Top 100 German Wines of 2018

[Jayson_Cohen]

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?

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.

Cornelius told me a couple years ago that Donnhoff’s GGs are made the same way they made the Trockens before the GG designation. But I suspect strongly the viticultural practices (not to mention the climate) have changed.

I’m not a big GG fan but the 2016 Felsenberg GG at last year’s Rieslingfeier was the first trocken wine from Donnhoff I liked in a long time. It tasted like Felsenberg, based on my familiarity with the Felsenberg/Turmchen Spätlesen over the years, which I love.

[R_Frankel]

I’m not a Riesling connoseur like you all, but this comment struck me. I’m the complete flip, I like my Rieslings bone dry, trokens, Kabinetts, GGs.

Anyone try yet either of the 2 Donnhoffs that are in the top 10? Always a fan but have not tried any 2017s, or 2016s for that matter.

I’m no great Riesling expert, but enjoy both dry and sweet versions. I had the opportunity to taste across Dönnhoff’s 2017 wines (not all but quite a few) and was highly impressed. The NH and Dellchen GGs were both excellent. Very intense wines with a lot of depth, minerality and length, though both were clearly young and tight. Of the sweet wines I adored the NH Spätlese. Very much a wow sweet wine. Indeed I found things to like up and down the range. I loved the Doppelstück (under €20), a blend of Weisburgunder and Grauburgunder. Sadly I don’t think that makes it to the USA.

[Alan_Rath]

Cornelius told me a couple years ago that Donnhoff’s GGs are made the same way they made the Trockens before the GG designation. But I suspect strongly the viticultural practices (not to mention the climate) have changed.

The vineyards were emaculate when I visited there in 2007. I spent a lot of time out there walking all the vineyards. I don’t knowthat they could be doing a lot more or differently than they were doing in the past, but it’s possible.

As for climate, it hasn’t changed much in a decade. Certainly the normal year-to-year variations are greater than the trend line over a decade or two.

I don’t know this, but I wonder if they are pushing more fruit into GG, instead of sweet wines?

[Charlie_Carnes]

As for climate, it hasn’t changed much in a decade. Certainly the normal year-to-year variations are greater than the trend line over a decade or two.

… which is pretty normal as well.

I was lucky to sit next to Cornelius for a couple of hours at Rieslingfeier a few years ago. What a cool dude! Christoper and Andrea Schaefer were across from us. How cool was that!

[Alan_Rath]

I’d say very cool

[Jayson_Cohen]

As for climate, it hasn’t changed much in a decade. Certainly the normal year-to-year variations are greater than the trend line over a decade or two.

… which is pretty normal as well.

I was lucky to sit next to Cornelius for a couple of hours at Rieslingfeier a few years ago. What a cool dude! Christoper and Andrea Schaefer were across from us. How cool was that!

So funny. I was at that event at the next table. They don’t do the seminars like that anymore.

My recollection is that is where the Schaefers poured a 1975 Domprobst BA or TBA that was off the charts fantastic.

[Jim_Brennan]

I just ignore any list of German wines where the top 13 wines are all dry. Obviously, the author and I do not have similar palates.

+1

[Jayson_Cohen]

Cornelius told me a couple years ago that Donnhoff’s GGs are made the same way they made the Trockens before the GG designation. But I suspect strongly the viticultural practices (not to mention the climate) have changed.

The vineyards were emaculate when I visited there in 2007. I spent a lot of time out there walking all the vineyards. I don’t knowthat they could be doing a lot more or differently than they were doing in the past, but it’s possible.

As for climate, it hasn’t changed much in a decade. Certainly the normal year-to-year variations are greater than the trend line over a decade or two.

I don’t know this, but I wonder if they are pushing more fruit into GG, instead of sweet wines?

I don’t think there is anything different about attention to detail in the vineyards. More about more grapes going into GG. I guess I should have been more explicit that I thought there had been some shifts on how and when to harvest in order to make more dry wines.

As to climate I thought there had been shifts. But you are right it’s an empirical question and I shouldnt be so casual to assume. Still I’d like to see the trend and distribution data on night time lows and daytime highs in particular, not just average daily T variations.

[Charlie_Carnes]

it was the 1976 Graacher Domprobst BA here is my note:

Wow! What can I say. This was served at second night of Rieslingfeier. Birthyear wines are always kinda cool, but this one takes the cake. This wine was put down by Willi Schaefer for his son’s birth in 1976. Last night, this was served to me by the very person for whom the wine was laid down, Christoph, and his wife Andrea. The wine itself was amazing. It was amber with orange hue. The nose was haunting, with desiccated bergamot tea, orange peel, honey-tea-lime mixed, and dried apricot, and about a thousand other things. I couldn’t believe how fresh the wine was when I tasted it. It was so light bodied it just danced and floated.

[David_Bu3ker]

Cornelius told me a couple years ago that Donnhoff’s GGs are made the same way they made the Trockens before the GG designation. But I suspect strongly the viticultural practices (not to mention the climate) have changed.

The vineyards were emaculate when I visited there in 2007. I spent a lot of time out there walking all the vineyards. I don’t knowthat they could be doing a lot more or differently than they were doing in the past, but it’s possible.

As for climate, it hasn’t changed much in a decade. Certainly the normal year-to-year variations are greater than the trend line over a decade or two.

I don’t know this, but I wonder if they are pushing more fruit into GG, instead of sweet wines?

I don’t think there is anything different about attention to detail in the vineyards. More about more grapes going into GG. I guess I should have been more explicit that I thought there had been some shifts on how and when to harvest in order to make more dry wines.

As to climate I thought there had been shifts. But you are right it’s an empirical question and I shouldnt be so casual to assume. Still I’d like to see the trend and distribution data on night time lows and daytime highs in particular, not just average daily T variations.

The changes often have been earlier spring, and wilder weather. Yes, there are more heat spells, but also more hail, early bud break leading to frost risk when the temps go back to normal in April, and stuff like that.