German Grosses Gewächs new releases – Riesling 2017 and Pinot 2016

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

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