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Rheinhessen, Pfalz & Mittelrhein: A Game of Patience
Germany, featured
, Sep 2025
Two thousand twenty-four was a challenging year for the winemakers in Rheinhessen, Pfalz and Mittelrhein. Frost, rain, and a hot, dry summer required immense patience. In the end, lovers of classic, cool, svelte but highly expressive Rieslings are in for a treat in 2024.
Rheingau and Nahe 2024: Rain, Frost and Unexpected Brilliance
Germany, featured
, Sep 2025
While the Rheingau escaped the terrible frost events that devastated many Nahe vineyards in April 2024, late summer rains spelled lower sugar levels. Slow ripening and sufficient moisture made for aromatic, if slender, wines. In the Nahe, yields were severely curtailed by spring frosts, but the top estates made some of their most crystalline wines ever.
Cellar Favorite: 1983 Joh. Jos. Prüm Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, germany: Mosel
, Aug 2025
The 1983 Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese exudes everything great about Riesling, about the Mosel, about Joh. Jos. Prüm.
Cellar Favorite: 1997 Maximin Grünhaus – von Schubert Riesling Abtsberg Auslese Nr. 57
cellar favorite, Cellar Favorites, germany: Mosel
, Jul 2025
The 1997 Riesling Abtsberg Auslese Nr. 57 is the real deal. So pure and harmonious, this Riesling seems to shimmer through to the crystalline finish.
Blue Nun: The Wine at the Center of Everything
Germany, featured
, Jul 2025
Connoisseurs may look down their noses at Blue Nun, myself included, yet it played a crucial role in democratising wine. An homage to the extraordinary late Peter Sichel, this is the story of a unique 62-year-old bottle of Blue Nun and how the brand is intertwined with culture. It might not entice you to drink Blue Nun, but you will be entertained…
Popping Corks: The Second Vinous Sekt Report
Germany, Austria, featured
, May 2025
The renaissance of German and Austrian Sekt continues apace. After last year’s paean to the revival of bottle-fermented Sekt in both countries, this is the second report on all things German-speaking and bottle-fermented. While the holy trinity of sparkling varieties, namely Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, shines in both countries, we will also take a closer look at Rieslingsekt.
2023 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: A Riesling Race Against Rain
featured, Germany: Saar, germany: Mosel, Germany: Ruwer
, Dec 2024
The slopes that drop steeply to the meandering Mosel in the Rhenish Slate Massif received their fair share of sunshine and rain in 2023. While the first half of the growing season made many fear a repeat of the drought conditions of 2022, summer rain arrived with all its concomitant factors. Initially welcomed with relief, ripening soon accelerated, threatening to split berries and attracting the wrong kind of rot. Once again, flexibility and agility were of the essence, and selection was the name of the game. Where 2022 was fine-boned, 2023 is juicy and exuberant. Lovers of Spätlese will be especially happy with the 2023 Rieslings.
Rheinhessen & Rheingau: Riesling Triumphs After Rain
Germany, featured
, Oct 2024
Rheingau and Rheinhessen produced world-class Rieslings in 2023. The wines are bursting with flavor and delineated by freshness but moderate in alcohol. An initially dry year was drenched in late summer rains, which the late-ripening Riesling weathered with aplomb. Steep, stony slopes of historic renown proved their exalted status all over again. If there is one operative attribute for this Riesling vintage, it is juiciness. In the Rheingau, off-dry and nobly sweet wines with electric acidity are an added bonus. The 2022 Pinot Noirs are some of the best ever.
2024 Pre-Auctions Report: Trier & Bad Kreuznach - Songs of the 49th Parallel
Germany, featured
, Sep 2024
Moved to a November slot, the Trier and Bad Kreuznach auctions offer a great opportunity to delve into the 2023 Riesling vintage. Across regions, the vintage clearly separated the wheat from the chaff. In Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, 2023 is the year for Kabinett and Spätlese. Bad Kreuznach offers thrills of mostly dry, hair-raising Rieslings that are alive with fruit and energy. The 2023 Riesling vintage in Germany has everything: tons of fruit, proper acidity, much dry extract at moderate alcohol levels, and – in dry white wine territory – unparalleled potential for longevity. What is not to like?
Nahe, Pfalz & Mittelrhein–Of Wheat, Chaff and Thrill
Germany, featured
, Sep 2024
In 2023, these three disparate regions had two things in common: challenging weather and a turbo-charged harvest. While 2022 had been extremely dry, 2023 had plenty of rain, but often at the wrong time. Harvest was a race against time, rot and fast-advancing ripeness. Selective hand harvesting was the absolute key to quality. Many of the wines I tasted from these top producers were simply thrilling, but overall, 2023 is definitely a case of caveat emptor. Some spectacular Spätlesen and Auslesen are a bonus – albeit in tiny quantities.