Germany’s Grosses Gewächs (GG) wines are released on September 1. These are the ultra-premium dry wines from the very best vineyard sites made by some of the best producers in Germany.
As a rule, the white wines are released in the year following the harvest, the red wines are released after an additional 12 months of aging.
Many events throughout Germany take place in the weeks and months following the release of the new GGs. In addition, there is a highly exclusive tasting for a selected group of about 150 importers, journalists, bloggers, sommeliers and other multipliers on the Monday and Tuesday before September 1 in Wiesbaden. You meet there the who-is-who of German wine. I regularly participated in this tasting during the past years and reported about it on my blog schiller-wine.
Pre-release Presentation of the 2017 GGs from the Rheingau
German producers take advantage of the high-caliber group gathering in Wiesbaden for the Pre-release Tasting and organize side events. For 6 years in a row, the VDP producers of the Rheingau have organized a special event on the Saturday before the Wiesbaden tastings and presented their new GG releases to their guests. All winemakers introduce their wines personally. The more formal part is then supplemented by a party-style get-together with the winemakers and more tasting. 5 years ago, this was a speed-boat event on the Rhine River including tasting. 4 years ago, the VDP.Rheingau flew their guests with helicopters over the Rheingau, from Hochheim to Assmannshausen, followed by a party at Weingut Robert Weil (Wilhelm Weil is the President of the VDP.Rheingau). 3 year ago, we went into the terroir; this was a most interesting conference-type tasting were we learned a lot about the different terroirs of the Rheingau from its producers. Again, the tasting was followed by an after-party at Weingut Robert Weil. 2 years ago, we took a boat trip from Hochheim to Assmannshausen and tasted the wines as we passed the vineyards. The trip back from Assmannshausen was a party with more tasting, good food and other activities.
See:
VDP.Rheingau Rhine River Boat Trip with Pre-release Presentation of the 2015 Grosses Gewächs (GG) Wines
The Rheingau and its Terroirs: Tasting with Rheingau’s Elite Winemakers, Germany
Extraordinary Views of the Rheingau Vineyards - A Spectecular Helicopter Flight over the Rheingau with Rheingau Winemakers, Germany
Grosses Gewächs (GG)
What is a VDP.Grosses Gewächs? There is still a bit of confusion out there, as (1) Grosses Gewaechs (GG) is a term that was created by the VDP only a few years ago and (2) the VDP has established a new classification for German wines that differs radically from the German standard classification (and is still in the process of refining and implementing it). The latest revisions were those that came into effect with the vintage 2012.
GGs and the New German Wine Classification
Although many people think that there is only one wine classification system in Germany – the classification system of the Law of 1971 – this is not correct. True, the classification system of the Law of 1971 is the standard classification system in Germany and the vast majority of winemakers in Germany use this approach. A large number of winemakers, however, have moved away from the standard, in particular the VDP producers.
In a nutshell, the VDP is moving to a classification system that resembles very much the classification system in the Bourgogne. The classification of the VDP puts the terroir principle at the center of its classification approach.
With the latest modifications of 2012, the absolutely finest vineyards are called Grosse Lage (for the 2011 vintage still called Erste Lage) and dry wines from these super top vineyards are called Grosses Gewächs. Grosses Gewächs wines are the finest dry wines from Germany’s finest vineyards.
See:
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany
The Rheingau
It is remarkable: For its entire length of nearly 560 miles, the Rhine flows north with one exception – a 28-mile stretch where the river changes its course. Here, it flows to the west, thereby enabling both the river and the vineyards facing it to bask in the warmth of the sun all day long. This is the Rheingau, one of the medium-size German wine regions. It is a quietly beautiful region, rich in tradition. Queen Victoria's enthusiasm for Hochheim's wines contributed to their popularity in England, where they, and ultimately, Rhine wines in general, were referred to as Hock.
The third President of the USA - and notable bon viveur - Thomas Jefferson visited the Rheingau in 1788 and wrote that the wine of the "Abbaye of Johnsberg is the best made on the Rhine without comparison … That of the year 1775 is the best." He also referred to the Rheingau’s Riesling as the "small and delicate Rhysslin which grows only from Hochheim to Rudesheim". Impressed by the quality of the Rheingau Riesling wines, he bought 100 grapevines to take back to his estate in Virginia.
Although the Rheingau is one of Germany’s smaller wine-growing regions, its 3,100 ha (7,660 acres) of vineyards are vastly diverse in their geological makeup. The soil varies from stony slate at the western part near the villages of Assmannshausen and Rüdesheim to loess, sand and marl in the lower central villages of Geisenheim, Johannisberg, Winkel, Oestrich and Hattenheim. Soil reverts to stony phyllite in the higher central and eastern villages of Hallgarten, Kiedrich and Hochheim. Generally, wines from the lower slopes where the soil is heavier—sandy loam and loess—produce fuller wines, while at the higher slopes where it is more stony and slatey, the wines reflect more minerality, elegance and concentration.
The Rheingau enjoys a distinctly continental climate with cold winters and warm, but not hot, summers. The Rheingau is dominated by Riesling, accounting for 4/5 of the vineyard area. Pinot Noir accounts for 1/10 and is concentrated around Assmannshausen.
Back to the Roots: The 2018 Event
This year, the event took place at Weingut Robert Weil and allowed us to go back to the roots of the GGs. The event had 4 parts.
First, at the center was an extensive tasting of 27 new GGs from the Rheingau, introduced by the respective producer.
Second, we went back to the roots of the current GGs and tasted 12 older dry wines, including a 1937 Gräfenberg Riesling Weingut Weil and a 1942 Steinberger Riesling Kloster Eberbach - Hessische Staatsweingüter.
Third, there was a Sekt session with the focus on the new VDP Sekt classification, introduced by Wein- and Sektgut Barth, Weingüter Wegeler and Wein- and Bernd Schönleber.
Fourth, we ended the day with dinner, music and more wine.
Welcome by Wilhelm Weil
Wilhelm Weil welcomed the guests and Rheingau winemakers at Weingut Robert Weil at 2pm.
Riesling Soup
We started with a Riesling soup.
The new VDP.Grosses Gewächs Wines
We then had a sit-down tasting of 27 new GGs of the Rheingau, ordered by vintage (2017 before 2016), grape variety (Riesling before Spätburgunder) and region (from west to east).
27 Rheingau GGs
The wines were presented in flights of 3 or 2 wines.
First Flight
2017 Seligmacher, Lorchhausen
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut August Kessler
Winemaker and General Manager Simon Batarseh presented the wine.
See also: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut August Kesseler in Assmanshausen, with Winemaker Simon Batarseh – Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
2017 Berg Roseneck, Rüdesheim
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Allendorf
Winemaker/ Owner Ulrich Allendorf presented the wine.
See also: Lighting and the Flavor of Wine - With Winemaker Ulrich Allendorf in his Aroma Vineyard and Color Room at Weingut Allendorf in Oestrich Winkel, Rheingau, Germany
2017 Berg Rottland, Rüdesheim
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Johannishof
Senior Boss Hans Hermann Eser presented the wine
Second Flight
2017 Berg Rottland, Rüdesheim
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Balthasar Ress
Former Technical Director and Winemaker Dirk Würtz presented the wine.
See also: At Weingut Balthasar Ress in Hattenheim, Rheingau, during the 2015 Harvest with Winemaker Dirk Würtz, Germany
2017 Rothenberg, Geisenheim
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut J. Wegeler
Owner Tom Drieseberg presented the wine.
2017 Schloss Johannisberger Silberlack
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Schloss Johannisberg
The new Managing Director Stefan Doktor presented the wine.
See also: Tour and Tasting at Schloss Johannisberg, Rheingau, with Christian Witte, Domaine Director – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Third Flight
2017 Jesuitengarten, Winkel
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Prinz von Hessen
2017 Schloss Vollrads Schlossberg
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Schloss Vollrads
Deputy Managing Director Christine Müller presented the wine.
See also: Schloss Vollrads in the Rheingau: Tour and Tasting - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
2017 St. Nikolaus, Mittelrhein
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Wein- und Sektgut F.B. Schönleber
Owner and Winemaker Bernd Schönleber presented the wine.
See also: Cellar Tour, Tasting and Dinner at Wein- und Sektgut F.B. Schönleber in Östrich-Winkel, Rheingau, with Ralph and Bernd Schönleber - Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Fourth Flight
2017 Rosengarten, Oestrich
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Josef Spreitzer
Winemaker/ Owner Andy Spreitzer presented the wine.
See also: Tour and Tasting at Weingut Spreitzer in Oestrich, Rheingau, with Bernd Spreitzer – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
2017 Jungfer Hallgarten
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Prinz
Winemaker/ Owner Fred Prinz presented the wine.
2017 Wisselbrunn, Hattenheim
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Josef Spreitzer
Winemaker/ Owner Andy Spreitzer presented the wine.
See also: Tour and Tasting at Weingut Spreitzer in Oestrich, Rheingau, with Bernd Spreitzer – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Fifth Flight
2017 Siegelsberg, Erbach
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Jakob Jung
Senior Boss Ludwig Jung presented the wine.
See also: Impromptu Winetasting with Alexander Jung, Weingut Jakob Jung, Erbach, Rheingau, Germany
2017 Siegelsberg, Erbach
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut von Oetinger
Winemaker/ Owner Achim von Oetinger presented the wine.
See also: Tour and Tasting at Weingut von Oetinger, Rheingau, with Achim von Oetinger – Germany-North 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
2017 Marcobrunn, Erbach
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach
The new Cellarmaster Kathrin Puff prsented the wine.
See also: Kloster Eberbach in the Rheingau: Tour and Wine Tasting - Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Sixth Flight
2017 Marcobrunn, Erbach
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut von Oetinger
Winemaker/ Owner Achim von Oetinger presented the wine.
See also: Tour and Tasting at Weingut von Oetinger, Rheingau, with Achim von Oetinger – Germany-North 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
2017 Gräfenberg, Kiedrich
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Robert Weil
Winemaker/ Owner (and VDP.Rheingau President) Wilhelm Weil presented the wine.
See also: Kiedrich: Visit of the Basilica of Saint Valentine and of Weingut Robert Weil - Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
2017 Langenberg, Martinstal
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Diefenhard
Winemaker/ junior Owner Julia Seyffardt presented the wine.
Seventh Flight
2017 Hölle, Hochheim
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Künstler
Winemaker/ Owner Gunter Künstler presented the wine.
See also: Vineyard Walk, Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Künstler – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
2017 Nonnenberg "4 Morgen", Wicker
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Joachim Flick
Winemaker Katharina Flick, daughter of owner Rainer Flick, presented the wine.
See also: FairChoice Certified Wine in Germany: Weingut Joachim Flick in the Rheingau
Eighth Flight
2016 Doosberg, Oestrich
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn
Winemaker/ Owner Peter Jakob Kühn presented the wine.
See also: One of the Bio-dynamic Stars in Germany: Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn in Östrich, Winkel – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
2016 Hassel, Hattenheim
Riesling Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Wein- und Sektgut Barth
Winemaker/ Owner Mark P. Barth presented the wine.
See also: Tour and Wine Tasting with Lunch, with Mark Barth at Wein- und Sektgut Barth in Hattenheim, Rheingau – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Nineth Flight
2016 Berg Schlossberg, Rüdesheim
Spätburgunder Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach
Managing Director Dieter Greiner presented the wine.
See also: Kloster Eberbach in the Rheingau: Tour and Wine Tasting - Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
2016 Schlenzberg, Martinsthal
Spätburgunder Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Diefenhardt
Winemaker/ (junior) Owner Julia Seyffardt presented the wine.
Tenth Flight
2016 Höllenberg, Assmannshausen
Spätburgunder Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Allendorf
Winemaker/ (junior) Owner Max Schönleber presented the wine.
See also: Lighting and the Flavor of Wine - With Winemaker Ulrich Allendorf in his Aroma Vineyard and Color Room at Weingut Allendorf in Oestrich Winkel, Rheingau, Germany
2016 Höllenberg, Assmannshausen
Spätburgunder Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut Künstler
Winemaker/ Owner Gunter Künstler presented the wine.
See also: Vineyard Walk, Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Künstler – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
2016 Höllenberg, Assmannshausen
Spätburgunder Trocken GG VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingut August Kesseler
Winemaker and General Manager Simon Batarseh presented the wine.
See also: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut August Kesseler in Assmanshausen, with Winemaker Simon Batarseh – Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Afternoon Snack
After the tasting of the new GGs, we had some food.
Tasting the Older Wines
We then moved to the old building of Weingut Robert Weil for the tasting of older wines. There were 3 groups of wines: Charta wines, Auslese Trocken and Spätlese Trocken wines and very old wines. This part of the afternoon was moderated by Jochen Becker-Köhn, Deputy-Managing Director of Weingut Robert Weil. He is highly knowledgeable in terms of the history of the Rheingau, he is witty and charming. It was a great pleasure to listen to him.
# The oldest wine classification map of the world is that of the Rheingau of Friedrich Wilhelm Dunkelberg of 1867. Many years the 1869 map of the Mosel was thought to be the oldest. At that time, the thinking in terms of quality was very much terroir-driven.
# 100 years ago, wines from the Rhein River and the Mosel River were more expensive than the today very famous Bordeaux wines.
# In the 1930s, sterile filtration was invented, making it possible to produce the world famous sweet-style low-alcohol Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese wines.
# Before 1945 was largely in the hands of the Jewish Community, which collapsed during the Hitler Regime.
# After 1945, wines from the former Nazi Germany were unpopular in the world.
# The Basic German Wine Law of 1971 (a) reduced the number of vineyards considerably by merging smaller vineyards; more generally the Basic German Wine Law of 1971 moved the vineyards and the terroir to the backburner and (b) moved the sugar content at harvest to the fore (Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese).
# Trockenwelle (Dry Wave) in the 1980s.
# Global warming.
# New VDP Classification since 2002 (modified in 2012): Terroir-driven classification, modelled after the Burgundy classification (Gutswein, Ortswein, Erste Lage, Grosse Lage). Back to the roots.
Charta Wines
The Charta Rheingau Group was founded in 1983. This was part of the Trockenwelle. Charta promoted dry wines that would go well with food(Nouvelle Cuisine). Charta was initiated by winemakers and chefs.
The group also had an eye on classifying vineyards - following the terroir principle in Burgundy - and with the 1992 vintage, Charta developed the Erstes Gewächs concept.
Kabinett Trocken, Spätlese Trocken and Auslese Trocken became popular.
A scientific classification of the vineyards of the whole Rheingau region was finalized in 1999.
Building on the work of the Charta movement, the VDP started to develop a new terroir-driven classification of the vineyards of its members in the early 2000s.
In 2002 at the Annual Meeting of the VDP, a terroir-driven 3-tier classification (Gutswein, Ortswein, Erste Lage) was adopted.
The current 4-tier classification (Gutswein, Ortswein, Erste Lage, Grosse Lage) was adopted by the membership in early 2012, effective with the 2012 vintage.
Since 2012, the VDP producers in the Rheingau started to sell their ultra-premium dry wines as Grosses Gewächs (and no longer as Erstes Gewächs).
1991 Erbach Hohenrain
Riesling Qualitätswein CHARTA
Weingut Jakob Jung
1990 Hattenheim
Riesling Kabinett CHARTA
Weingut Balthasar Ress
1988 Johannisberg Hölle
Riesling Qualitätswein CHARTA
Weingut Johannishof
1986 Schloss Vollrads
Riesling Qualitätswein CHARTA
Schloss Vollrads
GG Predecessors
Before the introduction of the GG concept, the ultra-premium dry wines were marketed as Auslese Trocken and Spätlese Trocken wines. We tasted 4 Trocken wines from the 1990s.
1998 Hochheimer Kirchenstück
Riesling Auslese Trocken
Weingut Künstler
1997 EXCLUSIV
Riesling Spätlese Trocken
Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn
1994 Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland
Riesling Trocken
Weingut Allendorf
1993 Berg Schlossberg
Riesling Qualitätswein Trocken
Weingut J. Wegeler
The Very Old Wines
The tasting culminated in the presentation of 4 very old wines, from: 1976, 1953, 1941 and 1937.
1976 Schloss Johannisberger
Riesling Grünlack Spätlese trocken
Schloss Johannisberg
1953 Steinberger
Riesling Cabinet
Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach
1942 Steinberger
Riesling
Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach
1937 Kiedrich Gräfenberg
Riesling Cabinet
Weingut Robert Weil
Sekts from VDP.Este Lage and VDP.Grosse Lage
Earlier this year, the VDP membership adopted a Sekt classification.
The VDP Sekt classification mirrors the VDP wine classification. Traditional bottle fermentation is compulsory for all Sekt categories. Two of these — VDP. Gutssekt and VDP. Ortssekt must remain at least 15 months on the lees. The single-vineyard categories VDP. Erste Lage and VDP. Grosse Lage Sekt, and all single-vintage Sekt expressions, must spend a minimum of 36 months on the lees. All grapes have to be picked by hand and come from the Sekt maker's own vineyard.
2013 Schützenhaus, Hattenheim
Riesling Brut Nature VDP.Erste Lage
Wein- und Sektgut Barth
2013 Rothenberg, Geisenheim
Riesling Brut VDP.Grosse Lage
Weingüter J. Wegeler
2012 Lenchen, Oestrich
Riesling Brut Nature VDP.Grosse Lage
Wein- und Sektgut F.B. Schönleber
2012 Hassel, Hattenheim
Riesling Brut Nature VDP.Grosse Lage
Wein- und Sektgut Barth
2011 Hassel, Hattenheim
Riesling Brut Nature VDP.Grosse Lage
Wein- und Sektgut Barth
2009 Hassel, Hattenheim
Riesling Brut Nature VDP.Grosse Lage
Wein- und Sektgut Barth
Dinner, Music, and More Wine
The event ended in the large room overlooking the Gräfenberg vineyard, with music, dinner and more wine.
schiller-wine - Related Postings
UPCOMING Tours/ Wine Dinners/ Tastings - Annette and Christian Schiller/ ombiasyPR & WineTours/ schiller-wine, Germany, France, USA (Issued: July 2, 2018)
Ombiasy Wine Tours 2018: 3 x France and 3 x Germany - Ombiasy Newsletter December 2017
VDP.Rheingau Rhine River Boat Trip with Pre-release Presentation of the 2015 Grosses Gewächs (GG) Wines
The Rheingau and its Terroirs: Tasting with Rheingau’s Elite Winemakers, Germany
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FairChoice Certified Wine in Germany: Weingut Joachim Flick in the Rheingau
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Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Leitz in Rüdesheim, with Johannes Leitz – Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut August Kesseler in Assmanshausen, with Winemaker Simon Batarseh – Germany-North Tour 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
At Weingut Balthasar Ress in Hattenheim, Rheingau, during the 2015 Harvest with Winemaker Dirk Würtz, Germany
Tour and Tasting at Schloss Johannisberg, Rheingau, with Christian Witte, Domaine Director – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany
Tour and Tasting at Weingut von Oetinger, Rheingau, with Achim von Oetinger – Germany-North 2016 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Walk, Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Künstler – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Kiedrich: Visit of the Basilica of Saint Valentine and of Weingut Robert Weil - Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
One of the Bio-dynamic Stars in Germany: Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn in Östrich, Winkel – Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
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Schloss Vollrads in the Rheingau: Tour and Tasting - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours
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