A few weeks ago, Stuart Pigott, a leading German wine writer and Contributing Editor/ JamesSuckling.com, issued a list of the "Top 100 German Wines of 2017", including some introductory remarks. Not surprisingly, at the top half of the list is dominated by noble-sweet wines that are well-known around the world, from Egon Müller, J.J. Prüm, Dönnhoff and others. Interestingly, there are also a significant number of ultra-premium dry wines on Stuart Pigott's Top 100 list. These wines are increasingly appreciated by dry white wine lovers around the world. Finally, you also find a number of red wines on the list, which would have been unthinkably say 20 or 30 years ago.
Stuart Pigott
Stuart Pigott, born in the UK, was Berlin-based for more than 20 years. During this period, he emerged as the leading German wine writer, mostly writing in German, and focusing on German wine. Notably, since 2001, he’s been the wine columnist for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany’s equivalent of the New York Times or the South China Morning Post), and he’s even filmed three series for the acclaimed TV show Wine Wonder Germany for the public broadcast channel of Bavaria.
A few years ago, Stuart Pigott started to spend a lot of time in New York City, turning his attention to the global world of Riesling. His first major output of the move to New York City was a major book about Riesling in the world, which was published in June 2014: The Best White Wine on Earth: The Riesling Story.
Since 2016, Stuart is back in Germany, in the Frankfurt Area.
He also joined JamesSuckling.com as a contributing editor. He is in charge of the wines of Germany and Austria as well as the East Coast of the United States.
See also:
Best Wine Bars: On the Heels of Stuart Pigott in New York
Late Night German Riesling Tasting with Riesling Gurus Paul Grieco and Stuart Pigott in Washington DC on the 2013 Riesling Road Trip, USA
Tasting the Best of Virginia Wines in Frankfurt, Germany, with Stuart Pigott: Virginia Governor's Cup Case 2016
In early December, Stuart Pigott releases a list of his favorite wines and winemakers of the year in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
For last years' lists, see:
Best German Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (December 2017)
Best German Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (December 2016)
Germany’s Best Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (December 2015)
Best German Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (December 2014)
Best German Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (December 2013)
Best German Wines and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (2012)
Best German Wine and Winemakers – Stuart Pigott’s Favorites (2011)
Stuart Pigott: Top 100 German Wines of 2017
Stuart Pigott on JamesSuckling.com(Thursday, December 14, 2017): "This was a great year for German wines thanks to the excellence of the 2015 and 2016 vintages and their complimentary personalities. Those looking for crispness, elegance and subtlety of aroma in dry and off-dry whites are ideally served by the 2016 vintage. Those looking for more power and richness in dry and sweet whites than what is traditionally associated with German whites need look no further than 2015. This combination is fully reflected in our ranking of the Top 100 German Wines of 2017, which includes some of the best wines on earth from the Auslese designations but also many modestly priced and widely available wines, particularly those that fall in the Spätlese category.
The top five wines all rated 100 points and perfectly embody the characteristics that make German Auslese, Beerenauslese (BA) and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) dessert wines from the riesling grape unique on Planet Wine. Although they are all tremendously concentrated with a honeyed sweetness, they are also low in alcohol and thanks to their high natural acidity have enormous energy and vitality. However, by no means is every German riesling Auslese, BA or TBA worthy of such an elevated rating, as those who followed our reports on Germany this year already know. What makes this handful of masterpieces so spectacular is their complexity and finesse, rather than sheer density or opulence.
We can’t imagine a more perfect expression of all these qualities than the Egon Müller-Scharzhof Scharzhofberger Riesling Mosel Trockenbeerenauslese 2015 from Wiltingen, our German Wine of the Year 2017. It has yet to be sold and is almost certainly destined for one of the auctions of the German VDP association of producers. Expect the price to top US$10,000 per bottle as collectors around the globe fight over the tiny production. Like his father before him, Egon Müller IV is one of the world’s established masters of sweet and dessert winemaking, something underlined by the fact that two other wines of his placed at No. 7 and No. 18.
The situation is rather similar for our No.3 in the list, the Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle Riesling Nahe Trockenbeerenauslese 2015 from Oberhausen, and our No.4 wine, the Maximin Grünhaus (von Schubert) Abtsberg Riesling Mosel Beerenauslese 2015 from Mertesdorf. These are also producers with long track records of producing spectacular riesling dessert wines. Decades of refining selective-harvesting and winemaking techniques lie behind them, and for this reason these results aren’t terribly surprising. In spite of that, we congratulate them on these achievements, because, as they well know, a great reputation is no substitute for determination and attention to detail.
This situation makes the success of the producers behind the No. 2 and No.5 wines, Carl Loewen in Leiwen, Mosel and Prinz in Hallgarten, Rheingau all the more astonishing, because they are rising stars and internationally these names are still only known to insiders. In addition to that, just a generation ago many experts looked down on these vineyard sites considering them incapable of producing first-class riesling wines! That didn’t stop the Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Mosel Beerenauslese 2015 from father and son team Karl Josef and Christopher Loewen and the Jungfer Riesling Rheingau Auslese Gold Cap 2015 from Fred Prinz getting 100 points. Look down through the Top 100 and you will find other examples of this such in the form of producers such as Harald Hexamer, Jakob Schneider and K.H. Schneider — all from the Nahe region.
Not all German sweet wines have this kind of massive body and power. The riesling Spätlese category is the zone where concentration is married to a delicacy in a way that’s virtually unique in the world of wine. The best example of this we found was the breathtakingly vivid and intensely mineral Emrich-Schönleber Halenberg Riesling Spätlese 2016, which we rated 98 points and placed at No. 32. It’s here where no doubt some real comparatively good-value wines can be found, and a significant number of these are included in our Top 100 list.
Arguably, the most startling results in this Top 100 list are in the field of dry white wines. Turn the clock back 20 plus years, and any ranking like this would have been dominated by sweet rieslings with only a few dry wines at the bottom end. Things were already slowly changing then, and by a decade ago, many good to excellent dry rieslings were being made in Germany. However, the leading producers have continued making improvements in grape growing and winemaking and kept pushing the quality envelope. We were repeatedly stunned by the combination of concentration, intense minerality and impeccable balance of the best dry German rieslings we tasted this year. If 2015 is clearly the superior vintage in Germany for dessert wines, then the number of exciting dry wines from 2016 is considerably greater than in 2015.
Top of this group was our No. 9 wine, the Schäfer-Fröhlich Riesling Nahe Felseneck GG 2016 in Bockenau. Tim Fröhlich has been making exciting dry rieslings with mind-blowing mineral intensity for many years, but sometimes they were a bit too wild in their youth (it would often take a year or two of bottle age for the reduction to blow off). In 2016, Fröhlich’s dry rieslings are just wild enough and the 2016 Felseneck GG is literally breathtaking as a result.
Anyone who doubts that Germany can produce sensational dry whites should taste the abovementioned wine or one of the many other GGs that found a place in the Top 100. Here, the achievement of Keller in Flörsheim-Dalsheim, Rheinhessen, deserves a special mention, since three of Klaus Peter Keller’s dry rieslings placed as No. 20, No. 23 and No.29. The 2016 is probably the best vintage ever from this new star of dry German wine. Quantities of the dry wines are usually considerably greater than for the dessert wines.
Lastly, the appearance of a handful of red wines in the Top 100 for Germany, most prominently the sensational Heydenreich GG 2013, a spätburgunder (pinot noir) from Friedrich Becker in Schweigen, Pfalz, which comes in as No. 39 with 97 points, will come as a revelation to many. Germany has the third largest area in the world planted to this grape, and thanks to global warming, it now has a climate ideally suited to it. Watch this space!" – Stuart Pigott, Contributing Editor
Stuart Pigott's Top 100 German Wines
1 Egon Müller-Scharzhof Riesling Mosel Scharzhofberger Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
2 Carl Loewen Riesling Mosel Maximin Herrenberg Beerenauslese 2015
3 Dönnhoff Riesling Nahe Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
4 Maximin Grünhaus (von Schubert) Riesling Mosel Abtsberg Beerenauslese 2015
5 Prinz Riesling Rheingau Jungfer Auslese Gold Cap 2015
6 Joh. Jos. Prum Riesling Mosel Graacher Himmelreich Trockenbeerenauslese 2005
7 Egon Müller-Scharzhof Riesling Mosel Scharzhofberger Beerenauslese 2015
8 Robert Weil Riesling Rheingau Kiedrich Gräfenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2016
9 Schäfer-Fröhlich Riesling Nahe Felseneck GG 2016
10 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rheingau Goldlack Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
11 Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Nahe Halenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
12 Müller-Catoir Rieslaner Pfalz Herzog Trockenbeerenauslese 2016
13 Joh. Jos. Prum Riesling Mosel Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Long Gold Cap 2015
14 Robert Weil Riesling Rheingau Kiedrich Gräfenberg Beerenauslese Gold Cap 2016
15 Hexamer Riesling Nahe Sobernheimer Domberg Eiswein No. 1 2016
16 Gunderloch Riesling Rheinhessen Rothenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
17 Willi Schaefer Riesling Mosel Graacher Domprobst Beerenauslese 2015
18 Egon Müller-Scharzhof Riesling Mosel Scharzhofberger Auslese Gold Cap (Auction) 2015
19 Keller Riesling Rheinhessen Brünnenhäuschen Abts E GG 2016
20 Wittmann Riesling Rheinhessen Morstein GG 2016
21 Keller Riesling Rheinhessen G-Max 2016
22 Wagner-Stempel Riesling Rheinhessen EMT 2016
23 Künstler Riesling Rheingau Kirchenstück GG 2016
24 Maximin Grünhaus (von Schubert) Riesling Mosel Herrenberg Auslese (Auction) 2016
25 Robert Weil Riesling Rheingau Kiedrich Gräfenberg Beerenauslese 2016
26 Von Schubert Riesling Mosel Abtsberg GG 2016
27 Dönnhoff Riesling Nahe Oberhäuser Brücke Auslese Gold Cap 2016
28 Keller Riesling Rheinhessen Hipping Grosse Lage 2016
29 Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Nahe Halenberg GG 2016
30 Müller-Catoir Rieslaner Pfalz Herzog Beerenauslese 2016
31 K.H. Schneider Riesling Nahe Felsenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
32 Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Nahe Halenberg Spätlese 2016
33 Dr. Loosen Riesling Mosel Erdener Prälat GG Reserve 2012
34 Hexamer Riesling Nahe Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Trockenbeerenauslese No. 1 2015
35 Wagner-Stempel Riesling Rheinhessen Heerkretz GG 2016
36 Peter Lauer Riesling Mosel Schonfels GG 2016
37 Wittmann Riesling Rheinhessen Kirchspiel GG 2016
38 J.B. Becker Riesling Rheingau Wallufer Walkenberg Rieslng Auslese Trocken 2015
39 Friedrich Becker Spätburgunder Pfalz Heydenreich GG 2013
40 Markus Molitor Riesling Mosel Saarburger Rausch Beerenauslese (Gold Cap) 2015
41 Dönnhoff Riesling Nahe Hermannshöhle GG 2016
42 Gut Hermannsberg Riesling Nahe Kupfergrube GG 2015
43 Leitz Riesling Rheingau Berg Kaisersteinfels GG 2016
44 von Oetinger Riesling Rheingau Siegelsberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
45 Schäfer-Fröhlich Riesling Nahe Halenberg GG 2016
46 Wittmann Riesling Rheinhessen Brunnenhäuschen GG 2016
47 Winter Riesling Rheinhessen Geiersberg GG 2016
48 Willi Schaefer Riesling Mosel Graacher Domprobst Auslese (Auction) 2015
49 Künstler Riesling Rheingau Hölle GG 2016
50 Wegeler Riesling Rheingau Rothenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2016
51 Hexamer Riesling Nahe Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
52 Nik Weis (St. Urbans-Hof) Riesling Mosel Laurentiuslay Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
53 Nik Weis (St. Urbans-Hof) Riesling Mosel Bockstein Trockenbeerenauslese 2015
54 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Rheingau Rosalack Auslese 2016
55 Markus Molitor Riesling Mosel Erdener Treppchen Auslese *** (Gold Cap) 2015
56 Markus Molitor Riesling Mosel Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (Gold Cap) 2015
57 Jakob Schneider Riesling Nahe Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Beerenauslese 2015
58 Emrich-Schönleber Riesling Nahe Halenberg Auslese 2015
59 Prinz Riesling Rheingau Schönhell GG 2016
60 K.H. Schneider Riesling Nahe Felsenberg Auslese 2015
61 Prinz Riesling Rheingau Jungfer Auslese 2015
62 J.B. Becker Riesling Rheingau Wallufer Walkenberg Auslese Trocken 2015
63 Koehler-Ruprecht Riesling Pfalz Kallstadter Saumagen Spätlese Trocken R 2015
64 Koehler-Ruprecht Riesling Pfalz Kallstadter Saumagen Beerenauslese 2015
65 Schätzel Riesling Rheinhessen Pettenthal Auslese 2015
66 Dr. Loosen Riesling Mosel Erdener Prälat Auslese Gold Cap 2015
67 Carl Loewen Riesling Mosel 1896 (Gray Label) 2016
68 Peter Lauer Riesling Mosel Saarfeilser Spätlese 2016
69 Kühling-Gillot Riesling Rheinhessen Rothenberg GG Wurzelecht 2016
70 Dr. Loosen Riesling Mosel Prälat GG 2016
71 Leitz Riesling Rheingau Berg Schlossberg GG 2016
72 Gut Hermannsberg Riesling Nahe Hermannsberg GG 2015
73 Willi Schaefer Riesling Mosel Domprobst Spätlese (Auction) 2015
74 Knipser Spätburgunder Pfalz RdP 2013
75 Vollenweider Riesling Mosel Wolfer Goldgrube Auslese Gold Cap 2015
76 Schlossgut Diel Riesling Nahe Pittermännchen GG 2016
77 Thörle Spätburgunder Rheinhessen Hölle 2015
78 Joh. Jos. Prum Riesling Mosel Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese (Auction) 2015
79 Carl Loewen Riesling Mosel Laurentiuslay Spätlese 2016
80 Christmann Riesling Pfalz Idig GG 2016
81 Eva Fricke Riesling Rheingau Krone 2016
82 von Oetinger Riesling Rheingau Marcobrunn GG 2016
83 Künstler Spätburgunder Rheingau Höllenberg GG 2015
84 Julian Haart Riesling Mosel Schubertslay Spätlese 2016
85 Schätzel Riesling Rheinhessen Pettenthal GG 2015
86 Thörle Riesling Rheinhessen Schlossberg trocken 2016
87 Winter Riesling Rheinhessen Leckerberg GG 2016
88 Heymann-Löwenstein Riesling Mosel Uhlen Laubach GG 2016
89 Jakob Schneider Riesling Nahe Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Magnus Trocken 2015
90 Schlossgut Diel Riesling Nahe Goldloch GG 2016
91 Dr. Wehrheim Riesling Pfalz Kastanienbusch GG 2016
92 Dr. Crusius Riesling Nahe Bastei GG 2016
93 Ökonomierat Rebholz Sparkling Pfalz Pi No Sekt Extra Brut (black label) 2008
94 Korrell Riesling Nahe Paradies Trocken 2016
95 Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan Riesling Pfalz Kirchenstück GG 2016
96 Bergdolt Weissburgunder Pfalz Mandelberg GG 2016
97 Ökonomierat Rebholz Riesling Pfalz Kastanienbusch GG 2016
98 Pfeffingen Riesling Pfalz Herrenberg GG 2016
99 Reichsrat von Buhl Riesling Pfalz Pechstein GG 2016
100 Christmann Spätburgunder Pfalz Idig GG 2014
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