Robert, Martin, and (probably) David are more GG lovers than I am. But I did like a few of the 2016 GGs I tasted last year, basically the first time I’ve started to potentially warm up to GG. I thought the 2015s I’ve tried over the last couple years were all too big and dense (having higher alcohol than I like) for their own good while there was a comparatively open purity and lightness to 2016 that allowed the aromatics to express well. Examples were all of Leitz’s GGs, Donnhoff Felsenberg and Hermannshohle, Schaefer Frolich Felseneck. There must have been a few others as well.
[Added: The test for me of a vintage like 2015 will be how the wines age. I’m not saying they don’t have potential. Just that I don’t care for them young, and it’s unclear how they will age. I’m not the biggest fan of aged MSR and Nahe dry wines generally.]
My reaction in retrospect parallels how I feel about various Austrian rieslings, where I don’t tend to go for the high alcohol very dense style (say a young Knoll) as compared to say Prager’s more transparent style.
you really have to taste aged GGs,it´s really great. For example 2007&2008 Schäfer-Fröhlich “Felseneck” GG or 2004 Emrich-Schönleber "Halenberg"GG and “Felseneck” GG are awesome.
BTW, also in case of the high alcohol Rieslings of Hirtzberger which are at young age too big for. me. BUT after 10 years age they show finesse and the alcohol is good integrated. I was deeply impressed when I made a “Singerriedel” vertical back to 2001 with Franz Hirtzberger in Berlin.
Martin,
Thanks for your inputs. Would be good if you could also create a similar subject about Kabinett, Spatlese,…
I appreciate vintage is only a parameter but I find the style of the vintahe a useful information
regarding MOSEL please go to MFW, they are the true experts and you will find a lot of useful information for free. Not only regarding current vintages, but also regarding old vintages. I met both guys at a dinner chez JJ Prüm two years ago and their know-how is breathtaking.
I had the honor to be invited by my friend Claus Jeppesen to a wonderful tasting of old Mosel&Piedmont wines in november in Copenhagen. One of several conclusions after the tasting was that we drink Mosel Rieslings much too early. Even KABINETT has an impressive aging potential, e.g. 1998 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken, 1988 Joh. Jos. Prum Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Auslese Halbtrocken and 1988 Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg, Riesling, Kabinett were magic. Here more information:
Another conclusion was that the old established Mosel producer almost never disappoint, JJ Prüm, Maximin Grünhäuser, Karthäuserhofberg etc etc etc Fair to say the unknown 1994 Bischhöfliches Priesterseminar “Trittenheimer Apotheke” Auslese was outstanding too and a big surprise.
So, find the estate stilistic of your liking and you can buy every german vintage almost blind from the last 10 years.
P.S. and some winemakers are true genius like Egon Müller, Manfred Prüm, Bernd Philippi, KP Keller etc. You can experience this when you taste a Rheingau Riesling Spätlese&Auslese from 1997 which KP Keller made as a student for the university as a final exam. The task was to rent a vineyard outside from Rheinhessen and make a Riesling. Beautiful wines.
There is certainly part of what you say that resonates with some of my experience with GG’s. There are some producers that I feel stretch it too far, making dense, and for lack of a better description, “over-blown” GG wines that come off as powerful, bold, and usually are much more golden yellow in color. I certainly don’t have the experience with GG’s that Martin or Doug Schulman does, but I’ve been drinking them pretty regularly since about the 2007 vintage. Dry German riesling & GG’s account for about 89% of the German Rieslings in my cellar. I tend to prefer a few specific producers, and have found there are some producers I do not like at all that others often praise. In the end it has to come down to experimentation and exposure. I’ve found that the Schäfer-Fröhlich GG’s tend to be a bit too large for my liking…and many of the GG “darlings” to be just what I’m looking for.
Like you, I tend to avoid them young…I’ve found that 4-10 years in bottle is my sweet spot. I’m really enjoying almost all the 2012’s & 2013’s that I open right now and had a stellar 2007 early last year.
Another important point regarding German vintages is the storage. Around 6 months ago I was invited to a tasting of aged dry Rieslings and I was stunned how important a COLD cellar is. The owner has a quite cold cellar in Berlin and several Rieslings, e.g. 1999 Breuer Nonnenberg, 2002 Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Spätlese trocken were mind-blowing and presented such young. Beautiful also 2000 Van Volxem Wiltinger Braunfels, 1999 Sauer Lump.
Thanks Martin. I mainly buy non GG wines (from Kabinett to Auslese) and was referring to vintages rather than producers. Indeed, for “sweet wines” , for instance, 2011 is seen as a good vintage but not so much for GG.
Being born in Metz Moselle, I mainly buy and drink Mosel (Von Schubert, Schaeffer, Lauer…) also I try to get a Keller when I can.
Martin, I had a long conversation with Jean Fisch (an old internet friend) on dry German Riesling a couple years ago. He didn’t convince me then and other than the few 2016s that had promise, I’m still not a convert, but I’m open minded. The barrier is price. GGs in the US are very expensive now compared to the off-dry/sweet wines I adore.
Kirk, I hear you. I’m currently primarily drinking pre-2003 German vintages (e.g., 2004 Abtsberg Spätlese recently too young) and am always on the look out for 96s and 97s in particular.
Have had good experiences with Müller Catoir/HGS trockens from the late 80s and 90s, but those are now long gone in my cellar.
You don’t even have to spend a lot of money for a great DRY RIESLING. For instance 2017 Seehof “Kirchspiel” is not a GG, but taste like a GG. Here in Germany for around 17-18 Euro. The importer vom Boden in NY has it. My TN here:
We have every year a perfect indian summer. The combination of dry&warm&sunny during the day and cold nights is perfect for the grapes. Dry and sunny helps that the grapes can perfectly develop and the cold nights give freshness&purity.
Martin makes a great point about this producer. Their wines are great…I really love them. However, it won’t be long before they too reach higher prices. I was able to buy the weissburgunder back from the 2012 vintage for $22/bottle the same wine is above $30 in some places now. So snap up a few of them if you can find them. They are a great value.
I would certainly add Keller Von der Fels to the dry Rieslings having GG quality. A wine with great personality
My favorite GG /Auslese Trocken vintages:
2001
2002
2004
2008
2010
2013
2015
2016
2017
Yes. I think practically compared to conditions before say 1997 this means the growers can more consistently monitor and pick ripe grapes optimally across different sugar levels before the first freeze or maturation largely shuts down. Whereas historically there were issues.
“When you look at weather statistics it it is obvious that the wine world as we know it is changing. The average amount of sunshine hours in Bad Kreuznach in the years 1960-1989 was 1495, the average in the years 2000-2007 was 1931! That is really an extreme increase, and in extreme years like 2003 (with 2275 sunshinehours).”
Despite the fact that this date is from 2008 and we have even more sunshine hours after 2008, you see the change.
