See:
Coming-up: Wine & Art Tour to Saale-Unstrut - Saxony - Franken - Württemberg: Germany-East Tour by ombiasy WineTours (June 11 - June 20, 2015)
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux
The 11 Winemakers: Rieslingfeier 2015 in New York City, USA
Terry Theise is one of the leading experts of German Wine in the US. Among the vast number of his followers, he has gained something like a cult status. He publishes a thick catalogue once a year with extensive comments. In addition to the compendium of exciting wine reviews, the Terry Theise’s annual catalogue is a very good introduction to German wine, both to the basics and to the current trends and issues.
If you want to learn more about Terry, the Washington Post carried an excellent article about him some time ago. See here.
2008 James Beard Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional
2005 Food & Wine Magazine Importer of the Year
His wines are imported by Michael Skurnik, an importer and distributor of fine wines based in Syosset, New York. Terry also imports Austrian wine and Champagnes, including excellent grower Champagnes.
A few comments. First, there are no red wines, although they now account for 1/3 of the German wine output. Terry is clearly focusing on Germany’s white wines. Second, nor have I seen a category for sparkling wines; for sparklers, you have to go to his excellent portfolio of Champagnes, including many grower Champagnes. Third, his list does not include any noble-sweet wines (Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein). Fourth, Terry is known for having a preference for sweet-style wines, although his portfolio increasingly includes also dry wines (more on this see below). Fifth, as mentioned above, this is not a list based on a comprehensive review of German wine, but is limited to Terry Theise’s portfolio of winemakers, which is large and exceptional.
For previous years, see:
Terry Theise: German 2013 Vintage Wines - Highlights and Superlatives, Germany
Terry Theise: 2012 Vintage Wines - Highlights and Superlatives, Germany
Terry Theise’s Top German Wines of the 2011 Vintage, Germany, USA
2011: Terry Theise’s Top German Wines of the 2010 Vintage
Terry Theise's Top German Wines of the 2009 Vintage
The German Wine Culture: Dry or Sweet or Both?
Terry Theise, in his most recent German wine catalogue (Vintage 2014), addresses the issue of the German wine culture: Is it a dry wine culture or a sweet wine culture or both. Let me quote Terry Theise.
Terry Theise: … What I myself see, from the growers I visit and the restaurants I go to, and the stories I am told, Germany is not only a dry-wine culture, it is militantly and obsessively so. How many letters have I gotten from travelers to Germany who were promptly dismayed to find the utter hegemony of the Trocken style? I did not set these people up. They saw what I see. And what we see gives cause for grave concerns. The wines we love are threatened. … If you were dropped from the sky and landed in Germany you would conclude it is a dry wine culture.
Outside of Germany it is a not-dry wine culture, because we in other countries can perhaps see with greater perspective that the not-dry German Rieslings are a singular and precious gift to the world and to the cause of beauty.
… So the answer to the question, in truth is: It is both a sweet and a dry wine culture, but not if the Germans themselves have anything to say about it. Other than a few token dessert-wines they would just as soon see the sweet wines go extinct.
In an earlier article “Can American Fans Save German Riesling” (Slate, October 19, 2011), Mike Steinberger argued similarly: … But in the 1970s and ’80s, German drinkers soured on sweetish Rieslings. It was during this period that Germany saw a proliferation of French-influenced restaurants, and consumers demanded dry wines. … Meanwhile, domestic demand for fruity Rieslings has effectively collapsed; German palates have been completely reoriented, and Rieslings with pronounced residual sugar are now outcasts in their own neighborhood. … The fruity style now is being kept alive, barely, by foreign consumers, and Americans in particular, which is another ironic twist to this story. … Theise told me that the only reason most of his producers continue to make sweetish Rieslings is because he keeps buying them—if he were to stop tomorrow, they would very likely cease production of these wines and turn out nothing but trocken bottlings.
And the Future in the USA?
Will this dichotomy between German and American wine consumption of German wine (sweetish here and dry there) continue?
We will have to wait and see. Interestingly, Ernst Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen, who only used to produce sweet wines from his grand cru vineyards, has started to also produce ultra-premium dry GG (Grosses Gewächs) wines from his top vineyards (at the expense of the ultra-premium sweet-style wine). He is currently on a tour through the USA to introduce his new GG wines to the American market. I just saw 4 of them on the shelves of a small wines store (The Vineyard) in the McLean neighborhood, for around US$ 45. More on the new project of Ernst Loosen here: A New Dr. Loosen Project Setting the Standard for Dry German Rieslings
Also, and I think this may potentially have a large impact, Robert Parker replaced David Schildknecht, who lives in America and is deeply rooted in the American market of German wines, with Stephan Reinhardt, who lives in Germany and grew up with dry German wine, in his Wine Advocate team. One of Germany's most distinguished experts of German dry wines is now Robert Paker's man for German wine. See: Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – David Schildknecht Leaves and Stephan Reinhardt Joins the Team
Therry Theise’s Best Germany Wines and Winemakers – Vintage 2014
Here is Terry Theise in o-tone. I have added a couple of pictures of the winemakers I have met personally, including references to relevant postings on schiller-wine.
HIGHLIGHTS AND SUPERLATIVES
I need to ask Cornelius Dönnhoff if he minds my having “retired his number,” because I think it’s a given that he’ll have made the most profoundly beautiful wines in any vintage, but maybe he’d like an actual kudo once in a while. In any case, can you and I agree that his estate would basically constitute hors classe?
See:
German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013
THE WINERY OF THE VINTAGE IS:
Oh, wonderfully, SELBACH-OSTER, for having risen to every challenge and soared above what was a good, honorable group of wines in 2013. As always at Selbach it is not only the strength of individual wines but the strength across the range, and the way the wines accumulate into something of meaning, power and dignity and beauty. Not only are the wines themselves moving and stirring, but Johannes Selbach’s skill, perspective and intelligence are almost viscerally tactile. And bless him, he knows it. “Do you know how superb these are” I asked him more than once. “Yup, I do,” he replied, without a hint of strut or smugness, because after ’13 he knew what to do, and just did it. There have been many stellar Selbach vintages of late; 2005, 2007 and 2012 spring to mind. But those were relatively easy years in which to make great wines. 2014 is most decidedly not! And so the achievement is even greater, and I am very moved to have the privilege to show these lovely, lovely wines to you.
See:
Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Selbach-Oster in Zeltingen, Mosel, with Johannes Selbach – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
OTHER MARKED SUCCESSES:
(In the order in which I tasted them)…Spreitzer was polished to a brilliant gleam across the whole range, and it’s that consistency rather than the presence of any single supernal wine that impressed me most. Kruger-Rumpf continued their upward trajectory, especially among the wines-with-sweetness, and among those especially the Scheurebe. Künstler showed a splendid group of wines spanning ’14 and ’13; these wines have the fit-and-finish of a beautifully engineered vehicle yet they are anything but cold. He only makes it look easy….
Minges was another estate with superb consistency over the whole range. Müller-Catoir was steadily, almost serenely fine, and reached a new level with their GG. Von Winning’s wines were curiously less evolved than usual – I was there two weeks before my normal rendezvous – but they showed me the very best wine I tasted outside of Selbach or Dönnhoff, and another performance of sustained excellence. Finally I have to recognize the really stunning vintage had by Vols, and again, while there’s no single great wine, there is an entire series of good, perfect, can’t-imagine-more-archetypal Saar Rieslings.
THE WINE OF THE VINTAGE IS:
Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 1-star, which will stand proudly among all the many great wines Johannes has made, and which is brilliant in a classically Selbach way, not a fruit-bomb, not markedly sweet, just depth upon depth upon depth, as though to penetrate to the very core of honesty.
THE WINE OF THE ENTIRE OFFERING IS:
I never thought these words would come onto the page, but friend, I can’t resist, because Von Winning’s 2013 Sauvignon Blanc “1” is a masterpiece, both profoundly complex and insanely lovely and even with its endless unfolding depth all you want to do is suck it the hell down. I can’t wait to stage a tasting where y’all bring what you feel are the world’s best SBs and we’ll line ‘em up and watch this critter just shine and shine.
Picture: Christian Schiller with Armin and Caroline Diel at Schlossgut DielSee:
New Vintage Tasting at Schlossgut Diel, with Armin and Caroline Diel, Germany, 2014
Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
RUNNERS UP INCLUDE:
Strub’s Niersteiner Hipping Spätlese “Flächenhahl” which is the best wine they’ve made for a good long while.
Kruger-Rumpf’s Münsterer Dautenpflänzer Riesling Spätlese
Künstler Domdechaney Riesling Trocken
Diel Dorsheimer Pittermännchen Riesling Spätlese
Müller-Catoir Breumel in den Mauern “GG”
Von Winning Grainhübel “GG”
Adam In der Sängerei Riesling Feinherb
Loewen Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Spätlese
See:
Cellar Tour, Vineyard Tour, Tasting and Lunch with Georg Rumpf, Weingut Kruger-Rumpf, Nahe Valley, Germany
Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
A NOD TO TWO GREAT RIESLANERS:
Meßmer and Müller-Catoir each made extraordinary Auslese from this most rare and precious grape.
THE KABINETTS OF THE VINTAGE ARE:
Jakob Schneider in LITERS!
Selbach-Oster Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett
THE GREATEST DRY WINES ARE:
(previously cited wines are in brackets)
Geil Riesling Rosengarten “GG” (a new high-water mark for this producer)
Künstler Domdechaney Riesling Trocken
Müller-Catoir Breumel in den Mauern Riesling GG
Von Winning Pechstein Riesling GG (though one could also cite Kieselberg, Langenmorgen and Kirchenstück among the very top dry Rieslings)
Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese Trocken
See:
Vineyard Walk, Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Künstler – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
THE GREATEST INEXPENSIVE DRY WINES ARE:
Künstler estate Riesling Trocken
Minges Scheurebe Trocken
THE GREATEST VERSATILE DRY-ENOUGH WINES ARE:
Geil Bechtheimer Riesling Feinherb
Weingart Bopparder Hamm Engelstein Riesling Kabinett Feinherb
Spreitzer Engelmannsberg Riesling Feinherb
Schneider Niederhäuser Kertz Riesling Feinherb
Diel Riesling Feinherb (custom-made for us, and just outstanding!)
Minges Scheurebe Feinherb
Müller-Catoir estate Riesling Feinherb
Vols “United Slates” Riesling
Adam Im Pfarrgarten Feinherb
-And the utter best in this category, a masterpiece in any vintage, is the simply great Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese Uralte Reben.
THE ABSOLUTE TOP VALUE:
Von Winning “Winnings,” a new wine being made for us under the guidance of the greatest living cellarmaster in Germany, Hans-Günter Schwarz, a wine jammed with charm and character and costing next to nothing!
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Preview: Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux
Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013
The 11 Winemakers: Rieslingfeier 2015 in New York City, USA
A New Dr. Loosen Project Setting the Standard for Dry German Rieslings
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate – David Schildknecht Leaves and Stephan Reinhardt Joins the Team
Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Selbach-Oster in Zeltingen, Mosel, with Johannes Selbach – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
New Vintage Tasting at Schlossgut Diel, with Armin and Caroline Diel, Germany, 2014
Cellar Tour, Vineyard Tour, Tasting and Lunch with Georg Rumpf, Weingut Kruger-Rumpf, Nahe Valley, Germany
Vineyard Walk, Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Künstler – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
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