Top 100 German Wines of 2018

WINE TALK
21

Hard to overlook Schloss Johannisberg on this list. Has quality improved there, more generally?

22

I have been drinking German wines since the 1970s and have tried a number of GG wines. I know that they are the hot thing for the cool people in Germany, but they are not for me. I also am not a big fan of other trendy wines like orange wines and big, overoaked Cabernet and Chardonnay.

23

In contrast to the types you mention, several GG’s belong to the worlds finest wines

24

Howard, it might be trendy to have GG o the label, but do you think this makes a new wine style? I mean, is GG another type of wine than say “Auslese trocken” in former days?

25

Charlie,

its not different. And btw: I never understood why people rave about Chablis, Meursault, Puligny and think German Riesling has to be sweet. GG aren’t sweet nor sour. They are balanced wines.

Its true that many favored a sweet wine style in Germany in the 70th and 80th last century. In white AND red wine! But these days are long gone. And dry German Riesling existed always. The GG is the equivalent to Grand Cru and represents the top wine of the range. Thats all.

26

Martin,

ok – but Hubacker is one of the top GG and was included.

27

I thought you loved the Julian Haart Goldtropfchen Kabinett I brought to your house.

28

I don’t think Suckling likes Pradikats too much.

29

i was drinking Donnhoff’s Felsenberg Trocken before it became “GG”. I don’t know if they still make that wine, or if it’s all GG now.

I wasn’t drinking German wines in the 70s, but all the Germans I’ve worked with over the years mostly drank only trocken wines. My understanding is that most wine drunk by Germans is dry, and that importers to the U.S. have focused disproportionately on sweeter wines.

30

Well stated. There were three wines I hope to purchase on the list.

31

I don’t have much experience with GGs, when would people start approaching these wines? Do you expect them to go through a closed phase?

I love wines, with minerality, cut and freshness.

32

It’s worth pointing out that GGs, as well as Erste Gewaechs and Erste Lage wines, are not exactly like the dry wines of the pre-GG days. These designations necessitate a higher level of quality control than in years past. I can’t speak for growers, but it wouldn’t surprise me if many have made substantial investments in the field and in the cellar in order to compete in these categories. If they haven’t made such investments, then that means that we consumers arbitrarily decided to pay a lot more for what was previously available for pennies on the dollar.

33

Subu, like other regions I think it depends on your taste. For me, it also depends on the producer style (in regards to extract, sugar and acid). For example, some newly bottled dries (for my palate) are so very tight and sharp that I prefer to wait (or will leave open in fridge for a few days).

More generally, I think there is a community thought that many GGs may close down around about year 2 in bottle and come back around year 5ish. Personally, I don’t try to thread the needle and just aim to start drinking about year 5 or hopefully a bit longer. For example, for me, Keller Hubacker 2013 right now is epic and wasn’t as expressive 3 years ago. More generally in my GG experience, 2011-2013 are drinking beautiful, 2014 (while a touch leaner in general) are coming along, I would not personally drink 2015s right now for a multitude of reasons, 2016 were actually pretty approachable about 6 months ago but don’t really know now. If you want to try what I think is a great benchmark in a great spot, try to get a 2011 Wittmann Morstein- chill it in fridge with bottle open for 6 hours and wham.

The best advice I can give you in this regard is to not take mine neener and follow and link up to Mosel Fine Wines. It is free, they are very thoughtful, it is linked to CellarTracker and they often offer comments on drinkablility as well as a prime drinking window.

34

Thanks, Luke. This is helpful for many of us.

35

Thanks Luke!

36

Thanks Luke for the drinking window tip. For what it’s worth, drank a 2012 Dr Burklin Wolf Forster Pechstein GG last night and it was absolutely on fire! So this would seem to corroborate your recommendation [cheers.gif]

37

Gawain, very nice! BW Pechstein in my opinion is another truly outstanding wine. Top producer and a top vineyard for sure. We don’t see a lot of this cuvee in the US but worth seeking out. Have your had the Basserman Jordan version? I find that to be lighter, more lifted and quite floral but also really great.

38

sorry for the tangent, but did wittmann change importer/distributor? i saw a quite a few shops offering 11/12/13 morstein for under $40 a bottle about a year ago. ended up trying the 11 and was not a fan, however perhaps it needed more time.

39

Yeah- I saw those wines at those prices and loaded up. Wasn’t sure what the reason was but suspect you are right.

40

I think you’re spot-on with the Wittmann wines…while I haven’t had the 2011 I’ve loved every bottle of 2015 that I’ve opened. In fact I was drinking them so fast I was worried I’d drink through all I had. It was just plain delicious from the first sip to the last…the 2012 has always seemed more austere and structured for the long-haul.

While I haven’t been yet…I hope to go to Rieslingfeier in another year or two and have thought that when I go it might be neat to bring a vertical of Keller Hubacker 2012 - 2017 for the table I’m at…I love these wines and think they’re very special. When I can’t afford them (or find them) anymore then I’ll start buying more of some of the other producers I also love. It seems like it’s always just going to be a shift between producers and wines throughout the hobby.