The German Spätlese Rieslings listed below have 4 things in common: They are abnormally low in terms of alcohol, they are noticably sweet in the glass, they are at least at the Spätlese level in terms of the German Wine Law of 1971 and they were made by interrupting the fermentation in the cellar.
The latter is extremely important. Without the intervention of the winemaker, the wines listed would be dry. Such wines are generally labeled fruity-sweet. By contrast, noble sweet wines - Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein - have so much sugar in the grapes at harvest that it is impossible to ferment the must to complete dryness.
In the German Wine Law of 1971 - the fundamental basis for classifying German wine - a Spätlese is defined by the sugar content of the grapes at the point of harvest. The Germans use the Öchsle scale to measure the sweetness of the grapes. Grapes with a certain Öchsle level are classified as Spätlese. They have more sugar in the grapes than Kabinett and less than Auslese. All these wines - Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese - if not stopped by the winemaker, would be trocken/ dry wines: Kabinett trocken, Spätlese trocken and Auslese trocken.
The Kabinett trocken, Spätlese trocken and Auslese trocken concepts are disappearing in Germany as part of the move to a terroir-driven classification of wines. Typically, the predicates Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese are only being used when the fermentation was interrupted by the winemaker to produce a low-alcohol, sweet-style wine.
These wines are quite unique and have their fans all over the world.
See also:
Normally, Wine is Dry. But there are Many Sweet Wines in the World. How is Sweet Wine Made?
German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.
German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany
Top 10 Riesling Spätlese 2016 - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018, Germany
95 Points
2016 Weingut Peter Lauer Schodener Saarfeilser -24- Riesling Spätlese
2016 Hofgut Falkenstein Kettnacher Euchariusberg -14 - Riesling Spätlese
2016 Weingut Franz-Josef Eifel Trittenheimer Apotheke Goldstückchen Riesling Spätlese
2016 Hofgut Falkenstein Kettnacher Euchariusberg -6 - Riesling Spätlese
Weingut Peter Lauer
94 Points
2016 Weingut Weiser-Künstler Enkirchner Ellergrub Riesling Spätlese
2016 Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn Oestricher Lenchen Riesling Spätlese
2016 Weingut Melsheimer Reiler Mullay-Hofberg Schäf Riesling Spätlese
2016 Weingut Franz-Josef Eifel Trittenheimer Apotheke Alte Reben Riesling Spätlese
2016 Weingut Max Ferdinand Richter Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
2016 Weingut Kühling-Gillot Niersteiner Pettenthal Riesling Spätlese
Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn
Picture: Annette Schiller with Peter Jakob Kühn in Berlin
Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018
The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 was released on Friday, November 24, 2017. I participated in the presentation of the Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 in Mainz, Germany. The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 is at the same time a new and an old German wine guide.
2 days after the publication of the Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018, on Monday, November 27, the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 was released. The Gault Millau WeinGuide 2018 was published by Zabert + Sandmann, which had aquired the license for the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland in June 2017 from the Christian Verlag. The latter had published the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland for many years.
The Gault MillauWeinGuide Deutschland 2018 was put togather by a newly established team of tasters, all of them highly regarded, led by Editor-in-Chief Britta Wiegelmann. Previously, she was Editor-in-Chief of the Vinum Wine Journal. She took over the position from Joel B. Payne, who had been the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland Editor-in-Chief (earlier with Armin Diel) since it was first published in 1994.
Joel B. Payne - along with his Deputy Carsten S. Henn - stayed with the Christian Verlag, managed to bring on board the Vinum Journal and decided to continue publishing a wine guide under a new name: The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland was borne.
The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 was put togather Joel B. Payne, Editor-in-Chief, and Carsten Henn, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, with the same team that put togather and rated the wines and winemakers of the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2017, published 12 months ago. The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 looks very much like the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2017 except for the color of the cover, which is red and no longer green. Also, the winemakers do not receive 1 to 5 grapes anymore but 1 to 5 stars.
Joel B. Payne made clear that he sees the Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 as an update of the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2017 and in a row with the previous 24 issues of the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland, the production of which he led as Editor-in-Chief. Red is now the new Green, said Joel B. Payne at the presentation of the Vinum Weinguide Deutschland 2018 (which is red), while the cover of the Gault Millau Millau WeinGuide Deutschland has been green during the past 24 years and continues to be green.
The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 reviews on about 1000 pages more than 12.000 wines of 1000 wineries. Its rating symbol is a star and Germany’s best winemakers are awarded one to five stars. The wines are rated on the 1 to 100 scale.
schiller-wine: Related Postings
Upcoming Tours/ Wine Dinners/ Tastings - Annette and Christian Schiller/ ombiasyPR & WineTours/ schiller-wine, Germany, France, USA (Issued: April 2, 2018)
Ombiasy Wine Tours 2018: 3 x France and 3 x Germany - Ombiasy Newsletter December 2017
UPCOMING Ombiasy Wine Tours in 2018 to Germany and Alsace (May/ June) and to Bordeaux and Burgundy-Champagne (September)
Germany’s Best Winemakers and Wines – Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 Awards: The Award Ceremony in Mainz, Germany
A German Riesling Feast in New York City: Rieslingfeier 2016, USA
Extraordinary Views of the Rheingau Vineyards - A Spectecular Helicopter Flight over the Rheingau with Rheingau Winemakers, Germany
One of the Bio-dynamic Stars in Germany: Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn in Östrich, Winkel – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Normally, Wine is Dry. But there are Many Sweet Wines in the World. How is Sweet Wine Made?
German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.
German Wine Basics: Sugar in the Grape - Alcohol and Sweetness in the Wine
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany
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