I think there are actually more and more true Kabinett. Because growers are now picking earlier.
In 2017 for the first time a couple were picking on the auction day. This year almost everyone was.
Also a few producers are breaking the illogical pricing hierarchy by prädikat.
I have noticed in the last ~5 years or so that the pricing delta between Kabinett and Spatlese on up has gotten narrower, which is completely justified.
Note: certain producers didn’t want to have the (high) ripeness levels of their 2019 Kabinetts published in Mosel Fine Wines. One didn’t even submit samples. This shouldn’t be an issue in the 2020 vintage, especially on the Saar, because of severe drought stress in the summer. The must weights were generally low. But most producers also began their harvest earlier than previous vintages, even those who complained that others pick too early, when they simply waited too long in 2019. The key, however, is picking ripe grapes. If the yields are too high, this is hard to achieve early in the harvest season.
I’ve noticed this as well. And personally my purchasing of spätlese has gone down dramatically (though I only started collecting 5 years ago) as I’ve explored kabinett and dry riesling more.
Anyone know if this pricing change is mostly driven by the general market’s preference for the ripeness found in “traditional” kabinett (with it being harder to make), or by producers for including more spätlese-level fruit in their kabinett bottlings?
I think Kabinetts were underpriced relative to the higher Pradikats and so there was more room to increase pricing there than there was anywhere else in the range.
High ripeness and also botrytis. Near (even actual) beerenauslese declared as Kabinett by a few producers.
Good lord.
But better label information is very valuable to people who aren’t experts on the area. It’s already an issue for many many novices that the sweetness level of the finished wine (as opposed to the grapes) isn’t indicated. They may find Kabinett X is to their liking, but the next one is much sweeter, or drier.
You have the same problem in Vouvray, where you can find secs that are bone dry and others that are noticeably off-dry.
The ideal labeling law should not be aimed at the most knowledgeable minority.
In complete agreement. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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After reading more of these comments, I guess a legal maximum Oe isn’t that important, but it would be great if the Oe was indicated on the bottle, so we could have a better idea of what’s in the bottle.
My main disagreement with your last statement is limited to the word “law.” It too many areas of the wine world, excellent wines from innovative producers have to be “typical” of the wines of the region and are declassified if they are not. I would buy from reputable producers and let them determine what they think best represents a Kabinett or a Spatlese, etc., and how to communicate that to customers rather than to a bunch of jealous neighbors constituting the local tasting board as happens in some regions.
Is the must weight at harvest and sweetness level all that should determine what is a Kabinett or a Spatlese? How about acidity level? Should a wine be allowed to be called a Kabinett if it has been de-acidified. How about the quality of the terroir? Should pradikat wines only be allowed from better terroir and not from grosslagen? How about the grape variety or varieties used? Is it ok to have a BA from Ortega, or should it just be from Riesling? How about from Scheu or Rieslaner? Should a wine from stainless steel be labeled differently from a wine from fuders? Sweetness just is not everything.
There just is no way for a labeling law to give people enough information. The only way for this to occur is for people to buy wines from helpful retailers.
You might as well add TA, RS, and pH. But I agree that letting informed critics list the Oe can be a big help for consumers who want to know what the ripeness level is. Many well-known producers have wines at or above 89° Oe labeled as Kabinett.
And I agree that you really need to have some idea of the acid to know how sweet or dry the wine will seem. Lars’s suggestion would be helpful for those who know some basic wine chemistry, but not for the average consumer. (British Columbia’s provincial liquor stores rates wines for sweetness on a scale – 1 to 5, as I recall. I believe it’s based on taste, not analytics. That’s helpful.)
And, as a general matter, I’m not in favor of further complicating German labeling rules. God forbid! But the most basic thing a consumer wants to know is how sweet or dry a wine is and, unless it’s labeled as Trocken, you have no way of knowing where it lies along the scale without a lot of knowledge of German wine. It’s no favor to consumers or the cause of German wine.
John, we have trocken and halbtrocken and Feinherb. What other region in the world has more information. I have no idea how to do what you are advocating.
As for letting informed critics (whoever they are) list the Oe, that seems fine - it likely would help you and me, but how does that meet your goal of making wine labels aimed at people other than the most knowledgeable minority. Are there people who are reading informed critics like the Mosel Fine Wines without a good understanding of German wines. And, even if they are, are these people going to understand that the minimum must weight requirements are different for a Kabinett from the MSR and the Rheingau for example. So, are people who don’t know a lot about German wines going to understand this by reading a critic’s work without doing a whole lot of work?
Again, I think what most people need most is a good retailer. When I have a question about how sweet a wine is, I often ask Phil Bernstein at MacArthurs. I did this a couple of months ago, for example, when deciding which 2019 Falkenstein wines to buy.
As for the idea of rating German wines on a sweetness scale, how is this is meaningful for better German wines, which are meant to be aged. Would the ratings be for the sweetness of the wine when it is tasted at 2 years old or for when the wine is mature - at 5 years old or 10 years old or 30 years old?
I would love to make German wines easier to understand just from the label or whatever. I read Gilman and MFWs and this board to help me with the questions you raise and I have almost 50 years of experience with drinking German wines. I just don’t know how to do this.
I don’t understand the problem. Getting higher quality than you paid for? Let’s involve the authorities.
I am questioning the changing of laws at least in part because of the mess made by the 1971 German wine laws in making everything about Oe levels and not taking into account quality of terroir, quality of grape type, etc. I am concerned that the types of changes being discussed will just make things worse, not better by making the wine laws even more focused on Oe levels.
There are some amazing wines made from Scheurebe and Rieslaner. Maybe you need a more open mind, rather than worrying about open rules.
Where did I ever say I don’t like wines from Scheurebe or Rieslaner. I have had a number of excellent wines from both including from Rieslaner some of my favorite TBAs and probably the best Auslese Trocken I have had. I have no idea what you are babbling about.
Robert is right, we clearly benefited from climate change. First Riesling, no bad vintage since 2001 (2006 is mediocre, but you could find really good GGs like from Dönnhoff, Keller etc.) and in the last years Spätburgunder clearly benefited from climate change too. For example the grandfather of KP Keller thought it would make no sense to plant Spätburgunder vines.
Regarding wine-laws, the politicians has now (!) a bigger fish to fry due to COVID and its economic nightmare. Also the VDP can only articulate wishes. At the end of the day the winemaker make the decisions on the ground. Und das ist auch gut so. And that is good.
The winemakers learned a lot and to adapt the consequences of climate change in their vineyards in the last years. For example regarding the hot vintage 2003 they would handle totally differently now.
At the end of the day I buy bottles from my favorite estates like Willi Schaefer, Hofgut Falkenstein, Weiser-Künstler, JJ Prüm etc etc etc and I know I am in good hands.
Looking forward to open a 2014 GG from Peter Lauer tonight. The 2014 GGs are in good shape right now and I recommend to open a GG from 2014. 2014 Schäfer-Fröhlich “Felsenberg” GG was terrific yesterday and 2014 “Felseneck” GG too a few months ago.
in vino veritas
Martin
Thanks, Martin, one quick point. Klaus Peter Keller’s father was surely referring to the southern area of Wonnegau. Ingelheim (also limestone) on the Rhine was famous for its Spätburgunder in the 19th century.