schiller-wine: Best German Wines and Winemakers – Eichelmann WeinGuide Deutschland 2019 Awards, Germany

Picture: Christian Schiller Tasting with Helmut Dönnhoff (Eichelmann WeinGuide 2019 Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement) at Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff

The Eichelmann WeinGuide Deutschland 2019 - one of the 5 main wine guides in Germany (along with GaultMillau, Vinum, Feinschmecker and Falstaff) - was released in November 2018.

In the Eichelmann WeinGuide Deutschland 2019, Gerhard Eichelmann presents 980 winemakers and reviews 11150 wines. For the rating of the winemakers, he employs a system that awards a winery up to five stars, where 5 stars indicate “world class, top international producers”. There are about 2 dozens of German winemakers in this group. See here for last year's list: Germany's 28 Best Winemakers - Eichelmann WeinGuide Deutschland 2018. The wines are assessed using a 50-100 point scale rating system.

Picture: Eichelmann Deutschlands Weine 2019

Pictures: Eichelmann Deutschlands Weine 2018, Feinschmecker WeinGuide 2018, Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2018, Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung with Stuart Pigotts Favorites (Photo: Philipp Wittmann)

Additionally, in each issue of the Eichelmann WeinGuide Deutschland a (1) Rising Star of the Year as well as the producers of the best collections of (2) red wines, (3) white wines and (4) noble-sweet wines are named. Further, Gerhard Eichelmann presents a “Classic of the Year” Wine and an Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Picture: Gerhard Eichelmann at the VDP.Grosses Gewaechs Pre-release Tasting in Wiesbaden

Best Sekt Collection: Sekthaus Raumland, Flörsheim-Dalsheim

Rheinhessen
10 hectares
40% Spätburgunder, 22% Chardonnay

At the the presentation of the new Eichelmann Wein Guide in the Sandhof restaurant in Heidesheim near Mainz, Gerhard Eichelmann presented the winemakers of the year. The prize for the best sparkling wine collection was awarded for the first time. Handcrafted Sekte are steadily gaining in importance. Never before have so many Sekte been submitted as this year, Eichelmann justified the new prize. The winner of the award is Volker Raumland, who has produced a wide range of outstanding Sekte year after year and who has become the model for many young winemakers who produce sparkling wine.

Pictures: Tasting at Sekthaus Raumland in Flörsheim-Dalsheim, Rheinhessen, with Heide-Rose and Volker Raumland. See: Germany-South and Alsace 2017 Tour by ombiasy WineTours: Baden, Alsace, Pfalz and Rheinhessen

Best White Wine Collection: Weingut Georg Breuer, Rüdesheim

Rheingau
35 hectares
85% Riesling, 10% Spätburgunder

"A great year for Theresa Breuer and her team. 2017 is another milestone in her career. All Rieslings are expressive and mineral, from the estate wines to the top wines" Eichelmann praised the current collection.

Picture: Theresa Breuer and Guiseppe Lauria (Editor-in-Chief of Weinwisser). See: A Riesling Feast in an Historic Setting: Riesling Gala 2016 at Kloster Eberbach in the Rheingau, Germany

Best Red Wine Collection: Weingut Bernhard Huber, Malterdingen

Baden
28 hectares
65% Spätburgunder, 10% Weissburgunder, 10% Chardonnay

"With the vintage 2016 Julian Huber has produced great Pinot Noir - pure, sustainable and thoroughly alive", praised Eichelmann in the eulogy.

Pictures: Tasting at Weingut Bernhard Huber in Baden, with Yquem Viehauser and Julian Huber – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)

Pictures: Dinner with Sebastian Fürst and Julian Huber. See: Winemaker Dinner with Chef/ King of Spices Ingo Holland and Sebastian Fürst (Weingut Rudolf Fürst, Franken), Julian Huber (Weingut Bernhard Huber, Baden) and Jérôme Legras (Champagne Legras & Haas)

Best Fruity-sweet and Noble-sweet Collection: Weingut Horst Sauer, Eschendorf

Franken
18 hectares
40% Sylvaner, 20% Müller-Thurgau

"Year after year, Horst Sauer delights with his noble sweet wines, but the wines of the 2017 vintage are among the absolute highlights in Horst Sauer's career," praised Gerhard Eichelmann in his eulogy.

Pictures: Vinyard Tour and Tasting at Weingut Horst Sauer in Eschendorf, Franken, with Horst Sauer - Germany-East Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours

Rising Star of the Year: Weingut Vetter, Gambach

Franken
2 hectares

The newcomer of the year, Steffen Vetter, is also from Franconia. Stefan Vetter does not come from a winery. But that may even help as you do not need to take care of the existing stock of customers, when you take over your family's winery.. The vineyard work is done manually, the wines are organic, there is no chaptalization and of course the wines are neither fined nor filtered. Eichelmann concluded in his eulogy: "With the vintage 2016, which came on the market in 2018, Stefan Vetter has achieved great things."

Klassiker des Jahres/ Classic of the Year: Fellbacher Lämmler, Spätburgunder, GG, Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann, Fellbach

Württemberg
24 hectares
26% Spätburgunder, 15% Lemberg, 15% Riesling

In addition to the wineries of the year, Gerhard Eichelmann presented the classic wine of the year, which will become part of the "Mondo Classics Library" This is a collection of the great wines of Germany. Every year a wine from a great vineyard is added. For Eichelmann, the classic wine of the year is a wine that offers high quality, shows a clear for every vintage and can be considered a classic, a prototype with regard to the grape variety and the region. He calls these wines German Grand Crus. This year, the choice fell on the Lämmler vineyard in Fellbach/ Württemberg, with the Spätburgunder Grosse Gewächs of Rainer Schnaitmann.

Pictures: At Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann with Rainer Schnaitmann. See: Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting with Rainer Schnaitmann at Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann in Fellbach, Württemberg – Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), Germany

Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement: Helmut Dönnhoff, Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff, Oberhausen

Nahe
26 hectares
80% Riesling

"Already in the first issue of this wine guide Dönnhoff belonged to a handful of German winemakers who enjoyed a world wide reputation. Since then, German wine has dramatically improved in the premium level, including the wines of Helmut Dönnhoff. In addition to his fruity sweet and noble sweet world class Rieslings, he has also moved with the dry Rieslings into a new dimension" Eichelmann justified his choice.

Picture: Annette Schiller with Armin Diel, Schlossgut Diel, and Helmut Dönnhoff, Weingut Dönnhoff, at the 2017 VDP Weinbörse in Mainz

Picture: Christian Schiller with Helmut Dönnhoff, Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff

Picture: Annette Schiller, Helmut Dönnhoff and Daughter Christina Dönnhoff (Weingut Dönnhoff) and Didier Cuvelier (Chateau Leoville Poyferre) at Weingut Dr. Robert Weil