Le blog du Grand Jury

Don't fear I come with another "vintage of the century" story. Since I have to sell nothing I wouldn't have a profit anyway. But it must be said: I think I never had such good young Rieslings as from vintage 2007. Not because the wines are so big, quite on the contrary. They are wonderfully balanced. And there is a reason for this: the longest period in history from flowering to harvest.

2007 was quite an unusual year. After a warm and wet winter we had April temperatures never seen before. It was more like July with temperatures around 30 °C. Everybody wondered how this will continue and if another 2003 tropical heat wave was to come. If so harvest had to be in August and the resulting wines freakish. But the weather changed dramatically. The rest of spring and the entire summer was so-so. Mai and June were too cold, July and August not much better. It rained quite often but it was rather windy so the grapes stayed healthy anyway. Some had to spray to avoid mildew and other maladies. And if the circumstances would have been as bad as they were the entire crop would have been lost. But then a period of warm, sunny and dry weeks began. Those who picked late, harvested grapes with full physiological ripeness. Due to warm days and cool nights the wines are fresh but with wonderful ripe aromatics and flavors and a superb feeling on the palate. The period from flowering until harvest was the longest in history - this may be the key to understand this outstanding wines. I am in love with them.

As always: Generalization is impossible. The results vary from estate to estate as with every vintage. But those with talent, late harvest and a quality concept produced absolutely outstanding wines. Here are some estates I know quite well (their wines). List with no specific order.

Fritz Haag. Mosel, Saar, Ruwer.

From his range I recommend the Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett and Spätlese trocken. Just as any other German producer he has a large portfolio of wines. But the mentioned ones are the best expression of very elegant but wonderfully complex Riesling I know. They have a fine minerality and delicate fruit quite unparalleled in Germany. If you love this style try wines from Fritz Haag.

Helmut Dönnhoff. Nahe

The wines IMO are somewhat similar to Haag's, because at first they seem rather light-footed, but if one looks a bit closer, one is very impressed. You should try his cheapest wines, the QBA. The "Grands Crus" of this estate like Hermannshöhle are quite expensive but truly great. A wine with superb quality and still reasonable priced is "Norheimer Dellchen". As quite frequently there is a dry and a rather sweet version of this wine. This is the rule in Germany when it comes to Riesling. If you like a dry style, look for the word "trocken" on the label.

Weingut Diel. Nahe

Armin Diel is one of the editors of Gault Millau wine guide Germany. His wines often have a fuller body than the ones of Dönnhoff. They may not be as sublime as Dönnhoff and Haag wines but they are among the best in Germany anyway. He has an impressive range of Grands Crus (Großes Gewächs) but even the basic wines are very good IMO. I love the purity of this wines.

Klaus Peter Keller. Rheinhessen

This producer has a long history but over the last years everybody speaks about this estate. Here you will find the combination of power and elegance in an absolute fascinating manner. The list of great wines is long and the Grands Crus rises in price every year. The Grand Cru "Hubacker" is probably one of the best Rieslings of the world. But as often I recommend to try a basic wine first: "Von der Fels". This wine for about 15 Euros is similar in quality to what some others sell as a "Grand Cru".

Wagner-Stempel. Rheinhessen

Not long ago I knew only the name of this estate. Then I tasted the 2005s - and wow - what quality! The 2007s are even superior. "Heerkretz" is the name of a Grand Cru and since this estate so far has not reached the image of other top producer the wines remain reasonable priced. Try them.

Weingut Künstler. Rheingau

This producer owns land in some of the most famous terroirs of Germany like Kirchenstück and Hölle. They have very fine fruit, a rather full body and a racy minerality. These wines are a somewhat hedonistic expression of Riesling. If you find a bottle, give it a try. I often like the Kabinett wines from this estate.

Weingut Christmann. Pfalz

Some pleople still think of Riesling being more an intellectual than a hedonistic wine. I don't share this opinion, but if anyone wishes to try a Riesling with a guaranteed full hedonistic pleasure, then try the Grand Cru "Idig". I was blown away from this wine due to its expressive style. The finest tropical fruits with a fine minerality - this wine is like bathing in fruit juice. The 2005 is ready for drinking today.

Weingut Laible. Baden

This has been the best Riesling producer in Baden for a long time. His best wine is called "Achat" which is a sort of stone found in his soil. 10 years ago it was probably one of the best Riesling producers in Germany, today there is a lot of competition. The wines remain reasonable priced and so it is a good idea to buy some.

Horst Sauer. Franken

The Franken wines are known for their pronounced minerality. Horst Sauer wines are no exception but they have nice fruit too and show wonderful complexity. His best wines comes from a site called "Eschendorfer Lump". Especially the Spätlese are very impressive IMO.

There are much more good producer and wines. My list includes probably not more than 5% of what could be recommended. But if you are interested in German Riesling, I think I mentioned very good if not the best producers from each area with a focus towards the dry wines. Again: from a lot of wines a dry and a non dry version exists. If you look for the dry versions the word "trocken" is a safe indicator. But some producers don't put "trocken" on their labels. A hint: if the wine has 11%+ alcohol it is probably dry. The sweet wines often have alcohol levels from 7.5 to 9.5% alcohol. I hope you have fun with German Riesling. For me one of the most fascinating wines on this planet.

German quality levels for dry wines:

QBA: Quality wine from a specifiv area. Light bodied, fresh, pronounced acidity, around 11% alcohol, flavors of white fruits like apples, pears etc.

Kabinett: A bit fuller in style but still very elegant. Alcohol between 11-12%. In good vintages probably the finest expression of German Riesling. The wines are quite light but so delicious. Fruits like peaches, lime oil and apricots can be found in the flavors.

Spätlese: 12%+ alcohol, some around 13,5%. Fruit more into the direction of tropical islands. The best of them have a nive mineraly element anyway. Riesling has to be fresh. If not, well, than the wine has lost what Riesling should be IMO.

Recently German producers release Grosses Gewächs (Grand Cru) and Erstes Gewächs (Premier Cru). This should help to make things a bit more international and understandable. The wines shall be balanced but dry. Residual sugar is rather moderate. And the quality has to be outstanding. This concept is a success. The Grands and Premiers Crus have big demand and the prices rise year after year. Seems that the world explores the outstanding quality of this wines.