Monday, December 16, 2019

Winemaker of the Year (Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020): Matthias and Hansjörg Aldinger, Weingut Aldinger (Württemberg), Germany

Pictures: Hansjörg and Matthias Aldinger with Christian Schiller in Mainz. See: Germany’s Best Winemakers and Wines – Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 Awards: The Award Ceremony in Mainz, Germany

The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020 was released on Thursday, October 31, 2019. The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020 reviews on about 1000 pages more than 11.000 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.

Picture: WeinGuides Deutschland 2020 (Photo: Weingut Corvers-Kauter - Facebook)

The Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020 honored the following three outstanding personalities of the German wine world with Winemaker of the Year, Rising Star of the Year and Discovery of the Year awards:

Winemaker of the Year (Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020): Matthias and Hansjörg Aldinger, Weingut Aldinger (Württemberg)

Rising Star of the Year (Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020): Carl Ehrhard, Weingut Ehrhard (Rheingau)

Discovery of the Year (Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020): Carsten Saalwächter, Weingut Saalwächter (Rheinhessen)

12 winemakers received the top rating of 5/ 5 stars in the Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020. I have listed them below, arranged by region. There are no changes compared with last year.

See:
Germany's 12 Top Winemakers (With 5/5 Stars) - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020
Germany's 12 Top Winemakers (With 5/5 Stars) - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2019

Postings/ Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020

I am releasing 4 postings with regard to the Vinum WeingGuide Deutschland 2019:

Germany's Best Winemakers - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020 Awards
Germany's Best Wines: 12 Categories - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020
Germany's 12 Top Winemakers (With 5/5 Stars) - Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020
Winemaker of the Year (Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020): Matthias and Hansjörg Aldinger, Weingut Aldinger (Württemberg)

Winemaker of the Year (Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020): Nominees

Weingut A. Christmann, Steffen Christmann, Pfalz
Weingut Jean Stodden, Alexander Stodden, Ahr
Weingut Aldinger, Matthias and Hansjörg Aldinger, Württemberg

Winemaker of the Year (Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2020): Matthias and Hansjörg Aldinger, Weingut Aldinger (Württemberg)

Vinum: Württemberg's best Riesling? Best Lemberger? Top Sekt? World-class Sauvignon Blanc? All this is available at the Aldingers. Even with many wine icons - 13 wines from the current collection exceeded the 90-point mark! - one should by no means overlook a wine such as the Götzberg Riesling Kabinett, which, with a structure reminiscent of a Saar wine, redefines the previous understanding of this predicate level in Württemberg in an almost impudent manner. Out of this world are the red Grosse Gewächse (GGs). The Marienglas Pinot Noir is reminiscent of a Nuits-Saint-Georges of the fine kind; great complexity and delicate balance excite in the Lämmler.

Pictures: Gert Aldinger, Weingut Aldinger, Karl Eugen Erbgraf zu Neipperg, Weingut Des Grafen Neipperg and Annette Schiller See: 2017 VDP Trade Fair Weinbörse - Vintage 2016 - in Mainz: Schiller’s Report

In the arguably #1 wineguide of Germany, the Gault Millau Weinguide Deutschland, until recently there was no winemaker from Württemberg in the top group (world class producers) of a dozen or so winemakers. This changed in 2018, when Weingut Aldinger was promoted to the 5/ 5 stars group. Weingut Aldinger is not only Württemberg's #1 producer but also nationwide among the group of 12 or so world class producers. Not well known in the US, but Aldinger plays in the same league as JJ Prüm, Egon Müller, Weil and Dönnhoff, to name a few. See: Germany's 18 Top Winemakers - The Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2018

The export share of Weingut Aldinger is small, but increasing rapidly. Weingut Aldinger is not yet available in the USA.

Pictures: Hansjörg and Matthias Aldinger with Christian Schiller in Mainz. They won the Best Winzersekt Award with their Weingut Aldinger 2010 Pinot Crémant Brut Nature. See: Germany’s Best Winemakers and Wines – Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 Awards: The Award Ceremony in Mainz, Germany

Visit: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Aldinger with Matthias Aldinger

We visited Weingut Aldinger as part of the Germany-East Tour 2018. See: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Aldinger in Fellbach (Stuttgart), with Matthias Aldinger - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken

We were supposed to be hosted by Gert Aldinger. But he and his wife were stuck in Postugal as their flight was cancelled. Matthias Aldinger took over from him in collaboration with a staff member. We met Matthias Aldinger in the cellar and we spent quite some time with him there. He also joined us for part of the extensive tasting, including from barrel.

The roots of this Fellbach (near Stuttgart) estate stretch back to the 15th century. Gert Aldinger assumed the helm in 1992, with all the responsibility that comes with 500 years of winegrowing tradition. 15 years later, the estate was already counted among Württemberg's finest, with sons Hansjörg and Matthias beginning their chapter at the forefront.

Pictures: Weingut Aldinger in the Middle of Fellbach

Weingut Aldinger

Weingut Aldinger is right in the middle of Fellbach, a wine village near Stuttgart in Württemberg. The family's long winegrowing tradition can be traced back to the year 1492, when "Bentz the Aldinger" cultivated vines here. Today the winery is owned by Gert Aldinger in the 15th generation and managed by his sons Hansjörg Aldinger and Matthias Aldinger in the 16th generation.

The vineyard area totals 30 hectares, including the following single vineyards: Berg (Hanweil), Goldberg and Lämmler (Fellbach), Schlossberg (Rotenberg), Mönchberg and Pulvermächer (Stetten), Götzenberg (Uhlbach), and in monopoly ownership Gips (Untertürkheim).

Pictures: The Vineyards of Weingut Aldinger

33% Riesling, 15% Lemberger, 15% Spätburgunder, 10% Sauvignon blanc, 8% Trollinger, 6% Merlot, 5% Weissburgunder, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Chardonnay.

Picture: Grape Varieties

The white wines are slowly fermented at between 12 and 14 ° C to preserve the primary grape flavors before being stored in steel tanks. The red wines ferment for up to 20 days on the mash before they undergo malolactic fermentation and age depending on the quality or desired type of wine in steel tanks, large oak barrels or barrique.

Pictures: Cellar Tour

Weingut Aldinger - VDP

The roots of this Fellbach estate stretch back to the 15th century, with each successive generation building seamlessly onto the long winegrowing tradition. The Aldinger family's particular joie de vivre perhaps reflects that long historical perspective. Gert Aldinger assumed the helm in 1992, with all the responsibility that comes with 500 years of winegrowing tradition. 15 years later, the estate was already counted among Württemberg's finest, with sons Hansjörg and Matthias beginning their chapter at the forefront. "Working together with nature is the only way to achieve world-class quality. We listen carefully to the needs of our soil, vines and skies," Hansjörg Aldinger proclaims. The grapes and fermenting must are treated as gently as possible throughout the entire vinification. The guiding philosophy of "less is more" has kept them on their ideal path: terroir-driven wines that thrill in the glass.

Pictures:  Tasting at Weingut Aldinger in Fellbach (Stuttgart), with Matthias Aldinger

Bye-bye

Many thanks for this impressive tasting.

Pictures: Bye-bye

Nominee: Weingut A. Christmann, Steffen Christmann, Pfalz

Vinum: The winery of the VDP president Steffen Christmann has always scored with their Rieslings. But never before have the reds been as good as they are now!

Even the simple Riesling Gutswein has a clear, juicy statement - with the ease of 11.5% alcohol. turns. After that, there is only one direction - upwards - although Christmann's wines have always been on the light side. The Ortswein Königsbach is taut, the Ersten Lagen form the Kapellenberg and Ölberg offer a quiet way, the Ölberg particularly fine and delicate. With the Rieslings from the Grossen Lagen Great Lakes there is no limit. In addition, four Pinot Noirs were introduced to us - they were the best Pinot Noirs ever produced by Christmann.

Pictures: At Weigut A. Christmann - Harvest Time. See: Winery Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut A. Christmann, with Steffen Christmann – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)

Nominee: Weingut Jean Stodden, Alexander Stodden, Ahr

Vinum: Also from the year 2017, exceptional winemaker Alexander Stodden's Pinot Noir collection is the best in the Ahr Valley. Alexander Stodden's wines are always elegant and the Grosse Lage vineyards vineyards clearly differentiable in terms of taste. His Frühburgunder is also the best in the region and in a particularly difficult vintage for the grape variety. At the heart of the collection are the wines from the Recher Herrenberg, the family's home mountain. Here, Alexander Stoddens owns large plots and he can pick out the best plots and barrels for the different wines. So the Ortswein is already in a class of its own, not to mention of course the Grossen Gewächse.

Pictures: Tasting with Alexander Stodden, Weingut Jean Stodden, Ahr. See: Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Jean Stodden, Ahr, with Alexander Stodden - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours

schiller-wine: Related Postings

UPCOMING Tours/ Wine Dinners/ Tastings - Annette and Christian Schiller/ ombiasyPR & WineTours/ schiller-wine, Germany, France, USA (Issued: November 1, 2019)

Announcement: Upcoming ombiasy Wine Tours 2020 - (1) Alsace and Germany South, (2) Rhône Valley, (3) Bordeaux

Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in Washington DC, USA (2019)

Germany’s Best Winemakers and Wines – Vinum WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 Awards: The Award Ceremony in Mainz, Germany

2017 VDP Trade Fair Weinbörse - Vintage 2016 - in Mainz: Schiller’s Report

Winery Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut A. Christmann, with Steffen Christmann – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)

Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Jean Stodden, Ahr, with Alexander Stodden - Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours

No comments:

Post a Comment