Here Comes the Sonnenuhr
Here comes the sun (doo doo doo)
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
If there was such a
thing, then The Beatles’ 1969 single “Here Comes the Sun” is surely the
soundtrack for vintage 2018 in Germany.
But though the balmy
optimism of this iconic song is much loved, the official weather stats put the
kibosh on the dreamy, nostalgic idea that the sixties was the endlessly warm,
happy and buoyant decade that images of the Beatles and Woodstock might have us
believe. Here in Europe at least, most people spent the swinging sixties
attached to their umbrellas, desperately trying to keep their mop-tops dry.
Unromantic it may be, but George Harrison’s best-loved composition is perhaps
but a tiny aperture; a moment of cheerfulness and sun-kissed happiness in what
might otherwise be described as the “rather damp, cool and only fleetingly
sunny sixties.” Summer in the 1960s and 1970s chiefly meant a pleasant June and
hot early July, followed by generally irregular, turbulent late-July and
Augusts that brought humidity with them.
Less so in the twenty
first century. In the space of just a few decades, we have experienced global
warming on an unprecedented scale. This in turn has brought about fundamental
stylistic change across Europe’s most historic wine regions. Countries such as
Germany, whose wine regions sit at the assumed northernmost limit of quality
wine production, are regularly said to have benefited from global warming. For
in a German context, the past two decades have seen more frequent
“riper-styled” vintages than ever before. 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011,
2015, 2017, and now 2018, are all vintages that, not long ago, would only have
been seen two or three times a decade. It certainly seems that sunshine is
increasingly the norm in Germany.
As always, it was a
huge privilege to be back in Wiesbaden to see how 2018’s steadily dry, warm
temperatures had played out amongst Germany’s top VDP dry wines (Grosses
Gewachs), over the course of four days’ intensive tasting at likely the best
wine event in the world. GGs are always the focus; incidentally it’s also the
category most regularly cited as a beneficiary of climate change. In the case
of Riesling, higher overall must weights and earlier, drier harvests, have permitted
better selections of clean, non-Botrytised grapes (often) from the warmest and
oldest parts of the vineyard. These beautiful sun-kissed dry wines now sit
happily alongside the traditional “fruity” styles of Riesling and appeal a
whole new cohort of wine drinkers who prefer clearer, less dauntingly austere
Rieslings that faithfully transmit Germany’s finest terroirs. In some regions,
like the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, dry Riesling is still relatively nascent territory,
in others, like the Rheingau, Pfalz and the Rheinhessen, dry Rieslings have a
long and esteemed history.
In the case of the
reds, particularly Spatburgunder, increasingly sunny, warm years are helping
producer reach steadier levels of production. Truthfully, German reds remain a
work in progress, but they are getting better all the time. And although
Riesling and Spatburgunder are the two flagship grape varieties, fantastic Grosses
Gewachs are produced from other varieties too.
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer –
Thomas Haag at
Schloss Lieser in the Middle Mosel has again produced a range at the top of the
class. The whole range of GGs, which now spans across eight Grosse Lage sites,
are all positively electrifying with a deep, profound sense of slate driven
minerality and spontaneous smoky complexity. Clear differences between sites
are stark and true. Wehlener Sonnunuhr was my pick of Schloss Lieser’s GGs, the
auction Doctor notwithstanding. Fritz Haag’s Juffer and Juffer Sonnenuhr
bottlings were both very successful; the Juffer the more fragrant and elegant
at this early juncture, the Sonnenuhr offering a more profound sense of inner
energy. In the Ruwer, Von Schubert’s Abtsberg is the standout wine, with a
flinty, limey and chiselled profile, while in the Saar both Van Volxem and
Peter Lauer have turned out some memorable wines. In the Lower Mosel
Heymann-Lowenstein appears to have made sweeping changes over the past few
years to tighten up the wines and the ‘18s are accomplished, even though 2018
was clearly difficult in this part of the valley. Overall quality is not
homogenous this year in the Mosel with some soft acidities in parts and big
variances in style and sugar level depending on producer and location.
Nahe –
Quality is always
overall fairly high and consistent in the Nahe, a combination of there being
fewer VDP producers, and its situation between the warmer Rheinhessen and
Rheingau, and the cooler Mosel valley. This means a complex array of influences
and soil types, and welcome diversity in its wines. Donnhoff are back on form
in 2018 with their two top GG Rieslings Hermannshohle and Dellchen, not to
mention an excellent but more substantial Brucke, which is destined for the
auction. Overall the Donnhoff range was probably a nose ahead of the rest this
year, followed by Emrich Schonleber and Schaefer Frohlich, then Kruger Rumpf
and Schlossgut Diel, both of whom produced some very good, enjoyable and measured
dry Rieslings.
Rheinhessen –
The iconic vineyards
along the Roter Hang (Red Slope) in Nierstein and Nackenheim are famously well
exposed and warm, with poor rocky mineral red slate soils (Rotliegenden),
producing very distinctive, immensely complex dry Rieslings. Sites such as
Hipping, Pettenthal, Rothenberg and Olberg have near legendary status amongst
German lovers. Of those I thought Kuhling Gillot and Schatzel were the most
successful. Owing to a smaller crop Keller did not submit their full range of
GGs this year. Moving further south the soils become more limestone, clay and
chalk rich. Famous vineyards include Aulerde, Kirchspiel, Kirchenstuck,
Brunnenhauschen and Morstein. Contrary to the last two vintages 2018 appears to
be a year that favours the fuller, more limestone and water-retaining soils;
the warmth of vintage more clearly in tune with the natural strength of those
sites. Those on slate at times felt a little stressed and muscular. Despite a
bit of hail around Westhofen, overall highlights from the Rheinhessen include
Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck, Keller Abtserde and Wittmann Morstein.
Rheingau –
The reputation of the
Rheingau has suffered versus its illustrious neighbours the Rheinhessen and
Nahe, both of whom have far fewer VDP members. Again though, although it was a
challenge in many ways, the Rheingau appears overall to have made a huge effort
to improve quality, and again where the soils are again deeper and more
water-retaining, some beautiful wines been produced. Weingut Spreitzer’s
Wisselbrunnen was my top pick of the GG Rieslings, a wine of power but also
balance and nuance. Too many wines in the Rheingau have big swings in residual
sugar and I encountered a number of GGs that would be best drunk young.
Anecdotally, in the Rheingau, just as in other regions in 2018, acidification
was fairly commonplace, and a handful had a slightly disjointed feel.
Spreitzer, top of the pack, and some very good wines from Weingut Kunstler and
Jakob Jung
Pfalz -
Surprisingly perhaps,
the Pfalz in my mind yielded some of the smartest whites of the lot in 2018 - a
revelation I was not expecting. The headlines will all be about Riesling,
particularly a truly stunning Kastanienbusch from Rebholz, comfortably one of
the top GGs of the vintage. But don’t overlook Wiesserburgunder. Rebholz’s
complex, lifted and detailed Im Sonnenschein GG for example will make old bones
and deliver a huge amount of drinking pleasure throughout its life.
Baden –
The warmest region in
Germany, and most famous for red wines, the Baden flights in Wiesbaden were
probably not a fair reflection of overall quality in the region. Truthfully,
amongst the few Baden VDP member estates, there were few genuinely good red
wines apart from Huber, whose reds (and Chardonnay) wines were head and
shoulders above the others.
Franken & Ahr Valley -
Rudolf Furst was the
top red producer in Franken, unsurprisingly perhaps, with good showings from
Benedikt Baltes too. Silvaner remains the flagship white grape of Franken, with
varying degrees of success. Rudolf May the pick of the Silvaners. Some of ‘18s
had high alcohols and a slightly dusty quality to the fruit. The Ahr meanwhile,
of a small sample of wines tasted, was quite inconsistent and the 2017 reds are
overall hearty and dark with a little too much extraction for my palate.
Conclusions –
The best Riesling GGs of the vintage in my mind
hailed from the lower reaches of the Rheinhessen on limestone, chalk and clay soils,
rather than slate. Ditto the Rheingau where there are some fabulous wines from
loess and limestone vineyards such as Wissselbrunnen and Holle, rather than the
steep, south facing vineyards around Rudesheim, for example. As ever though,
producer is key in the Rheingau. The Pfalz and in particular Rebholz, produced
some fabulous wines in 2018 and are well worth seeking out, not just Riesling
but Weisserburgunder too. Overall quality remains high in the Nahe, arguably
the most consistent of the dry wine regions, while the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer in 2018
was probably the most inconsistent on this showing, exceptions include Schloss
Lieser and Grunhaus. The Baden Chardonnays are genuinely very good and appear
to be improving rapidly every year, while Grauerburgunder is still too often
over-oaked and overly ripe. The best Riesling producers overall in 2018 are
those that retained a sense of the Grand Cru terroir. My top producers: Schloss
Lieser, Maximin Grunhaus, Lauer, Van Volxem, Donnhoff, Schonleber, Shaefer Frohlich,
Battenfeld Spanier, Schatzel, Keller, Wittmann, Rebholz and Spreitzer.
Photo credit: VDP Association.