GERMANWINES

	Duitse wijnen internationaal in de lift German wines internationally on the rise
Duitse wijnen waren in de ogen van niet-Duisters lang "zoet tot stroperig en tweederangs" . Dat imago zijn ze nu definitief aan het kwijtspelen. Zie wat het Deutsches Weinistitut in december 2005 op zijn website verkondigt: "www.deutscheweine.de/internet-en : “A first in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate – Praise for German Wines Includes Dry Rieslings and Reds / Tribute to Riesling in Wine Spectator The world of wine takes note when vintage reviews appear in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. In the past, German wines seldom numbered among Parker’s front-runners...but in recent years, Parker’s scouts have increasingly recognized the merits of Germany’s premier varietal, Riesling. The ratings for 2004 German Rieslings in the current issue (#161) are exceptional "Dus: zowel Parker als Wine Spectator hebben, vooral over de Rieslings van 2003 en 2004 heel positieve dingen geschreven en - uitzonderlijk - ook de rode wijnen uit vooral Rheingau en Baden hogelijk geprezen. Vergeten we niet dat nu al 1/3 van de Duitse wijnproductie ROOD is! Het meest opzienbarende feit is dat Parker voor zijn Wine Advocate een zeer ervaren wijnschrijver van bij Stephen Tanzer weghaalde en hem de opdracht gaf alleen over Duitse wijn te schrijven. Zijn naam: David Schildknecht. Van hem lezen we in Wine Advoacte een uitvoerig rapport, nadat hij zelf ter plaatse tegen de 1000 Duitse wijnen had geproefd (jawel!). Ziehier wat Schildknecht schrijft over Riesling 2004: " The best 2004 Rieslings are unabashed in their expression of acidity. And for those who got it right, this is an in-our-face yet lusciously, grapefruitedly citric, juicy, spicy, ripe acidity that invigorates your palate and leaves you panting for the next sip, rather than feeling like you just did penance. The best 2004 Rieslings are adamantly yet intricately mineral" Voor Riesling 2004 gebruikt hij het nu en vogue zijnde woord "classic", maar dan in de zin dat deze jaargang alle klassieke ingrediënten van grote Riesling vertoont: fruit-fijn zuur-mineraliteit. Ook Jancis Robinson mengt zich in het debat, en geeft toe dat ze vroeger over Duitse wijnen een eerder negatieve indruk had “ But in general 2004 is a vintage for Kabinett and Spätlese wines, the sort I find most useful and best value. I was also unusually struck by some wines with a lower official ranking, and price, even than this. The QbA Estate Rieslings from the likes of Diel, Dönnhoff, Egon Müller, Reinhold Haart, Karthäuserhof, Sybille Kuntz, Langwerth von Simmern, Naked Grape, Willi Schaefer, St Urbans-Hof, Geheimrat J Wegeler Erben, and Christmann and GB Sauvage which are much drier than the rest, all seemed distinctly superior wines for relatively early consumption with good, crystalline flavours, from £6 a bottle.” “these wine styles are some of the wine world’s longest-lasting – but most of them are delightfully easy to like even at this early stage. The ripeness of the acidity seems to have something to do with it, and the extract nicely counterbalances the acidity anyway.” De scherpzinnige Robinson wijst erop dat je in de "gewone" klassen een zeer goede prijs-kwaliteitsverhouding vindt, en geeft heel wat klinkende namen als bewijs. En dat is iets wat een aantal onder ons al tien jaar verkondigen." Als laatste verwijzen we naar Joel Paine, een andere min of meer tot Duitser genaturaliseerde wijnschrijver, co-auteur van de bekende Gault-Millau wine guide of Germany. Op de site van Stephen Tanzer (wineaccess.com) spreekt hij zijn grote waardering uit voor zowel 2003 als 2004. Deze gids geefteen aantal keer 100/100, en o.m. voor de volgende wijnen: 2001er Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff 2002er Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Eiswein Goldkapsel Versteigerungswein Weingut Emrich-Schönleber 2002er Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff 2003er Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Weingut Robert Weil En tenslotte dit: in juli 2005 werd een UHlen Riesling van Reinhardt Löwenstein uit Winningen uitgeroepen tot 's werelds beste witte wijn van het jaar 2003, en dat door het Franse AOC-Instituut!		For a long time, German wines were considered to be"sweet-to-syrupy and of second rank" This image is becoming rapidly obsolete. See what the German Wine Institute says on its website in December 2005: www.deutscheweine.de/internet-en : “A first in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate – Praise for German Wines Includes Dry Rieslings and Reds / Tribute to Riesling in Wine Spectator The world of wine takes note when vintage reviews appear in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. In the past, German wines seldom numbered among Parker’s front-runners...but in recent years, Parker’s scouts have increasingly recognized the merits of Germany’s premier varietal, Riesling. The ratings for 2004 German Rieslings in the current issue (#161) are exceptional " What Parker did both in the Wine Advocate and on his website, was also done by Wine Spectator: jubilant reviews of vintages 2003 and 2004, especially Riesling Moselle and Rhine, but also red wines from especially Baden. Don't forget the fact that 1/3 of all German wine is now red! Most significant is the fact that Parker hired David Schildknecht, famous wine writer who worked first for Stephen Tanzer. His task: taste German wines on site, and write about them. Schildknecht made a universally praised report, based on around 1000 tasted wines (yes). See what he writes about vintage 2004 Riesling: " The best 2004 Rieslings are unabashed in their expression of acidity. And for those who got it right, this is an in-our-face yet lusciously, grapefruitedly citric, juicy, spicy, ripe acidity that invigorates your palate and leaves you panting for the next sip, rather than feeling like you just did penance. The best 2004 Rieslings are adamantly yet intricately mineral" He uses the much used term "classic" (lots of German wines are labeled that way now), but then in the sense that they show all the classic virtues of great Riesling: fruit-acidity-minerality Jancis Robinson joins the choir too, she who used to be fairly critical about German wines and sometimes rightly so: “ But in general 2004 is a vintage for Kabinett and Spätlese wines, the sort I find most useful and best value. I was also unusually struck by some wines with a lower official ranking, and price, even than this. The QbA Estate Rieslings from the likes of Diel, Dönnhoff, Egon Müller, Reinhold Haart, Karthäuserhof, Sybille Kuntz, Langwerth von Simmern, Naked Grape, Willi Schaefer, St Urbans-Hof, Geheimrat J Wegeler Erben, and Christmann and GB Sauvage which are much drier than the rest, all seemed distinctly superior wines for relatively early consumption with good, crystalline flavours, from £6 a bottle.” “these wine styles are some of the wine world’s longest-lasting – but most of them are delightfully easy to like even at this early stage. The ripeness of the acidity seems to have something to do with it, and the extract nicely counterbalances the acidity anyway.” Astute observer Robinson points at an interesting opportunity: the quality-price relationship of the "basic" wines can be exceptional, and she offers names. We could add ten more at least. Last not least: Joel Paine, an American almost naturalized as German, and co-author of the well-known Gault-Millau Guide to German Wine, writing in Stephen Tanzer's Wine Access, praises both the 2003 and 2004 vintages, and his guide gives exceptional 100/100 scores for i.a. the following wines: 2001er Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff 2002er Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Eiswein Goldkapsel Versteigerungswein Weingut Emrich-Schönleber 2002er Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff 2003er Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Weingut Robert Weil These are not cheap, but comparatively not quite overpriced. Finally, let's point to the fact that Reinhard Löwenstein of Heymann-Löwenstein in Winningen got the prize for "best international white wine of the year" in Paris in 2005. And when the French make that gesture, then it does count!

Duitse wijnen internationaal in de lift
German wines internationally on the rise

Duitse wijnen waren in de ogen van niet-Duisters lang "zoet tot stroperig en tweederangs" .

Dat imago zijn ze nu definitief aan het kwijtspelen. Zie wat het Deutsches Weinistitut in december 2005 op zijn website verkondigt: "www.deutscheweine.de/internet-en :

“A first in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate – Praise for German Wines Includes Dry Rieslings and Reds / Tribute to Riesling in Wine Spectator The world of wine takes note when vintage reviews appear in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. In the past, German wines seldom numbered among Parker’s front-runners...but in recent years, Parker’s scouts have increasingly recognized the merits of Germany’s premier varietal, Riesling. The ratings for 2004 German Rieslings in the current issue (#161) are exceptional

"Dus: zowel Parker als Wine Spectator hebben, vooral over de Rieslings van 2003 en 2004 heel positieve dingen geschreven en - uitzonderlijk - ook de rode wijnen uit vooral Rheingau en Baden hogelijk geprezen. Vergeten we niet dat nu al 1/3 van de Duitse wijnproductie ROOD is!

Het meest opzienbarende feit is dat Parker voor zijn Wine Advocate een zeer ervaren wijnschrijver van bij Stephen Tanzer weghaalde en hem de opdracht gaf alleen over Duitse wijn te schrijven. Zijn naam: David Schildknecht.

Van hem lezen we in Wine Advoacte een uitvoerig rapport, nadat hij zelf ter plaatse tegen de 1000 Duitse wijnen had geproefd (jawel!). Ziehier wat Schildknecht schrijft over Riesling 2004:

" The best 2004 Rieslings are unabashed in their expression of acidity. And for those who got it right, this is an in-our-face yet lusciously, grapefruitedly citric, juicy, spicy, ripe acidity that invigorates your palate and leaves you panting for the next sip, rather than feeling like you just did penance. The best 2004 Rieslings are adamantly yet intricately mineral"

Voor Riesling 2004 gebruikt hij het nu en vogue zijnde woord "classic", maar dan in de zin dat deze jaargang alle klassieke ingrediënten van grote Riesling vertoont: fruit-fijn zuur-mineraliteit.

Ook Jancis Robinson mengt zich in het debat, en geeft toe dat ze vroeger over Duitse wijnen een eerder negatieve indruk had

“ But in general 2004 is a vintage for Kabinett and Spätlese wines, the sort I find most useful and best value. I was also unusually struck by some wines with a lower official ranking, and price, even than this. The QbA Estate Rieslings from the likes of Diel, Dönnhoff, Egon Müller, Reinhold Haart, Karthäuserhof, Sybille Kuntz, Langwerth von Simmern, Naked Grape, Willi Schaefer, St Urbans-Hof, Geheimrat J Wegeler Erben, and Christmann and GB Sauvage which are much drier than the rest, all seemed distinctly superior wines for relatively early consumption with good, crystalline flavours, from £6 a bottle.”

“these wine styles are some of the wine world’s longest-lasting – but most of them are delightfully easy to like even at this early stage. The ripeness of the acidity seems to have something to do with it, and the extract nicely counterbalances the acidity anyway.”

De scherpzinnige Robinson wijst erop dat je in de "gewone" klassen een zeer goede prijs-kwaliteitsverhouding vindt, en geeft heel wat klinkende namen als bewijs. En dat is iets wat een aantal onder ons al tien jaar verkondigen."

Als laatste verwijzen we naar Joel Paine, een andere min of meer tot Duitser genaturaliseerde wijnschrijver, co-auteur van de bekende Gault-Millau wine guide of Germany. Op de site van Stephen Tanzer (wineaccess.com) spreekt hij zijn grote waardering uit voor zowel 2003 als 2004. Deze gids geefteen aantal keer 100/100, en o.m. voor de volgende wijnen:

2001er Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein
Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff

2002er Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Eiswein Goldkapsel Versteigerungswein
Weingut Emrich-Schönleber

2002er Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein
Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff

2003er Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese
Weingut Robert Weil

En tenslotte dit: in juli 2005 werd een UHlen Riesling van
Reinhardt Löwenstein uit Winningen uitgeroepen tot
's werelds beste witte wijn van het jaar 2003, en dat
door het Franse AOC-Instituut!

For a long time, German wines were considered to be"sweet-to-syrupy and of second rank"

This image is becoming rapidly obsolete. See what the German Wine Institute says on its website in December 2005:
www.deutscheweine.de/internet-en :

“A first in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate – Praise for German Wines Includes Dry Rieslings and Reds / Tribute to Riesling in Wine Spectator The world of wine takes note when vintage reviews appear in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. In the past, German wines seldom numbered among Parker’s front-runners...but in recent years, Parker’s scouts have increasingly recognized the merits of Germany’s premier varietal, Riesling. The ratings for 2004 German Rieslings in the current issue (#161) are exceptional "

What Parker did both in the Wine Advocate and on his website, was also done by Wine Spectator: jubilant reviews of vintages 2003 and 2004, especially Riesling Moselle and Rhine, but also red wines from especially Baden. Don't forget the fact that 1/3 of all German wine is now red!

Most significant is the fact that Parker hired David Schildknecht, famous wine writer who worked first for Stephen Tanzer. His task: taste German wines on site, and write about them.

Schildknecht made a universally praised report, based on around 1000 tasted wines (yes). See what he writes about vintage 2004 Riesling:
" The best 2004 Rieslings are unabashed in their expression of acidity. And for those who got it right, this is an in-our-face yet lusciously, grapefruitedly citric, juicy, spicy, ripe acidity that invigorates your palate and leaves you panting for the next sip, rather than feeling like you just did penance. The best 2004 Rieslings are adamantly yet intricately mineral"

He uses the much used term "classic" (lots of German wines are labeled that way now), but then in the sense that they show all the classic virtues of great Riesling: fruit-acidity-minerality

Jancis Robinson joins the choir too, she who used to be fairly critical about German wines and sometimes rightly so:

Astute observer Robinson points at an interesting opportunity: the quality-price relationship of the "basic" wines can be exceptional, and she offers names. We could add ten more at least.

Last not least: Joel Paine, an American almost naturalized as German, and co-author of the well-known Gault-Millau Guide to German Wine, writing in Stephen Tanzer's Wine Access, praises both the 2003 and 2004 vintages, and his guide gives exceptional 100/100 scores for i.a. the following wines:

2003er Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese
Weingut Robert Weil

These are not cheap, but comparatively not quite overpriced.

Finally, let's point to the fact that Reinhard Löwenstein of Heymann-Löwenstein in Winningen got the prize for "best international white wine of the year" in Paris in 2005. And when the French make that gesture, then it does count!