These wineries produce the highest quality Rieslings

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At this year’s Prowein trade fair in Düsseldorf, the world’s largest wine trade fair, I devoted two full days to German wine culture.

Two things were confirmed on the first day of tasting more than 100 German Rieslings: Riesling is and will remain an excellent grape variety with the potential to make world-class storable white wines.

Second: The wines from Weingut Dönnhoff are among the best our northern neighbors have to offer in terms of Rieslings. Helmut Dönnhoff (74) personally guided me through a battery of different Rieslings, starting with high-quality estate wines, to wines from the rare region for which 42 different soil types are responsible for a variety of different character traits in wine.

All Dönnhoff wines come from the Nahe viticulture region and are fermented and stored in classic wooden barrels made of German oak or stainless steel. After the exciting, crystal clear wines of the 2022 harvest, Dönnhoff offers me two ripe wines, including Grosse Gewächs (GG) Dellchen from the 2013 harvest.

The wine reveals captivating clear aromas of baked apple, dried lemon peel, Mirabelle plum, white peach, tropical notes and a subtle honey and light petroleum note. The wine dances lightly on the palate, carries a lively acidity and ends with a delicate salty note in the finish. An absolute dream wine that you should definitely resist the temptation to drink at a young age.

The Künstler family’s winery in the Rheingau viticulture is less than an hour’s drive from the Dönnhoff winery. Rieslings are pressed from this region, which is usually slightly stronger than in Nahe. Gunter Künstler (59) processes 65 hectares of vineyards with the 14th generation who run the family-owned winery and his team.

Among the white grape varieties, Riesling takes the lion’s share with 80 percent. In addition to the whites, Künstler also planted dark varieties such as Pinot Noir or Merlot, which incidentally was the latter for his wife, who had a soft spot for velvety Merlot wines.

The artist shows me photos of old wine lists where Rheingau Rieslings cost more than the finest Burgundy wines. That time has already changed, but what remains is the fact that great wines are produced in this German region.

Artist’s Rieslings were dancing and aromatic, delicately balanced and delicate. He was recently able to lease part of the historic Marcobrunnen vineyard and made an ingenious selection from there, among other things. Unfortunately, I’m not the first to notice this: The 2021 crop recently received a top rating from wine critic James Suckling (64).

Another half hour by car and you are in front of the Wittmann winery in the Rheinhessen viticulture region. Philipp Wittmann (48) and his wife Eva (46) are the tenth generation to run the family winery. It has been certified organic since 1990.

Shortly after WWII, the now 40-hectare winery was split before it was later converted back into a single operation. Wittmann reports that he harvested Rieslings from the 2022 harvest about a month earlier compared to 2021, where the grapes took a little longer to reach optimum maturity due to the lower temperatures.

Almost all of Wittmann’s Rieslings are dry and impress with their crisp style. Spicy notes, so typical of the Rhinehessen growing region, are often added to this. Vineyard wines Brunnenhäuschen, Morstein or La Borne, which have a safe aging potential for at least twenty years, are in demand as the pearl of wine.

The Wittmanns tell me they like their vineyard wine best between the ages of seven and twelve. Whether freshly bottled or ripened; Wittmann’s Rieslings are definitive and are among the most sought after Rieslings in Germany.

Source : Blick