VDP.GROSSE GEWÄCHSE Tasting – The New Releases
Setting a very refreshing tone for this year’s AGM, the tasting that started off this important day was of the latest Grosses Gewächs Riesling releases from the 2016 vintage. The VDP kindly provided samples that we had chosen to represent ‘classic’ German Riesling. We thus had 56 Rieslings on show: 49 from the 2016 vintage and seven from the riper 2015 vintage. Of course the very well-known regions of Mosel, Rheingau and Pfalz featured – and storied vineyards at that – but we took care to include Mittelrhein, with slopes just as steep as those of Mosel and Saar as well as Franken – some of whose Rieslings duly came in Bocksbeutel. We also tried to give a good overview of the very different aspects of Rheinhessen and the geological diversity of the Nahe. The wines showed beautifully and we achieved what we wanted: the diversity in styles and winemaking approaches between estates, regions and sites was evident. Everyone seemed to fall in love with a different style or region – the room was full of smiles: for wines that are made to age these samples showed at their youthful, seductive best. Hilke Nagel, director of the VDP was in attendance, too: let me express our gratitude to her for making such a splendid tasting possible.