2017 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt

Before her untimely death, Annegret Reh-Gartner took steps to assure that this estate would continue to produce outstanding wines, and that’s been the case. This is one of the stronger sets of wine that I can recall from this estate.

There are no current release GG wines; as with some other estates, von Kesselstatt is holding them back for release next year, a policy I fully approve of. (Continue reading here.)

2017 Willi Schaefer

This selection of wines constitutes a new first for me: I don’t believe that I’ve ever tasted through a range of several wines from a producer and given each one an A+ rating. The downside is that due first to frost, and then to hail that came at the beginning of August and hit all of the estate’s vineyards, there’s only 50% of a normal crop in 2017. So if you are fortunate enough to see these wines, you need to jump on them immediately.

Christoph Schaefer said that there was a very short window from ripeness to overripeness, so he had to harvest quickly. Additionally, the botrytis was often not what he wanted, and it had to be selected out. (Continue reading here.)

2017 Joh. Jos. Prüm

Unlike several of the other estates I visited, the harvest was almost normal — only off 5% from a full harvest. The quality is extremely high across the board, and the wines are due your most serious attention.

All wines were bottled between late June and mid-July. (Continue reading here.)

2017 Schloss Lieser -- Thomas Haag

Thomas Haag said that as a result of frost, hail, and sunburn, his crop was down about 30% from a full yield. As always, the estate (which has now grown to 23 ha.) has remarkable quality from top to bottom.

The dry wines are all 12.5% stated alcohol, fermented with natural yeasts, and fermented and raised in stainless steel. (Continue reading here.)

2017 Fritz Haag Rieslings

Production was 30% less than normal, said Oliver Haag. In part, it was due to the frost, but also, the juice in the grapes was less than normal.

This is an outstanding collection of wines. The GG’s especially are notable. (Continue reading here.)

2017 Zilliken/Forstmeister Geltz Rieslings

In 2017, production was about 15% less than average, said Hanno Zilliken. Hervesting began on 2 October. The wines are characterized by very high dry extracts; already at the Kabinett level, there are 30 g/l dry extract. This is a most successful vintage across the board. (Continue reading here.)

Egon Müller and Le Gallais 2017s

For a number of years, low yields have been a problem, and so driving the prices of these wines. 2017 was no exception, with a production of only 18 hl/ha. Thirty percent of the harvest was lost in the spring frost; the weather then continued dry until June, when there was some rain. Some botrytis developed in August, but not a lot, rather like 2006 and not as much as in some other years. The harvest was from 25 September to 18 October. Acidities are normal. (Continue reading here.)

Maximin Grünhaus (von Schubert) 2017 (and 2016 Pinot Noir)

Riesling yield was only about 29 hl/ha in 2017 (half of 2016) because of frost that killed young vines. The harvest started 18 September, and the picking necessarily was fast because of rot in the vineyards. Acidities almost same as 2016, but different type, more herbal in 2016, observed Dr. Carl von Schubert. Fans of this great estate will find all they could desire in this vintage except overall quantity and lots of late harvest wines. (Continue reading here.)

Württemberg GG Riesling 2017 and 2016: Aldinger, Dautel, Drautz-Able, Ellwanger, Haidle, Hohenlohe Oehringen, Neipperg, Schnaittmann, Wöhrwag, Herzon von Württemberg

Württemberg stood out as the one major region where I did not find a concentration of outstanding Riesling GGs from the 2017 vintage. (Continue reading here.)

Franken GG Riesling 2017 and 2016 GG, Part II: Castell, Fürst, Schwane, Stein/Knoll, Weltner, Wirsching

Here, too, the remarkable quality and consistency of the 2017 vintage in Riesling continues (but there are exceptions in posts to come). (Continue reading here.)

Franken GG 2017 and 2016 Riesling Part I: Bickel-Stumpf, Bürgerspital, Fröhlich, Juliusspital, Luckert, Horst Sauer, Rainer Sauer, Staatliche Hofkeller

As with further north in Germany, there’s excellent Riesling quality to be found in 2016 and 2017 in Franken (Franconia). (Continue reading here.)

Pfalz GG 2017 Riesling Part 4 (Southern Pfalz): Meßmer, Minges, Münzberg/Keßler, Kranz, Rebholz, Siegrist, Wehrheim

This is the least well-known sector of the Pfalz, but not to be overlooked, nonetheless. (Continue reading here.)

Pfalz GG Riesling 2017 and 2016 (Deidesheim to Haardt) Part III: Berdolt, Buhl, Bürklin-Wolf, Christmann, Mosbacher, Müller-Catoir

The parade of great wines from great producers continues. (Continue reading here.)

Pfalz GG Riesling 2017 and 2016 Part II (Forst): Acham-Magin, Bassermann-Jordan, Buhl, Bürklin-Wolf, Mosbacher, Siben

Forst is the Vosne-Romanée of the Pfalz (a region that has more than passing resemblance to Burgundy’s Côte d’Or). Both are the location of the region’s greatest vineyard and other vineyards of nearly equal quality, and both have high concentrations of high quality estates working biodynamically for their magnificent holdings. This selection of wines was a pure joy to taste.

Von Buhl and Bürklin-Wolf recently have been holding back wines one vintage, so this year they showed 2016 and next year they will show 2017. The non-appearance of von Winning at this tasting suggests that estate, too, will not release its 2017 GGs until next year. (Continue reading here.)

Pfalz GG Riesling 2017 Part I (Northern Sector): Fitz-Ritter, Knipser, Kuhn, Pfeffingen, Rings, Schaefer

were essentially no wines that performed below expectations (not that there were many in other regions) and the two top Rieslings I tasted were from the Pfalz. (Continue reading here.)

Rheinhessen Riesling GG 2017 Part III -- Battenfeld-Spanier, Groebe, Gutzler, Keller, Winter, Wittmann

This set of wines was surprisingly mixed in quality, with some producers performing as expected, but others falling short. (Continue reading here.)

Rheinhessen Riesling GG 2017 and 2016 Part II (Roter Hang): Becker, Gunderloch, Keller, Kühling-Gillot, St. Antony, Schätzel

There’s somewhat more variability here than for other areas already reviewed, but the best came up with outstanding wines. (Continue reading here.)

Rheinhessen Riesling GG 2017 and 2016 (Bingen and Siefersheim) Part I: Kruger-Rumpf, Salm, Wagner-Stempel

Although these technically are Rheinhessen wines, the Bingen vineyards border on the Nahe appellation and the Siefersheim vineyards are not far away. As a result, these wines can be viewed as from an extension of the northeast segment of the Nahe appellation. (Continue reading here.)