All-in Riesling contest
Whatever happens to Germany during the World Cup, it will always have Riesling. And these are not just any Rieslings, but the world's greatest Rieslings - ask any wine buff. It seems that 60% of all the world's Riesling vineyards can be found in Germany. The country has a staggering 20,627 hectares of the stuff, while Australia, in second place, has a mere 4,256 hectares.
You may ask: is anyone outside Germany actually drinking it? Well, yes. Wine exports from Germany are increasing, and the British have finally realised that, at the very least, Germany offers a fresh, unoaked style without eye-wateringly high alcohol. Even the more traditional styles, with some residual sugar, are turning heads these days, and are popular with the under-35s, who don't remember the cloying horror of Liebfraumilch and are attracted by these lighter-alcohol, fresher, fruitier styles.
Riesling is all about balance: the subtle interplay of sweetness, fruit, acidity and alcohol. With this grape variety, you can really taste where it comes from, without any interference from oak. It responds well to the delicate nuances of soil and microclimate, but its big thing, other than its upfront fruitiness, is
a racy acidity that can make the nerve ends tingle and produce the kind of longevity that we all crave - a century or more for very sweet styles.
No one really knows when Riesling first made an appearance in Germany, but there was mention of it in a German document
dating from the Middle Ages. The Riesling capital is, of course, the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, although the Rheingau boasts the highest Riesling density on the globe (about 80% of the region is planted with Riesling).
The grape does so well in Germany because it flowers and ripens late, but resists frosts well - it has been know to survive temperatures as low as -25°C. It can also deliver pretty high yields without losing too much intensity, although the top producers aim for much lower yields so they can produce wines of
balance and structure that will stay the course. To confuse matters further, there are about 50 different Riesling clones - but only 20 or so of those are in the running.
There's another reason to take a look if you aren't already hooked: Germany has had a run of excellent vintages. The most recent, 2005, was a cracker, with warm weather and acidity levels a tad fresher than in 2004, which was itself deemed a classic year. Both 2002 and 2001 were declared real corkers, while only 2003 suffered a mite for being too ripe from the unusually warm vintage.
For the purposes of this tasting, Caterer decided to focus on the cheaper end of the spectrum: affordable dry and off-dry Rieslings at less than £8 excluding VAT per bottle. With a little help from Wines of Germany, we gathered 17 samples aimed primarily at the on-trade, eight of which were bottled under screwcap, you might (or might not) be pleased to know.
All the wines were tasted blind.
The venue
Thanks to Martin Lam, the wine-savvy chef-proprietor of Ransome's Dock in Battersea, London, for his hospitality. It offers carefully sourced, deliberately British ingredients and a great wine list, served in refreshingly simple surroundings. Modest mark-ups are Lam's thing, and these are applied to a fascinating line-up of wines chosen with obvious passion.
What they thought
There were various mutterings of predictability from our experts but, even so, we had a good hit rate, with one three-star wine, four two-stars and eight one-stars, and a universal pledge from the tasters to take German Riesling more seriously on their wine lists.
Roshani Palamkumbura "I was surprised. It was higher in quality than I expected. In general, I thought the wines were incredibly drinkable and accessible, and far more consistent than they used to be. A real sea change in style, actually - there was very little of the classic petrol nose you used to get all the time, and much fresher apple and peach fruit. So maybe that was also the tasting's downfall - a lot of these wines were rather predictable.
"Only two wines really stood out for me - the Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling, and the Dr Bürkin-Wolf Dry Riesling. We recommend Riesling all the time at Pétrus, especially spätlese Rieslings with foie gras. We've really tried to develop the half-bottle selection - and there are plenty of good Rieslings around in half-bottles."
Andrea Briccarello "Overall, I thought the line-up was pretty average quality, with a few highlights. The wines were much drier than I expected, and much more mineral - and more drinkable. The prices? Very good value considering the quality. I have a handful of German Rieslings on my list at Bentley's, but I still have to push them. I think they make a great apéritif."
Eric Narioo "A lot of these wines lacked tension, nerve and bite - they lacked structure. Most were gently off-focus, with only a handful showing some direction and real tension. The Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling had a nice crunch to it, and I liked the opulent fruit of the Leitz Riesling Kabinett. And I found some of that structure I was looking for in the Georg Breuer GB Sauvage Riesling."
Martin Lam "Very average tasting, though there were a few exceptions. A lot of these wines were lacking something - a sharp edge, mostly. I thought several had lost fruit for the sake of dryness, and some had fruit but lacked acidity. One or two could almost have been Pinot Gris. I liked the Bürkin-Wolf and the Von Buhl Riesling Spätlese Trocken, though my favourite was the Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling. It had more residual sugar but it had a corresponding acidity and a good balance of fruit and alcohol - and that's Germany's secret weapon."
Troy Sutton "I thought these wines were above average. Most were very drinkable, if fairly predictable. And it was good to see a minimalist approach in the winery - all were stainless-steel fermented and not fiddled around with. About 30% of Nahm's customers choose Riesling - I have 60 Rieslings on my list from all over the world. People expect to drink it with our food - I don't even need to sell it. I don't offer anything sweeter than spätlese, but most of our customers are happy to drink up to that level throughout their meal. I think Germany's Rieslings compare very favourably, and this style that they're making now is much more accessible. I think a lot of people will go for wines like this."
Barny Haughton "I was a bit disappointed. I thought a lot of these wines were rather sharp and thin, but there were a few exceptions. My favourites were the Bürkin-Wolf Riesling and the Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling, and I also liked the Leitz Riesling Kabinett. But that's partly why I'm here - I think it's time to take a more serious look at German wine. I'm not really thinking about pairing it with the food at Quartier Vert. I don't think they're that great a match with what we do - food from the southern Mediterranean. But I do think these would make great apéritif wines."
Star ratings
* knockout
