘Each wine is individual, each wine gets its attention,’ he says and underlines artisanship: all fruit is hand-harvested and stringently selected. The juices settle naturally, and each barrel is allowed to ferment spontaneously, ensuring individual site expression. Wines then stay on their lees in large Fuder, the traditional, round 1,000L used oak barrel (even though some newer ones are also used) for nine to 10 months.

Weingut Markus Molitor at a glance:

Area under vine: 120ha, almost all on steep slopes across Mosel (100ha) and Saar (20ha)

Soils: Devonian and Carboniferous slate formations, Permian rhyolite

Varieties planted: Riesling 92%, Pinot Noir 4%, Pinot Blanc 4%

Meticulousness is key to the clear delineation of styles – which in this house is colour-coded by capsule: White stands for dry, green for off-dry and golden for sweet. Within these three categories you get a spectrum of Prädikate. For the dry wines, ripe grapes are Kabinett, riper grapes are Spätlese and even riper, possibly overripe grapes are Auslese. Auslese itself is graded into Auslese, Auslese two stars and three stars.

For the dry wines, there is absolutely no botrytis tolerance for anything below three-star-Auslese where there might be some botrytis. Off-dry wines go from Kabinett to Auslese while sweet wines go all the way to TBA. Next to seven ravishing Pinot Noirs and two Pinot Blancs, 30 dry Rieslings were presented, 16 off-dry Rieslings and 20 sweet Rieslings – up to Beerenauslese.

‘There are six further BAs and 16 different TBAs,’ Molitor said with a smile. Did the dryness of 2018 not prevent botrytis? ‘There was some very good botrytis,’ Molitor noted. ‘In early September we had rain. We were all worried because we remembered 2013 and 2014 when there were late rains [that caused non-noble rot] but after that we had dreamlike weather.’

He noted that unusually there simply were no hard harvest decisions where mitigating losses from non-noble rot becomes a huge logistical challenge. ‘So botrytis did come and on the first day of harvest we selected a Beerenauslese with perfect, fresh botrytis. In 2018 we had much less botrytis than in other years but since this was such a relaxed harvest, we were nonetheless able to select an abundance of nobly sweet wines.’

Scroll down to see the top 15 Markus Molitor recommendationsSee all wines tasted here

To me, the warm and dry 2018 vintage showed off the higher Prädikate in the dry wines to perfection. Kabinett which lives off inherent lightness and killer acidity was hard to pull off: acidity was rounder and there was more body. It was evident that the real, natural balance came from riper grapes: the Spätlesen and Auslesen – some reaching up to 13% – were at the perfect intersection of fruit, extract, body and freshness, i.e. ripe, harmonious acidity.

Molitor puts it well when he speaks of ‘fine, elegant Spätlesen’ and ‘Auslese which represents the perfection of the grapes.’ Both the ‘perfection’ and the meticulousness can be tasted in these astonishingly pure, expressive and site-specific wines. In the sweet range the Kabinetts worked better, here they could beguile with all their lusciousness and fruit – while the sweet Auslesen bring some wondrously glowing fruit and expression – but the dry Spätlesen and Auslesen were the absolute winners.

Riesling and Pinot Noir: Anne’s 15 top picks from Weingut Markus Molitor

See all wines tasted here

German Grosses Gewächs new releases: Top wines

Anne Krebiehl MW — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 14:00:32 +0000

A first glimpse of the new German vintage can always be had at the VDP Weinbörse in April in Mainz: but it is a jostle and tasting conditions are not ideal. The real test comes in August in the airy, light-flooded space of Wiesbaden’s Kurhaus, an ideal tasting environment with flawless organisation where more than 500 Grosse Gewächse, Germany’s ‘grands crus’, are presented: still dry wines from single, classified sites produced to stringent standards. More than 500 wines could be tasted: from Weiss- and Grauburgunder, via Silvaner, Chardonnay, Lemberger to Spätburgunder – and Riesling of course: 298 of them.

While some have already praised 2018 to the rafters, as though the old paradigm of ‘the riper the better’ still held true, 2018 was a challenging year viticulturally, if not a challenging harvest. It was the year which illustrated who had adapted best to the ever-changing whims of nature since 2018 presented growers with a heatwave, drought and record yields.

Scroll down to see the top 20 Grosses Gewächs recommendations

See the top 40 wines tasted here

Vineyards late last summer looked downright biblical: groaning with picture-perfect, healthy grapes. Most of the vines were still in fine fettle when other vegetation had started to droop. Particularly old vines took everything in their stride. But what of the burgeoning fruit? Only those with careful yield and canopy management could harvest wines with tension. Rot was not a problem, but possibly concentration.

One winemaker encapsulated it: ‘There are hardly any bad wines, many decent wines and very few outstanding wines.’ Another said: ‘Great wines are not made in extreme years. Really great Riesling vintages are those where the vines can develop in a more normal fashion.’ A third said: ‘You have to pick wisely in 2018.’

A Riesling vintage for non-Riesling drinkers?

Tasting the wines, there was a lot of variation – but down to winemaker rather than region, even though Rheingau was one of the patchiest. The Mosel did well but really is atypical – but again, those who were in tune with their vineyards delivered.

Germans often speak of ‘ripe acidity’ and mean an acid structure that is pleasantly fresh without being bracing, think Cox Orange Pippin rather than Granny Smith, or golden Amalfi vis-à-vis pale, anaemic lemon. The good 2018s had that in spades. Almost every winemaker remarked on it.

Philipp Wittmann of Weingut Wittmann in Rheinhessen said: ‘Indeed, a crazy year, but cool nights afforded us a vintage with German virtues: freshness, elegance and thankfully moderate alcohol levels, more classic than we all expected. We all worried about overripeness, about acid that would be too soft, but acid levels were stable. Harvest logistics, as we learnt in [previous hot years] 2009 and 2011, had to be spot on.’

Urban Kaufmann of Weingut Kaufmann in the Rheingau said the same: low pH levels and surprisingly stable acidity plus a good weather forecast made this harvest almost ‘relaxing’. According to Hansjörg Rebholz, of Ökonomierat Rebholz in the Pfalz, ‘picking the right harvest point, not too early, not too late, was the biggest challenge of the year.’ But he also mused: ‘I think we have learned such a lot in the meantime when it comes to hot, dry years. We worked a lot in the vineyards, reduced yields accordingly, shaded the fruit to prevent overly phenolic notes. I think all these measures paid off.’

Cooler nights in late summer also helped to save the day. The combination of ripeness and freshness prompted Dr Carl von Schubert at Maximin Grünhaus in the Ruwer to say: ‘Even for someone like me who has 40 vintages under his belt this was astonishing.’

What of the sweet wines? Caroline Diel of Schlossgut Diel in the Nahe said ‘with really great ripeness and juiciness but also gripping acid structure we could make thrilling Kabinett style wines.’ Veronika Lintner at Egon Müller Scharzhof in the Saar noted that botrytis could develop despite the dry conditions: ‘Even if 2018 was not a strong botrytis vintage, we nonetheless had an early onset of very clean, clear botrytis. Of course, the acid levels were not quite as high as usual but the pH levels, on average at 2.9, were very low, so the wines remain very expressive. We were able to harvest all Prädikat levels up to Trockenbeerenauslese.’

2017 red wines

As regards the reds from the 2017 vintage, a year diminished by frost and hail damage, a new German paradigm starts taking hold – and this goes for both Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Lemberger (Blaufränkisch). The best estates no longer chase power and have shifted the focus on the purity of their fruit which only really shines when sufficient acid is present. This pristine fruit is no longer cloaked in too much oak, either. Depth, purity and poise speak for themselves. Especially Baden has turned a corner while Franken has led the way for some time. This, however, only goes for the best estates. There still are some ungainly reds marred by the triple flaw of overripeness, extraction and oak. But what is good is spectacular.

Now that a few more Silvaners are exported, two wines have made it to the top 20 selection, too. It is an exquisite, understated and underrated variety worth getting to know better. More and more estates presented their GGs with (welcome) delay – two 2017 Rieslings are thus also included.

Riesling, Silvaner, Pinot & Blaufränkisch: Anne’s 20 top Grosses Gewächs picks

See the top 40 wines tasted here

Dönnhoff: Profile and top wines rated

James Button — Sat, 13 Jul 2019 08:00:57 +0000

The estate owns 25ha of vines, including plots in nine Grosse Lage vineyards – the highest quality classification as set out by the VDP – including the monopole of Oberhäuser Brücke.

Today, the estate is run by fourth-generation Cornelius Dönnhoff, but it was his great-grandfather Hermann Dönnhoff who began selling single-vineyard expressions of Riesling from their best sites in the 1920s, and the family’s winemaking history can be traced back to the latter part of the 18th century.

Cornelius’ father Helmut had run the estate since the early 1970s, and is largely responsible for establishing the estate’s modern-day reputation and quality.

Style

Dönnhoff is renowned for its racy, elegant wines which can have a potent mineral character and plenty of tension.

The wines are whole-bunch pressed, with the drier styles fermenting naturally in cask before transferring to stainless steel and spending a handful of months on the lees. Botrytised grapes used for sweeter styles are fermented shortly after pressing with cultured yeasts, to avoid the grapes spoiling.

The Nahe region

Nahe has a wide diversity of soils, from slate and limestone to loam and sand. Located between the Rhine and Mosel valleys, most of the vineyards overlook the Nahe River. Riesling dominates, although many other varieties are grown in smaller quantities.

Top Dönnhoff wines as rated by Decanter’s experts:

Top buys from the German VDP wine tasting: 2018 whites & 2017 reds

Alsace: Top Riesling terroirs

Dr Loosen: Profile and top-rated wines

Top buys from the German VDP wine tasting: 2018 whites & 2017 reds

Anne Krebiehl MW — Thu, 09 May 2019 11:00:02 +0000

2018 whites & 2017 reds, with a few late-release wines too...

Curiosity was great at the first outing of the 2018 whites and 2017 reds at the Weinbörse tasting in Mainz, Germany, held at the end of April each year. It’s a key event for the VDP, covering all levels from Gutswein to Grosse Lage, although the Grosses Gewächs (the top category of dry wines) are not released until September. In the meantime, you can see last year’s Grosses Gewächs report here

What is the VDP?The Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter consists of 196 top wine estates from across Germany’s 13 wine regions. The group is vetted for and adheres to strict rules including low yields, higher must weights, selective hand harvesting and five-yearly inspections. Wine estates that belong to the VDP bear the group’s eagle symbol on the bottle.

Around 5% of Germany’s vineyards are included in the VDP classification.

The very best wines made within the VDP may be classified as Grosse Lage, the German equivalent of a grand cru. These wines are subject to a tasting panel, must have a maximum yield of 50hl/ha, are hand-harvested and must be made from traditional grapes in proven sites. Below this top level is Erste Lage (‘premier cru’), then Ortswein (‘village wine’) and Gutswein.

Beyond this terroir-driven classification, differing styles within each level can be indicated as with non-VDP prädikatswein, with Trocken, Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese appearing on the labels.

A quick guide to German grape names

Many German grape varieties have synonyms. Below are some found in this report.

Pinot Noir – Spätburgunder

Blaufränkisch – Lemberger/Limberger

Pinot Blanc – Weissburgunder

2018

After two meagre harvests, 2018 was not only hot and dry but also plentiful.

4/5

A heatwave year

On show were the whites that ripened in the record-breaking summer of 2018. The fruit was healthy and abundant. The fact that 2018 was generous is a boon: it allowed winemakers to experiment more and it will also mean that they can afford to hold some wines back for later release – a concept that’s becoming more and more popular in Germany.

A handful of these late releases add some depth to the tasting notes below, and in fact Clemens Busch’s Marienburg Fahrlay-Terrassen Riesling Grosses Gewächs 2016 earns my joint-top mark.

One question is whether the wines in 2018 still have their customary acidity – a justifiable question as tartaric acid was completely sold out in late summer last year. Tartaric is the acid proper to wine but it can also be used as an additive – quite legally – to acidify must.

Canopy management

The best producers in Germany, many of whom are assembled in the VDP ranks, have learned a lot since the last heatwave summer of 2003. Travelling around the wine regions last summer, I noticed that most vines took the heat and dryness in their stride, often standing tall in juicy, green leaf, as orchards and shrubs around them drooped.

Their vineyards are well-adapted now, with canopies micro-managed to ensure fruit shading with good ventilation, ensuring health and freshness. Shortened canopies reduce assimilation surface: fewer leaves means less photosynthesis and allows grapes to ripen aromatically without clocking up too much sugar.

VDP chairman Steffen Christmann from the warm Pfalz region noted that while 2018 was disproportionately warm in the cooler regions, the warmer, southern regions had not been much hotter than usual. What was different was the dryness, which meant some dry stress but, thankfully, sufficient winter rain meant that this was mostly confined to young vines lacking deep root systems.

A question of acid

With early bud-break, the early harvest had not really shortened the vegetative period but harvest point was still crucial. Robert Haller of Würzburg’s Bürgerspital reported that Silvaner was harvested even before Müller-Thurgau, while Anne Dönnhoff of the Dönnhoff estate in the Nahe reported that fruit was so wonderfully healthy that a ‘short, compact harvest’ was possible.

Dorothee Zilliken of Weingut Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken in the Saar reported that, curiously, acid levels were lower than usual – still around the 7-8g/l mark, but with pH levels as low as ever at 2.9.

Other producers echoed this sentiment but none could quite explain this freak of nature. Dr Carl von Schubert of Maximin Grünhaus in the Ruwer said: ‘This year, Bruderberg was a magician. The wonderful acidity was still there.’

In terms of Riesling, retaining acidity was key. ‘Looking at pH was crucial in 2018,’ explained Daniel Wagner of Weingut Wagner Stempel in Rheinhessen, noting that he looked back at his records from 2003 to marvel how much he had learned since then. He also noted that he whole-bunch pressed without employing any skin contact in order to keep the pH low.

So work in both vineyard and cellar was geared to preserve as much freshness as possible in 2018. It’s surprising how vivid and refreshing the wines are without making teeth hurt as some young Riesling vintages can. The wines are approachable and open already and will be a joy for those who love ripe fruit expression.

2017 reds

Sorting, sorting, sorting was the mantra in 2017, but what is here is sinuous, pure and fresh.

4/5

The reds from the 2017 vintage show an elegant bent with fine freshness. The wines in these non-Grosses Gewächs categories are of excellent value, and as an Ortswein (village wine) showcase of Rheinhessen demonstrated, they do age beautifully.

Anne’s top German VDP wines from the latest releases:

Dr Loosen: Profile and top-rated wines

Germany: Grosses Gewächs new releases – Riesling 2017 and Pinot 2016

Understanding Grosses Gewächs Riesling and wines to look for

Top Pinot Noir wines outside Burgundy

Dr Loosen: Profile and top-rated wines

James Button — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 12:00:40 +0000

Dr Loosen is one of Germany's - and the world's - best producers of Riesling. See our top picks below...

Ernst Loosen, current owner of the Dr Loosen estate just outside Bernkastel, did not intend to be a winemaker.

His father had sent him to complete his winemaking studies at Geisenheim in 1977, however as soon as he had finished, he decided to follow his passion for archaeology and headed to university in Mainz.

His future as a world-class winemaker was not looking very likely until 1986, when his father fell ill. Not wanting to see the family business sold off, Ernst volunteered to return from university and run the estate, making his first vintage, 1987, in 1988.

In the early days, he headed out to visit key wine regions around the world, including Burgundy, Alsace and California. It was these visits that cemented the idea in his head that the greatest wines in the world preserved a sense of heritage and terroir.

Scroll down to see our top-rated Dr Loosen wines

The estate was arguably not in its best shape when Ernst inherited it – vines which should have been re-planted long before had been left and some were now over 100 years old, and still ungrafted.

Seeing this as a blessing in disguise, he decided to cut yields dramatically and improve selection when picking. His staff, however, were not keen on this increased workload and walked out, leaving him and his winemaker, Bernhard Schug to consider a new beginning, following a more organic approach in the vineyards.

Loosen’s winemaking practices have been heavily influenced by the lack of modern equipment in the cellar, combined with techniques picked up in conversation with the great winemakers of regions he visited.

His dedication to a traditional approach, focussing on terroir, has led his wines to become some of the most lauded examples of German Riesling. The estate owns vines in some of Germany’s most famous vineyards, including Erdener Prälat and Ürziger Würzgarten. In fact, Dr Loosen owns plots in six Grosse Lage (‘grand cru’) vineyards.

His fame arguably originates with the sweeter styles, but his dry Rieslings, especially from the Grosse Lage vineyards, have developed a strong following in recent years too.

Dr Loosen factfile:

Hectares under vine 20

Annual production 200,000 bottles

Grosse Lage holdings Bernkasteler Lay; Erdener Prälat; Erdener Treppchen; Graacher Himmelreich; Ürziger Würzgarten; Wehlener Sonnenuhr

Top-rated dry wines from Dr Loosen:

Grosses Gewächs new releases – Riesling 2017 and Pinot 2016

Ten of the best Italian vineyards & terroirs

Refreshingly dry Alsace Riesling 2012 – panel tasting results

German Grosses Gewächs new releases – Riesling 2017 and Pinot 2016

Anne Krebiehl MW — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 14:12:50 +0000

The preview of the VDP Grosses Gewächs new releases in Wiesbaden – the annual tasting of these dry, single-site wines – must be amongst the best organised in the world. The airy, bright space of the Kurhaus is an ideal tasting space, but it’s the flawless organisation that makes the tasting so special.

Over three days, international press and trade tasted 426 of the 635 GGs to be released this year, comprised of 264 Rieslings, 81 Spätburgunders, 43 Grauburgunders, Weissburgunders and Chardonnays, 21 Silvaners, 14 Lembergers, 2 Frühburgunders, and one Roter Traminer.

Scroll down to see Anne’s 24 Grosses Gewächs recommendations

German dry Riesling 2017 vintage review

Picking just 12 of those 264 Rieslings to recommend is hard: the sheer stylistic and regional breadth of world-class Rieslings was overwhelming.

The Germans have a phrase: ‘die Qual der Wahl’ – the torment of having to choose – hence the focus on internationally distributed Rieslings from classic regions, and lesser known but equally historic sites.

After another challenging year like 2017 it becomes increasingly clear that there are no more poor but increasingly different vintages, which should be cause for joy.

However, the quality tasted comes at the cost of yield, reduced by either frost, hail or stringent selection.

While a damp spring in 2016 spelled huge disease pressure, in 2017 the growers had to contend with spring frosts after an unusually early bud break, followed by some dry stress and finally fruit damage caused by heavy downpours and hail in August.

What is clear is that neither intense canopy management nor intimate knowledge of sites have much effect without super-responsive and decisive logistics with the requisite manpower.

Peter Jakob Kühn, biodynamic pioneer of the Rheingau, says it all when he notes that his usual harvest team of 25 swelled to 40 in 2017. ‘Selection was everything’, he says, ‘after a hailstorm on 1 August following a season of very balanced sun and precipitation.’

Kühn, who releases his wines after an additional year of barrel ageing, faced significant losses in 2017 but still considers it ‘a great vintage.’

Wilhelm Weil of Robert Weil, who has 29 vintages under his belt in the Rheingau, agrees.

‘2017 might be one of the best vintages of my professional life. We have very dense, deep, firm wines. Even if there were some losses, some sites gave grandiose wines,’ he says.

Weil’s winemaker, Christian Engel, reckons that the 2017s will be ‘marathon runners due to their acid structure and density. They will be fun even in decades to come.’

Frost also hit the Mosel, yet fine acidity and density are apparent here too.

Further south in the Pfalz, Mathieu Kaufmann at Reichsrat von Buhl reaches a similar conclusion to Engel.

‘The 2016 Rieslings were perhaps a little more elegant, fruity and precise, but 2017 comes with powerful wines. These are really great, great wines; 2017 has power – they are of a different structure and they will take their time.’

As in previous years, the Nahe showed itself as a hotbed of talent, while the large and diverse region of Rheinhessen holds so much joy.

Considering all of the above, and taking into account the additional expense and time required for steep-slope viticulture – which includes many of these GGs – it makes the prices seem ridiculously low, especially in an international context. Those who love Riesling and have patience are thus well advised to stock up on the 2017 GGs.

German Pinot Noir 2016 vintage review

Making a choice of twelve outstanding Spätburgunders [German Pinot Noir] was more difficult. While the VDP advised that 635 VDP Grosses Gewächs covering 309 sites were produced in this current release (2017 whites / 2016 reds), many decided not to show their latest wines.

Since every GG can only be shown in Wiesbaden once upon its release, there were instead some late releases from previous vintages. While this prevents us from having a complete overview of 2016, it’s a move to be welcomed as these library wines have more time to come into their own – and it’s something we will probably see more of in the coming years.

Nonetheless, the 2016s that were presented had shrugged off the challenging conditions of the vintage, which had left winemakers worrying about mildew throughout a damp spring and early summer, followed by brief heat spikes.

The tide turned in late summer and those who selected scrupulously prevailed, showing that not even a tough ride like 2016 can deter them from achieving superior elegance.

Not everyone fared so well – perhaps another reason numbers on show were down – but this is where we can separate the wheat from the chaff.

Marc Adeneuer of JJ Adeneuer in the Ahr says of the 2016 Spätburgunders: ‘full ripeness, great acidity structure, ripe generosity but still mineral: I think it’s a grandiose vintage comparable to 2009. We had the luxury of having very healthy fruit that didn’t need much selection.’

Yquem Viehhauser of Weingut Bernhard Huber in Baden emphasises the ‘exacting’ and ‘intense’ work necessary in the vineyard in a season that ‘presented many surprises.’ But she also notes a ‘happy ending’ for the 2016 Pinot Noirs which have ‘precise elegance, fine-fruited acidity and lots of juiciness.’ She add that ‘2016 unites the freshness and coolness of 2014 with the fruit and generosity of 2015.’

Sebastian Fürst of Weingut Rudolf Fürst recalls the 18% loss in yield dealt by the late spring frost, however he also cites ‘near perfect conditions’ during the ‘crucial time’ in August.

‘I see 2016 as a great vintage with full ripeness and freshness of very fine, red berry fruit,’ he says. ‘While frost reduced our yields, it perhaps is also a reason for the great concentration. It’s one of my absolutely favourite vintages.’

Those who value elegance above sheer power will love the 2016 Spätburgunders.

German Riesling 2017 and Pinot 2016: Anne’s top Grosses Gewächs picks

German Riesling Grosses Gewächs: Panel tasting results

Pewsey Vale: The original Eden Valley Riesling

Refreshingly dry Alsace Riesling 2012 – panel tasting results

Understanding Grosses Gewächs Riesling and wines to look for

James Button — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 12:17:52 +0000

Germany produces some of the best dry Rieslings in the world. Read more about what 'GG' means on the label and see our recommendations for GG Riesling wines to try...

Scroll down for our recommendations

Grosses Gewächs explained

The term Grosses Gewächs is used to identify some of the finest white wines of Germany, and is specific to dry wines.

The designation is not an official part of German wine law, but was conceived by a group of top producers in the early 2000s and refined as recently as 2012 as part of a plan to identify the best vineyard sites.

More than half of ‘GG’ vineyards are planted to Riesling, according to the Court of Master Sommeliers.

All Grosses Gewächs comes from a Grosses Lage (‘great site’), the best vineyards according to the German VDP classification system that is overseen by a group of producers called the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP).

Like the grand crus of Burgundy, these wines take the name of the vineyard and not the village. But, the VDP is an invitation-only, industry body numbering around 200 producers and, as stated above, its rules are therefore not officially part of German wine law.

To make the GG grade, yields must not exceed 50 hectolitres per hectare, and the grapes must be physiologically, fully ripe and also hand harvested.

Referred to as simply ‘GG’ on labels, these wines are released on 1 September of the year after harvest.

In Rheingau, the term ‘Erstes Gewächs’ denotes a top vineyard site and is a legally defined term.

Grosses Gewächs Rieslings to look for:

Decanter’s tasting team has picked out Grosses Gewächs Rieslings of varying ages to try. Updated 7/9/2018

Grosses Gewächs new releases – Riesling 2017 and Pinot 2016

Grosses Gewächs: Panel tasting results

Weingut Keller: Producer profile

William Kelley — Sun, 07 May 2017 16:00:12 +0000

A prominent name in the Rheinhessen since it was established in the late 18th century, it is under the guidance of the current generation that this family producer has been grabbing the headlines with its definitive dry Rieslings. William Kelley hands out the high scores...

Weingut Keller at a glance

Founded 1789

Area 18ha, 15ha of which classified as grand cru

Location Rheinhessen, Germany

Varieties 80% Riesling, with plantings of Pinot Noir and small amounts of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sylvaner, Scheurebe and Rieslaner

Soils Limestone soils in the Hügelland, near the villages of Dalsheim and Westhofen; red slate soils on the bank of the Rhine near Nierstein

Since Klaus-Peter Keller took charge of his family’s Rheinhessen winery in 2001, his rise to fame has been meteoric. His old-vine cuvée G-Max, its source a carefully guarded secret, reigns as the world’s most expensive dry Riesling, winning commensurate acclaim from critics and connoisseurs alike.

‘Is G-Max the Montrachet of Germany?’, tweeted Christie’s wine department some months ago. ‘Or is Montrachet the G-Max of Burgundy?’, riposted New York auction house Zachys.

Keller’s other dry grand cru Rieslings command a scarcely less cultish following, though happily they can be enjoyed at more modest prices.At first glance, the Rheinhessen seems an unlikely source for such sought-after bottlings – none of Germany’s wine regions suffered greater post-war indignities. Noble names like Nierstein, long associated with celebrated sites, were applied to larger, less distinguished areas – sometimes even to former beetroot fields.

The greatest and most historic vineyard in Worms, the Liebfraunstift-Kirchenstück, was traduced by oceans of sweet and characterless Liebfraumilch. As if that wasn’t enough, Riesling and other serious varieties were grubbed up in favour of higher-yielding grapes of dubious quality such as Bacchus and Optima: in fact, by 1980 Riesling accounted for a mere 5% of the region’s plantings.

The core of the Keller estate, moreover, lies not on the famed Rote Hang – the ‘red slope’ – on the banks of the Rhine where the region’s 19th-century reputation was made, between Nierstein and Nackenheim, but instead in the relatively obscure Hügelland, whose rolling hills evoke the Loire Valley more than the precipitous slopes often associated with prime German viticulture. So what is the secret of Keller’s extraordinary success?

View all of Decanter’s Weingut Keller tasting notes

Klaus-Peter Keller and wife Julia took over full control at the family winery in Rheinhessen from his father Klaus in 2006 (Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Inspired by history

While the Hügelland’s history in recent times has been less than glamorous, Klaus-Peter Keller is inspired by a longer perspective. During internships in Burgundy in the early 1990s, he acquired more than just a deft touch with Pinot Noir.

‘The church played such an important role in Burgundy, and i knew it was equally active in our region,’ he recalls. ‘So my father and I started trying to find old texts from the Middle Ages which might tell us more about wine growing here.’

Sure enough, the Kellers uncovered a wealth of history: in the 14th century, the Hügelland’s best vineyards were esteemed as among Germany’s greatest, cultivated by monks from the Abbeys of Schönau and Lorsch with a fastidiousness for nuances of site and quality equalled only by their brethren in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or.

‘Of course, the climate was much warmer back in the Middle Ages’, Keller explains.

As temperatures cooled in the 16th century, the vineyards along the Rhine’s sloping bank near Nierstein, better situated to capture scarce sunlight, rose to prominence.

But in the era of global warming, the tables have been turned once again. ‘We are real beneficiaries of climate change in the Hügelland,’ Keller admits. ‘We can attain perfect ripeness every year.’

By contrast, the challenge in Nierstein these days is to delay ripening and preserve acidity – as the Kellers have discovered since purchasing two small parcels there in 2009.

When Keller and his wife Julia took over responsibility for winemaking and viticulture at Weingut Keller, they were well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by climate change. Nestled in the picturesque walled town of Flörsheim-Dalsheim, the winery has been family-owned since 1789. Keller himself is quick to pay tribute to the eight preceding generations of the family, and above all his parents, for laying the foundations of his own success.

For its exemplary pool of vine material, the estate owes a debt of gratitude to Klaus-Peter’s mother Hedwig, who drew on her experience working in a nursery to select top-quality, low-yielding, open-clustered Riesling cuttings from ancient vines in the Saar. And under his father Klaus, the winery had already begun to win celebrity as early as the 1980s.

In 2000, his swansong vintage, Klaus was even named Gault Millau’s Winemaker of the Year. So Klaus-Peter’s rapid rise to superstar status began from a firm foundation. ‘I’m not a wine taster, I’m a wine drinker,’ Keller explains: ‘I’m interested in the mineral kick on the finish that makes you want to drink more.’ He’s fortunate that the Rheinhessen’s terroirs lend themselves to making the kind of wine he likes.

‘We have rocky, limestone soil here in the Hügelland,’ he explains, ‘so we can make great dry wines; racy wines with precision and minerality. That’s my focus.’

Keller’s Kirschspiel Riesling is made from the oldest vines on the site (Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Risk taking

But since his father’s reputation for excellence derived from his traditional off-dry and sweet wines, dry Riesling represented something of a departure for the winery. Keller had made his first dry Riesling only three years before his return to the estate, as a student at Geisenheim university. in the beginning, Julia tells me: ‘There were some difficult conversations around the kitchen table about what we could afford to do; we were taking a big risk’.

Keller was afraid of alienating the estate’s long-time clients, but he needn’t have worried. Since their debut vintage in 2001, the Kellers’ dry Rieslings from grand cru vineyards in Dalsheim, Westhofen and more recently Nierstein, have been the jewels in the winery’s crown, showcasing their different terroirs with magical transparency.

‘Each vineyard reminds me of something,’ Keller explains, ‘and when I walk in it, it always returns to me. I want to retain that special flavour that’s typical of the vineyard.’

Only the fruit from the best-situated parcels makes it into these dry bottlings, and the vines must be at least 25 years old, for Keller is a great believer in terroir and vine age. ‘I’m a fan of old vines. They are in full balance so you don’t need green harvest; they’re resilient in very dry years; they give low yields; and they produce more complex wine – they give power without weight.’

So fruit from younger vines, even from grand cru sites, goes into entry-level cuvées such as the crisp, expressive Von der Fels.

It would be a pity, however, if the celebrity of the Kellers’ dry wines eclipsed the excellence of their other bottlings. ‘My mother comes from the Mosel, so off-dry and sweet wine is in my veins,’ Keller insists. ‘And if nature presents the opportunity to make sweet and nobly sweet wines, we seize it.’

And though Weingut Keller is best-known for its Rieslings, Keller exhibits tangible delight in his three cuvées of Pinot Noir, which are arguably the best in Germany.

Drawing inspiration from his internships at Domaines Armand Rousseau and Hubert Lignier, Keller devotes painstaking attention to these reds, sometimes even destemming by hand in the vineyard, and leaving the stems on the vine to ripen more completely in the autumn sun before adding them to the fermenting must.

‘Good Pinot is like red Riesling: you just want to drink it,’ Keller is fond of saying.

Keller’s grand crus

Dalsheimer Bürgel (0.5ha) Gently south-facing, clay soils underpinned by mussel shell chalk. Planted with Pinot Noir. Produces elegant, focused and full-bodied wines.

Dalsheimer Frauenberg (0.5ha) Not far from Bürgel, but later-ripening, and also planted to Pinot Noir. Doesn’t succeed in every year, but in good ones yields wines with deep minerality, purity and transparency.

Dalsheimer Hubacker (4ha) In the Keller family since 1789, yellow limestone soils and southeasterly exposition; 40-year-old Riesling vines ripen later than all Keller’s other grands crus. Distinguished by exotic flavours of passion fruit and peach, combined with a deep mineral core.

Westhofener Kirchspiel (2.5ha) Bought in 1999. Keller owns the oldest vines here. An east-facing site, planted with Riesling, characterised by limestone rock with a high iron content. The cooler exposition emphasises finesse and elegance.

Westhofener Morstein (1.4ha) Bought in 2001, Keller owns the oldest vines. Typically ripens in November, in part because of its exposure to cooling winds. Heavy clay soils over limestone rock make for more powerful Rieslings with deep minerality. Also the source of the Cuvée Felix Pinot Noir, named after the Kellers’ eldest son – one of their rarest bottlings.

Westhofener Abts Erde (2.5ha) The favoured vineyard of the Bishop of Worms in the 14th century, today a sub-plot of the Brunnenhäuschen grand cru. The Kellers acquired their parcel in 1996 and own the oldest vines. Like Morstein, Abts Erde ripens late, often in November. Very stony ground with little topsoil tends to produce sparse clusters of small berries. Beautiful minerality and finesse, dances over the palate. Good Riesling, sweet and dry.

Niersteiner Pettenthal (0.3ha) Acquired in 2009. Red slate soils from the steep slopes by the Rhine are very different from the limestone of the Westhofen and Dalsheim vineyards. Smoky, exotic and more delicate than its hill-country cousins. Makes both sweet and dry Riesling.

Niersteiner Hipping (0.5ha) Also acquired in 2009, and also red slate soils on the bank of the Rhine; the 80% slope presents considerable viticultural challenges. More reserved than the Pettenthal, floral and exotic.

G-Max A very rare special cuvée from the estate’s oldest vines, named in honour of Klaus-Peter’s great-grandfather Georg and his youngest son Max. From an undisclosed grand cru site.

Keller’s Kirchspiel Riesling is made from the oldest vines on the site (Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Attention to detail

In addition to these Rieslings and Pinot Noirs, the Keller cellar holds further surprises. ‘During my time at Müller-Catoir in the Pflaz,’ Julia explains, ‘I acquired a taste for some of the more eclectic grape varieties in which they specialised.’ So the Kellers produce an array of interesting bottlings from less-heralded varieties such as Scheurebe and Rieslaner – the latter memorably dubbed the ‘Viagra of Riesling’ by writer-importer Terry Theise. in the process they are preserving some of the heritage of this varietally diverse region.

What all these different bottlings have in common is the Kellers’ meticulous work in the vines. ‘Here in Germany we are all Mexicans,’ Keller jokes, quoting his response when a Californian visitor observed that the Keller family did work that only immigrant labourers would undertake in the US.

Pruning, deleafing and shoot positioning is all done by hand. Canopy heights are mindfully adjusted according to the vineyard’s water-holding capacity; something the Kellers have tried to augment after the scorching summer of 2003 by spreading bark mulch between the vines. And all this work is informed by a geological survey involving 70,000 boreholes to reveal the soil’s secrets.

Keller devotes particular attention to achieving perfect maturity, his aim being to arrest and extend ripening to broaden and intensify the flavour of the fruit. Since it’s the photosynthesising leaves that produce the sugar that accumulates in grapes, he adjusts the ratio of leaves-to-bunches to ensure optimal ripening late in the season. It’s a sensitive calculation: more leaves are removed in sunny Nierstein than in cooler Westhofen, for example. Thus while Keller’s crop typically ripens in November, his dry Rieslings only rarely exceed 13% alcohol.

Another priority is selection: rigorous manual sorting in the vineyard and then again in the cellar eliminates any less-than-pristine berries. This is especially important for the dry wines, which Keller likes to macerate on their skins for up to 24 hours before pressing. Any rotten berries would be fatal, and botrytis is also unwelcome: ‘I don’t really like the richness it brings to dry Riesling,’ he explains, though of course it takes centre stage in the estate’s nobly sweet wines.

All this work should make clear that the Kellers have no intention of resting on their laurels. On the contrary, ‘all our success only inspires us to do more’.

And it’s an inspiration for a renaissance in the Rheinhessen too – now one of the most dynamic wine regions in Germany.

Weingut Keller – a timeline

1789 Johann Leonhard Keller came to the Rheinhessen from Zurich, Switzerland

1993 Klaus-Peter Keller interns at Domaine Armand Rousseau in Burgundy

1999 Klaus-Peter and wife Julia return to work at Weingut Keller

2000 Weingut Keller joins the VDP organisation of Germany’s best producers

2001 Produces first Grosses Gewächs and first bottling of G-Max

2006 Klaus-Peter and Julia take over full control of the winery

2009 Buys first vineyards in Nierstein

2010 G-Max becomes the most expensive dry Riesling ever auctioned

2012 Produces wine for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee

2016 Felix Keller, the 10th generation, begins winemaker internships in Germany and Burgundy

William Kelley is Decanter’s US correspondent and also writes on the wines of Burgundy and Germany

Is this the best dry Riesling in the world?

The excitement surrounding German Pinot Noir – ask Decanter

Decanter Staff — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 13:08:37 +0000

Anne Krebiehl MW answers questions on the best regions in Germany and how to find the wines...

Ask Decanter: The excitement surrounding German Pinot Noir

Wendy McCleave, from Wales, asks: I’ve noticed a real buzz about German Pinot Noir recently. Which are the best regions, and can you recommend a few producers who make great, reasonably priced wines?

Anne Krebiehl MW, for Decanter, replies: Yes, Spätburgunder, as Pinot Noir is called in Germany, is receiving more and more (well-deserved) attention and becoming more widely distributed in the UK and elsewhere.

You might not guess it, but Germany is the world’s third largest producer of Pinot Noir, according to the German Wine Institute.

A German Pinot Noir, Jean Stodden’s Spätburgunder Alte Reben, Ahr 2010, topped Decanter’s search for the best Pinot outside Burgundy in 2016.

Expert’s Choice: German Riesling 2011

Decanter Staff — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 10:48:41 +0000

See tasting notes and drinking windows for German Rieslings from the 2011 vintage....

An Indian summer rescued this vintage, which is bigger and less concentrated than 2010 but which growers are still rating ‘good’ to ‘outststanding’, says Anthony Rose.

See all of Decanter’s German Riesling 2011 tasting notes

(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Australian Riesling: Five to try

Riesling is one of the world's most versatile grape varieties, able to produce wines ranging from bone dry and crisp

Austrian Riesling harvest in Kamptal. (Image credit: ©AWMB/Komitee Kamptal)

About Austrian Riesling & wines to try

Germany may get the lion's share of praise, but Austria is hot on its heels when it comes to producing

(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Best glass for Riesling – ask Decanter

What is the best shaped glass to use for Riesling...?

Germany to consume more wine than Italy by 2018, says Vinexpo

Chris Mercer — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 07:06:00 +0000

Germany will overtake Italy to become the world's third largest wine consuming nation within four years, according to a report that also predicts the US will cement its position as the world’s largest wine market and wine consumption in the UK is set to rebound.

A view of Germany’s Mosel wine region

Germans may be better known for frequenting beer halls than for sipping fine wine, but the country that gave the world Oktoberfest is set to consume the equivalent of 3.3bn bottles of wine in 2018.

That would see it overtake Italy, which is only set to uncork 3.28bn bottles, according to figures compiled by market research group The IWSR and released by Vinexpo this week.

But, the tale has more to do with Italians’ weakening love affair with their country’s vineyards than with a sudden rush on wine sales in Germany.

Italy’s wine consumption will sink by 5% over the next four years, while Germany’s will increase by 1%, driven by the sparkling sector.

Italy and France are set to remain neck-and-neck as the world’s biggest wine consuming nations per head, on around 45 litres per person annually. On a per head basis, Germany is back on around 36 litres.

Elsewhere, the Vinexpo report also predicted that the US would strengthen is lead over France as the biggest wine consuming nation overall. US consumption is set to rise by 11% up to the end of 2018, to 4.5bn bottles.

In the UK, wine consumption is set to increase by 5.5% in the next four years, after being in decline since 2009, according to The IWSR and Vinexpo.

This forecast is partly based on the assumption that duty tax will not rise so steeply in the next few years, following the government’s decision to scrap automatic increases in its annual Budget.

If the forecast proves correct, the UK would consume around 1.7bn bottles in 2018, versus 1.6bn last year. Sparkling and rose wines will drive this growth, and white wines are set to become more popular than red over the same time period.

The pick-up in sales should begin this year. ‘We can say confidently that 2015 will show that the UK wine recession is over,’ said Guillaume Deglise, chief executive of Vinexpo, the wine trade fair that will take place in Bordeaux in June.

Written by Chris Mercer

Grape rotting fruit fly raises alarm in German vineyards

Chris Mercer — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 16:00:00 +0000

German winemakers have become the latest in Europe to raise concerns over an Asian fruit fly that causes grapes to rot in the vineyards.

The fly, known as Drosophila Suzukii, was the ‘biggest threat’ to vineyards in Germany’s key winegrowing regions during the 2014 harvest, according to the German wine export association, ‘Mo-Rhe-Na’.

Producers in other wine regions, including Bordeaux, Burgundy and Veneto in northern Italy, have also reported concerns about the flies.

‘This insect caused considerable damage to red grapes, such as Dornfelder and Regent,’ said Mo-Rhe-Na, which is named after the Mosel, Rhine and Nahe growing areas and represents estates that bottle their own wines.

Infected grapes cannot be used for winemaking, the group said, adding that close to a third of the 2014 Dornfelder harvest had to be destroyed. There is so far no effective treatment.

It is thought a warmer-than-usual winter last year helped the insects to survive and rapidly increase their presence in the vineyards.

Germany’s Wine Institute said it first spotted the flies in Baden in 2011. ‘This year signalled the first time that real control measures were needed,’ it said. Winemakers in some areas were forced to harvest red grapes early to mitigate losses.

But, the flies did not stop Germany’s 2014 wine grape harvest from rising by 25% versus 2013. Production is expected to reach the equivalent of 1.8m bottles.

According to France’s agricultural research agency, INRA, the main concern with Drosophila suzukii is that, unlike traditional fruit flies, which tend to feast on rotten fruit, this newer breed attacks berries that are still maturing.

It is believed the flies lay eggs inside the healthy fruit and larvae then feed on the grapes.

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Written by Chris Mercer

Mosel Bridge fails to meet EU standards, says expert

Chris Mercer — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 11:40:00 +0000

Plans for the controversial Mosel bridge that would carry traffic through Germany's Riesling vineyards don't meet European Union building standards, according to an independent expert.

An artist’s impression of the Mosel bridge

Professor Rafig Azzam, a geology engineer at Aachen University, warned that building work on the Mosel bridge needs to stop until the foundations on the banks of the Mosel river are proved safe.

‘I have just reviewed the safety concept applied to the bridge and discovered that it does not comply with the Euro Code 7,’ professor Azzam told Decanter.com.

His recent criticism of the bridge has been welcomed by protest group Pro-Mosel, which claims to include local winemakers and has campaigned to have the building project scrapped.

The Euro Codes are a set of 10 building regulations introduced by the European Commission. Building work must either comply with the rules or have ‘technical equivalence’ to them. Euro Code 7 governs the stability of foundations, or ‘geotechnical design’.

Professor Azzam said he explained his concerns about the Mosel bridge in a recent meeting with local authorities.

‘Since the slope in which the pillars are to be [placed] is creeping, and no adequate safety concept is applied, I told them that this approach is unacceptable,’ he said.

Officials said in December that safety concerns were unfounded. ‘From all of the studies and expertise available to us, there is no doubt that the Mosel bridge will be built safely,’ said the infrastructure ministry for Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate.

Pro-Mosel has lodged a criminal complaint against authorities, in light of professor Azzam’s concerns.

Written by Chris Mercer

Mosel bridge safety concerns ‘unfounded’, says ministry

Chris Mercer — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 12:44:00 +0000

The local government responsible for the controversial Mosel bridge project in one of Germany's best-known wine regions has rebuffed safety concerns surrounding its building plans.

An artist’s impression of the Mosel bridge

Accusations that the Mosel bridge foundations will not be safe are ‘unfounded’, the infrastructure ministry for Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate said.

‘From all of the studies and expertise available to us, there is no doubt that the Mosel bridge will be built safely,’ said the ministry.

Its statement followed renewed criticism of the building plans in a report by Der Spiegel magazine. It reported geogolgy expert professor Rafig Azzam as saying he doubted the bridge would be safe to carry traffic, due to potentially unstable ground on the riverbank where foundation pillars are to be planted.

There is strong opposition in the wine world to the bridge, which some believe will be harmful to Mosel vineyards, considered some of the world’s best for Riesling.

Protest group Pro-Mosel, which includes several winemakers, this week filed a criminal complaint against the state-backed project with the state prosecutor in Trier, citing professor Azzam’s concerns.

The infrastructure minister, Roger Lewentz, said he would instruct officials to speak with professor Azzam about his concerns and discuss any evidence he may have.

But, the ministry added that study of the subsoil and groundwater levels on the banks of the Mosel river has already gone far beyond what would normally be required.

Pro-Mosel’s Georg Laska, who submitted the criminal complaint to the state prosecutor, told Decanter.com yesterday (2 December) that the stability of the slope near to the town of Urzig has not been proven.

‘Several experts tell us that there has been too little examination,’ he said.

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Written by Chris Mercer

Mosel bridge protesters file criminal complaint

Chris Mercer — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 15:04:00 +0000

Campaigners opposed to the Mosel bridge project in Germany have filed a criminal complaint against the state-backed building plan, following more reports that experts believe it is unsafe.

Building has already begun at the bridge site in the heart of Germany’s Mosel wine region, but protesters – including local winemakers – still believe there is a chance the Mosel bridge will never be finished.

Campaign group Pro-Mosel said this week it filed a criminal complaint with the state prosecutor in the nearby city of Trier.

Its move could lead to a criminal investigation. But, Georg Laska, who filed the complaint on Pro-Mosel’s behalf, told Decanter.com that it adds to the public pressure on politicians in the short-term.

‘We don’t know what the outcome will be, but we had to make this complaint because nobody else seems concerned,’ he said. ‘We hope the building work will be stopped for safety reasons.’

Pro-Mosel’s complaint, which the group said was signed by winemakers and local citizens, comes after a further report in Der Spiegel magazine about the structural viability of the project.

It cited professor Rafig Azzam, a geology engineer, as saying that he was concerned the foundations could buckle under the weight of traffic. In particular, he was reported as saying more study is needed on potentially unstable ground on the slope near the town of Urzig.

‘Stability in that slope has not been proven,’ said Laska. ‘Several experts tell us that there has been too little examination.’

Sarah Washington, also of Pro-Mosel, added, ‘The government’s response to criticism from geological experts has been woefully inadequate.’

Earlier this year, Pro-Mosel was buoyed by a leaked expert study that also appeared to cast doubts on the bridge, which would stretch from Urzig to Rachtig, above the vineyards of Zeltingten to Bernkastel.

At the time, the local government said it had ordered a new hydrology report to assess the slopes’ ability to hold foundations.

A government spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment today (2 December).

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Written by Chris Mercer

2008 vintage guide for Germany

Decanter Staff — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Germany 2008: Keep

Cool vintage favouring Kabinett/Spätlese ripeness levels. Hallmarks are fine-boned body, vibrant acidity and ripe fruit flavours. Reds firm and juicy.

4/5

Weather Conditions

A cold miserable start in Germany , a wet March, then an almost-summery April and a typical, easy-going summer. Flowering tended to be early (notably in Sachsen, in the sheltered Elbe valley) and by July vineyards everywhere were well progressed and healthy – hardly damaged by late May hail in Pfalz and the Rheingau.

September’s erratic weather (frequently cool and rainy) upset the harvesting of earlier-ripening varietals. Most growers waited till mid-month when cool temperatures capped rising ripeness levels. In later- ripening vineyards rotten fruit needed removing, especially in the Mosel, Nahe, and Pfalz (where rain was very heavy).

October’s perfect days, warm with cool nights and low rainfall, meant more tardy varietals like Gewürztraminer, Sylvaner and Riesling could stay on the vine, gaining natural sugars, varietal aromas and mineral flavours. Harvesting was unhurried, mostly started mid-October, with the Upper Nahe finished early November.

Best Appellations

Generally very good, and some exceptional examples. Given the cooler temperatures, most growers achieved Spätlese, or a little higher, ripeness level. Some managed to produce opulent Beerenauslese, and some eiswein too.

The young Kabinetts are light, fresh and fruity. Acidity is ripe, but lean, even steely, with good durability. Dry whites have intensely fruity flavours, often with nervy balance and expressive aromatics. Reds promise lively and fruit-driven drinking. Baden Pinot Noir and Pfalz (for its firm tannins) stand out. Wurttemberg’s reds have pronounced varietal character; Ahr’s are flavoursome and deeply coloured.

Among varietals, late ripeners are clear winners. Baden Gewürztraminer is particularly ripe, and Franken’s Sylvaner has a bright style with seductive aromas. Riesling shines, with wide-ranging fruity aromas and extracts, minerally nuances and refreshing acidity. Even the richer styles have a quite delicate body. Best are from Mosel, Pfalz, Rheingau regions.

Best Producers

FRANKEN: Schloss Castell, Divino Nordheim, Weingut Juliusspital; MOSEL: Fritz Haag, J. J. Prüm, Robert Eymael, Reinhold Haart, Markus Molitor, Egon Müller, C. Von Schubert, St. Urbans-hof, Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben, Schloss Saarstein, Selbach-Oster, Dr H Thanisch, Bollig-Lehnert, Will Schaeffer, Dr Pauly-Bergweiler, Von Othegraven, Dr Loosen, Meulenhof, Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt, Dr Heidemanns-Bergweiler, Schloss Lieser, Zilliken, Trier, Martin Wassmer; NAHE: H. Dönnhoff, Emrich Schönleber; PFALZ: Müller-Catoir, Bassermann-Jordan, Reichsrat Von Buhl, Pffeffingen, Dr Bürklin-Wolf, Okonomierat Rebholz; RHEINGAU: Domdechant Werner’sches, J. Wegeler Erben, Robert Weil, Georg Breuer, Schloss Johannisberg, Schloss Schönborn, Kloster Eberbach, Friedrich Altenkirch, Fritz Allendorf, Prinz Von Hessen, Schloss Vollrads; RHEINHESSEN: Gunderloch

2007 vintage guide for Germany

Decanter Staff — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Germany 2007: Keep

Outstanding wines in all quality levels, showing a fine balance of ripeness, fruity acidity and mineral flavours, as well as great ageing potential.

5/5

Weather Conditions

A warm spring fostered extremely early blossoming so that the grapes were already developing nicely by the end of May – providing the longest overall period of vegetation ever recorded in Germany.

Following a marked lack of sunshine throughout June, July and August, ideal autumn weather meant growers could wait patiently for must weights to climb. Harvesting was then long and largely leisurely – well into October in many places – with growers being to able to choose just the right moment of ripeness for each grape variety.

Overall yields were high in Germany , a relief after the small 2006 harvest and warnings of imminent shortages of Riesling in particular. Mosel was up by more than 10% on 2006, with Pfalz, Rheingau and Rheinhessen also reporting decent volumes.

Buoyed by the success of the autumn harvest some growers took the risk of producing eiswein. The gamble paid off handsomely thanks to a bitterly cold December.

Best Appellations

Typical varietal aromas are quite pronounced – particularly so in late-ripening varieties such as Riesling and Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). The long growing season also fostered high quality and ripe tannins in red varieties, which bodes well for full-bodied, velvety red wines.

Among the highlights, Baden whites show good aromatic character and acidity, while reds are deep-coloured and should have good longevity. The Mosel’s late but stress-free harvest yielded juice rich in minerals, promising intensely flavoured wines.

Riesling from the Rheingau also benefited from the dry, sunny autumn which produced grapes described as ‘lusciously ripe’ in some sites.

In the Rheinhessen, growers have praised the wines’ ‘wonderful qualities’ after an ideal autumn.

Best Producers

Rheinhessen: Weingut Wittmann, Weingut Gunderloch; Mosel: Dr Loosen, Reinhard & Beate Knebel, Fritz Haag, Schloss Lieser, St-Urbans-hof, Wiengut Max Ferd Richter; Rheingau: Weingut Fritz Allendorf, Weingut Josef Leitz, Georg Breuer; Nahe:

Emrich-Schonleber.

2006 vintage guide for Germany

Decanter Staff — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000

drink soon

Germany 2006: Drink soon

Looks like a classic vintage for those who waited before picking but those who didn’t produced dilute wines.

3/5

Weather Conditions

Spring flowering came early in Germany , followed by a warm June and hot July. But a cold, wet August slowed ripening and kept acidity high. All that said, the generally warm weather – especially in the northerly regions of Nahe, Rheingau and the Mosel -led to earlier and shorter harvest times, punctuated with rainfall. Volumes were down.

Best Appellations

Pfalz, Franconia

Best Producers

Basserman-Jordan, Bürklin-Wolf, Horst Sauer

2005 vintage guide for Germany

Decanter Staff — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 +0000

keep

Germany 2005: Keep

The 2005 vintage is already acclaimed as being exceptionally good

4/5

Weather Conditions

The current mood in Germany ’s wine estates and cooperatives is one of great satisfaction – not least because the 2005 vintage is already acclaimed as being exceptionally good.

‘This year is unique: seldom has there been such unanimous praise from all 13 wine-growing regions about the quality of the grape crop,’ said Armin Göring, managing director of the German Wine Institute in Mainz. ‘The majority of must weights are of Prädikat wine quality and some come very close to those of vintage 2003.’

Göring attributes this positive outcome to the extraordinarily sunny year. According to the German Weather Service, the collective number of sun hours recorded from March through October exceeded the long-term average for an entire year. This enabled the grapes to ripen about two weeks ahead of schedule. Precipitation during the harvest in September helped speed up the harvest so that the grapes could be gathered while still healthy. Franconian wine-growers claim that it was the shortest harvest in history.

Best Appellations

Baden, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Rheinhessen, Sachsen, Württemberg

Best Producers

Van Volxem, St. Urbans-Hof, Müller-Scharzhof, Zilliken, Von Othegraven

2004 vintage guide for Germany

Decanter Staff — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 +0000

Germany 2004: Keep

Fresh, fruity white wines with pronounced aromas; good colour and density are the hallmarks of this vintage’s red wines

4/5

Weather Conditions

The weather was excellent – always warm enough, with a welcome shower now and then just when needed but never too much, and not least, a truly ‘golden October’ full of sunshine just at the final stage of ripening.

‘One could literally taste the increasing sweetness of the grapes from day to day,’ said Armin Göring, managing director of the German Wine Institute in Mainz/Germany, as he described the course of ripening. ‘Our expectations with regard to the quality of the 2004 vintage have been more than fulfilled. It is on a par with the excellent vintages of the past three years and an ideal complement to the exceptional 2003 vintage.’

Thanks to the overall healthy state of the grapes, wine-growers could take their time in determining the ideal time to harvest, despite occasional autumn rain and storms. At the same time, the variation between warm daytime and cool night time temperatures fostered the development of the grapes’ aromas, a phenomenon that helps lend German wines their unique, fresh fruity character. In several top sites in the Rhine, Mosel and Main river valleys, grapes were left on the vine until well into November in order to ripen sufficiently to yield top-quality and lusciously sweet dessert wines – particularly Riesling wines.

Best Appellations

All regions in Germany excelled this vintage including Württemberg, Sachsen, Ahr Valley, Baden, Franken, Hessische Bergstrasse, Mittelrhein, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, and Rheinhessen

Best Producers

Wittmann, Heyl zu Herrnsheim, Georg Mosbacher

2003 vintage guide for Germany

Decanter Staff — Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0000

Germany 2003: Keep

A great year for red wines—elegant and relatively ripe

4/5

Weather Conditions

The whole Germany experienced extremely hot conditions, from Sachsen in the former East Germany to Baden in the southwest. The early ripening and ensuing hot summer not only led to speedy ripening – in general about three weeks ahead of normal – but, inevitably to drought stress. With scarcely a drop of rain for eight weeks, vines were competing for increasingly scant water supplies in the soil. Green-harvesting was common at quality-conscious estates as the only way to ensure that quality would be high and water stress minimal. Irrigation was permitted, but few growers are equipped with drip irrigation systems. However, some estates such as Gunderloch in the Rheinhessen, swiftly installed drip irrigation in order to save parcels of vulnerable vines in their top vineyards.

In the Mosel and elsewhere, a spell of rain in early September helped restore many parched vines. By late September average sugar levels at top Mosel estates were very high and acidities, while on the low side, had stabilised.

It was clear that the crucial decision would be when to harvest. Pick too early and the wines could have the necessary acidity but could lack phenolic ripeness. The longer growers waited for that phenolic ripeness, the more the acidity levels would plummet. Nonetheless by early October many quality-conscious estates in the Mosel had not yet begun the Riesling harvest, since the grapes were in healthy condition and there was no rush to harvest, other than continuing worries about low acidity.

Franken and Württemberg had the same dry hot conditions as further north, leading to excellent red wines, and some problematic white wines, with very high sugars but also with high pH.

Best Appellations

For reds, the northern Nahe and the Pfalz. For whites, the Pfalz, Baden and Rheingau

Best Producers

Every famous estate made some great wines at different levels. For a time during the late ‘eighties some of the wines “went to sleep” for a period but they are perfect for drinking now, though the best may last for another twenty years – certainly the finest vintage between 1976 and 1988. Among the fabulous Riesling Eisweins Max Ferd. Richter’s Mulheimer Helenenkloster stands out, but the grapes were so healthy that any Eiswein from a top estate is a memorable experience and will last a lifetime.

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Fritz Wassmer, Sommerhalde Bombach Spätburgunder 2016

Martin Wassmer, Dottinger Castellberg Syrah 2016

Fritz Wassmer, Alte Reben Spätburgunder 2017

Hex vom Dasenstein, Spätburgunder GG 2017

Martin Wassmer, Schlatter Maltesergarten Pinot Noir 2016

Alde Gott, Von Alten Reben Spätburgunder Spätlese Trocken 2017

Schneider, Weiler Schlipf Spätburgunder 2016

Württemberg

Aldinger, Fellbacher Lämmler Lemberger GG 2017

Schnaitmann, Lämmler Spätburgunder GG 2017

Cleebronn & Güglingen, Herzog C Lemberger 2017

Pfalz

Schenk-Siebert, Neuleininger Feuermännchen Spätburgunder 2017

Weinbiet, Von Ersten Lagen Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Rheinhessen

Lisa Bunn, Nierstein vom Rotliegenden St Laurent 2017

Rheingau

Georg Müller, Hassel Spätburgunder GG 2017

Kloster Eberbach, Assmannshäuser Höllenberg Crescentia Spätburgunder 2016

Ahr

Maibachfarm, Burggarten Spätburgunder 2017

Maibachfarm, Recher Herrenberg Spätburgunder 2017

Dagernova, Heimersheimer Landskrone Spätburgunder 2018

Kreuzberg, Devonschiefer R Spätburgunder 2017

Sachsen

Schloss Proschwitz, Spätburgunder GG 2016

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