Gerhard & Sieglinde Klein Riesling Trocken 2009

An oddity today, at least for my household: a trocken (dry) German Riesling from Naked Wines.

I've been wanting to try a dry German Riesling for ages, as it isn't so common in the UK. Apparently it is the Riesling of choice in Germany, and most exports are of the sweeter variety. I'm familiar with dry Riesling from Alsace and Australia, but I've never had a German one.

We were having gammon for Sunday lunch, so the Klein Riesling seemed an appropriate match. And it was indeed a good match, as noted by myself when shovelling a forkfull of hot pork fat into my mouth followed by a swig of the wine. The dryness kind of threw me at first, as the nose had the typical, well, German character and you could almost smell the sweetness, only to have a sip and discover mouth puckering acidity and almost sourness instead. With the food it all comes together though, and I just wish it was more widely available here in the UK.

Weingut Gerhard & Sieglinde Klein

Riesling Trocken 2009

Pflaz, Germany

Naked Wines

£9.99

3/5

The Naked Grape Riesling 2009

This Riesling is from the Pfalz region of Germany, and is made be none other than Ernst Loosen of Dr. Loosen fame. It's an entry-level wine, and it seemed a perfect contender as an everyday table wine that I could pair with my home-made Chinese dishes.

The benchmark for this level of Riesling is the Loosen Bros. Dr. L Riesling, which is a brilliant bargain. How would this stand up to it?

I know it's not a contest, but at this price point competition is fierce, for me anyway. The clear winner is still Dr. L.

This was OK, but I felt it lacked the purity of the Mosel-made Dr. L. The Naked Grape had some residual flavours that made it a bit unappealing, like some grapey flavours and 'cheap' notes on the finish. From the first sip I knew it wasn't going to be a favourite.

It's not bad though, and if you can't get hold of Dr. L then by all means this is a good entry-level introduction to quality German Riesling. It's just really hard to beat Dr. L, which is also actually cheaper at £6.99 (at Sainsbury's).

The Naked Grape

Riesling 2009

Pfalz, Germany

Waitrose

£7.49

2.5/5

Bassermann-Jordan Pfalz Riesling 2009

I went to Waitrose the other day to buy a good Riesling. I had the Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten in mind, but its price had crept up to £13.50. Next to it on the shelf was this one from Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan, at just under £10. It wasn't really the price that made me choose it - I have had the Dr. Loosen before and I know it is good. I just felt like trying something new.

This was really good actually. It is from the Rheinland-Pfalz state in Germany which has a rich wine-growing history. Read all about it here. The wine has solid structure with its acidity, and it had a bit of weight behind it - really moreish. Random Aussie Bloke and I finished it off rather quickly, and it went surprisingly well with a ripe French Brie. I have always felt that white wines match so much better with cheese than red...

It was just under £10 in the shop (can't remember exactly - £9-something).

Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan

Riesling 2009

Deidesheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Waitrose

3.5/5

Lidl Rheinhessen Eiswein

I walked into Lidl the other day to buy some groceries, not really intending to look at the wines. I'd pretty much given up on them as a source of cheap everyday wine - it's just not very good.

However they had this Eiswein (icewine) that day. This was the first German icewine I've tasted. I'm Canadian, and icewine is basically the signature wine of Canada. It has its origins in Germany, and it was first produced in Canada by German and Austrian immigrants. I'm not really an expert in it though - I got into wine after I moved to the UK, and my experiences with Canadian icewine have been limited to mostly what's available in the airport duty-free (it's a cliché Canadian gift, right up there with maple syrup). It's also very expensive.

So, imagine my excitement when I saw this available in my local Lidl for the remarkable price of £6.99. I think it was a one-off because of the 'while supplies last' sign. It was worth a try - Germany knows what it's doing when it comes to icewine. In fact, it was enjoyable. It was concentrated and almost botrytis-like. A couple of glasses in and you could notice a bit of a vegetal finish, and compared to a top-class sweet wine it falls short, but it's certainly not bad for £6.99. I'd buy it again - it would be a good wine to serve with a cheese board when you don't feel like you need to splash out.

Apologies for my incompleteness again (and the crap photo) - I left the bottle at a friend's house, and don't know the producer, vintage or grape variety. I did check the label, and the grape variety definitely wasn't on it. You can draw your own conclusions (i.e. it doesn't matter).

Lidl Eiswein

Rheinhessen, Germany

Lidl

£6.99

3/5

Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Erstes Gewächs 2007

Just when I thought I had the German wine classification system all figured out, along comes this: a German 'first growth' from the Rheingau region.

A friend brought this over from a recent business trip to Frankfurt, purchased from a wine shop in the airport. While we were opening the bottle, I remarked that the label didn't specify what the ripeness level was (i.e. Kabinett, Spatlese, etc). It turns out that this wine uses a new classification system designed to simplify the choice for the consumer. "Erstes Gewächs" literally means "first growth" and indicates a wine of superior quality that meets stringent standards, is dry, and is made from a traditional grape variety. "Erstes Gewächs" is specific to the Rheingau region, and there are other designations for other regions. An explanation of all this can be found here.

The producer, Schloss Johannisberg, is a pioneer in the production of late harvest wines, and its coloured neck capsules which indicate ripeness level of the grapes used for the wine formed the basis of the German wine classification in 1971. In this case the capsule was silver, indicating "Erstes Gewächs", which confusingly doesn't indicate a ripeness level but instead a quality level.

Onto the wine. In truth, we found it underwhelming. It had good acidity and mouthfeel, but seemed very mild and lacking in concentrated flavours. It was a young wine (2007) - perhaps it needed more bottle age to develop? I think my friend paid about €40 for it, which possibly raised the expectations a little bit.

Schloss Johannisberg

Riesling "Erstes Gewächs" 2007

Rheingau, Germany

3/5

Kendermann Rheinhessen Beerenauslese 2006

This was on offer at my local Tesco for £4.49 (half price), which is a silly bargain for a German dessert wine of Prädikatswein quality.

This is from the Rheinhessen region of Germany, which is more famous for Liebfraumilch than for quality late-harvest wines, however that doesn't mean they don't exist.

I'm assuming this particular wine is made from a blend of grapes, because there is no indication of the varieties used on the label or on the producer's website. It doesn't really matter though. The wine is pretty decent, not the richest, most concentrated sweet wine I've ever tried from Germany, but it went well with the cheese platter and I'd certainly recommend it at this price.

Kendermann
Rheinhessen Beerenauslese 2006
Rheinhessen, Germany
Tesco
£4.49 (£8.99)
3/5

Paulinshof Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese trocken 2007

So I walk into the wine shop and ask the guy what would go with a spicy beef dish. First of all he recommends a Spanish red. Then I tell him what the beef dish actually is (Beef Rendang). "Oh." He says, "That's quite spicy. Maybe a white would be better." So this German Riesling ends up on the table.

As a wine, it's a bit of a new experience for me. It's a Spatlese, meaning it's bit riper than a Kabinett. However it's a dry style (trocken). Combining the two, it has the taste and texture of a dessert wine, but it's dry. It's ripe, fruity and rich. Unfortunately, it didn't go well with the food. It was a competition and the wine lost. There were both quite rich and full of character, but the food just overpowered the wine. I think a lighter, Kabinett-style Riesling would have been better.

The experience made it difficult to judge the wine. It was expensive, and I've enjoyed cheaper German Rieslings far more than I enjoyed this. However, the food clash may be the main culprit here, so I'll hold off on the score.

Weingut Paulinshof

Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 2007

Mosel, Germany

Philglas & Swiggot

£16.99

Dr Loosen Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2007

Here's a fine Riesling from Dr. Loosen's vineyards near the village of Graach in the Mosel region of Germany. Famous for its slate soils, the Mosel produces some of the finest Rieslings in the world.

The wine is fairly dry (but I wouldn't say bone dry) as this is a wine made grapes of Kabinett-level ripeness. All the cliché characteristics of Riesling are obvious in a wine of this quality - the minerality, the citrusy flavours, and what I find is the best part - a bit of added weight to the wine, accompanied by a super-fine acidity. It's very elegant, and not easily duplicated anywhere else but in Germany.

This isn't really a cheap wine, but it's not expensive either at £10.99. A good choice for a semi-special occasion or dinner party. I can't think of many situations where a wine like this wouldn't go over well. It's also only 8% alcohol.

Dr. Loosen

Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2007

Mosel, Germany

Sainsbury's

£10.99

4/5

Moselland Bereich Bernkastel Kabinett 2007

This is a relatively simple, crisp, slightly sweet German white wine from the Bernkastel district of the Mosel wine region.

It's a wine of Prädikatswein (Kabinett) quality.  If you're not sure what that means, Prädikatswein just means that it's from the highest level of the German wine classification system, and the Kabinett part means the grapes are of the minimum ripeness (and therefore sugar level) required. 

It sounds complicated, but if you want to look for the best quality, remember the Prädikatswein part (it may appear as "QmP" on the label - it was recently renamed from "Qualitätswein mit Prädikat"), and then there is a scale for determining sugar content, with Kabinett being the lowest (and therefore generally the driest).  If this discussion has piqued your curiosity beyond the scope of this post (which I'm sure it has), you can get up to speed here.

Considering this wine was only £4.49, I think it's a pretty good deal.  There is no mention on the label of the grape varieties involved, and I'm not going to try to guess them all.  I imagine Riesling is in there somewhere, along with other specialties of the Mosel region.   It's not the most complicated wine in the world, but it's a decent example of a quality Mosel wine for a more than decent price.

Moselland

Bereich Bernkastel Kabinett 2007

Mosel, Germany

Waitrose

£4.49

3/5

Loosen Bros. Dr. L Riesling 2007

When I saw this at Sainsbury's for only £6.79 (regular price), I snapped it up without thinking. Loosen Bros., or Dr. Loosen are one of Germany's finest producers, and I was already familiar with, and a fan of, their Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling, which retails for around £11.

Just as the label says it has a crisp, light taste. It is a relatively simple wine but it is a great example of this style at that price range. It's low in alcohol at 8.5%, and has a bit of sweetness, which is pleasant and is not cloying or syrupy.

This wine is mentioned in the November 2008 issue of Decanter magazine as one of the "best dry German Rieslings under £20".

Dr. Loosen
Loosen Bros. Dr. L Riesling 2007
Mosel, Germany
Sainsbury's
£6.79
4/5 (extra point for value)