The renaissance of German and Austrian Sekt continues apace. After last year’s paean to the revival of bottle-fermented Sekt in both countries, this is the second report on all things German-speaking and bottle-fermented. While the holy trinity of sparkling varieties, namely Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, shines in both countries, we will also take a closer look at Rieslingsekt.

Rheingau and Rheinhessen produced world-class Rieslings in 2023. The wines are bursting with flavor and delineated by freshness but moderate in alcohol. An initially dry year was drenched in late summer rains, which the late-ripening Riesling weathered with aplomb. Steep, stony slopes of historic renown proved their exalted status all over again. If there is one operative attribute for this Riesling vintage, it is juiciness. In the Rheingau, off-dry and nobly sweet wines with electric acidity are an added bonus. The 2022 Pinot Noirs are some of the best ever.

Moved to a November slot, the Trier and Bad Kreuznach auctions offer a great opportunity to delve into the 2023 Riesling vintage. Across regions, the vintage clearly separated the wheat from the chaff. In Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, 2023 is the year for Kabinett and Spätlese. Bad Kreuznach offers thrills of mostly dry, hair-raising Rieslings that are alive with fruit and energy. The 2023 Riesling vintage in Germany has everything: tons of fruit, proper acidity, much dry extract at moderate alcohol levels, and – in dry white wine territory – unparalleled potential for longevity. What is not to like?

In 2023, these three disparate regions had two things in common: challenging weather and a turbo-charged harvest. While 2022 had been extremely dry, 2023 had plenty of rain, but often at the wrong time. Harvest was a race against time, rot and fast-advancing ripeness. Selective hand harvesting was the absolute key to quality. Many of the wines I tasted from these top producers were simply thrilling, but overall, 2023 is definitely a case of caveat emptor. Some spectacular Spätlesen and Auslesen are a bonus – albeit in tiny quantities.

The landscape of Austrian and German sparkling wine, or Sekt, has changed beyond recognition – at long last. What began with the heroic and often lone efforts of a handful of determined individuals in the 1970s and 1980s is finally in full fizz. It took decades of legal changes and challenges to create this new category, but even more so, it took years of cultural re-assessment to rehabilitate the historical term “Sekt”. Traditional method Sekt is now a serious, exciting and growing category in both countries. The ambition is palpable. This inaugural Sekt report covers bottle-fermented Sekts from Styria to the Weinviertel in Austria and Baden to Saxony in Germany. The revival was slow, but today, you can hear corks popping everywhere.

My adoration for any bottle of wine born the same year as myself is well-known. I sound like a broken record proselytizing the 1971 vintage. But then a bottle sashays along and vindicates my opinion, reconfirming that this is such a trove of outstanding bottles, arguably none more so than Germany.

After the unprecedentedly dry summer of 2022, heavy rain finally arrived in Rheingau and Pfalz. Sometimes, rain coincided with harvest, interrupted it or prompted some producers to wait it out. It is a mixed picture in which estates with exemplary farming and logistics triumphed. Some producers were helped by privileged, water-retentive sites or ventilated altitudes that prevented rot during and after the rain. This means general statements simply don’t apply in 2022 – but the vintage has some stunners nonetheless.

Poured on a hot sunny evening in Beaune between a quick dip in the pool and a delicious supper, the 2009 Abstberg Riesling Auslese #93 from winemaker Carl von Schubert ranks as one of the greatest Rieslings I've encountered in the last five years.

Despite a hot and dry summer that brought record water deficits, the “challenging” Mosel vintage of 2022 delivered elegant wines. The best estates were able to make very good and even outstanding wines marked by moderate alcohol levels and freshness. This came down to three things: the resilience of deep-rooting old Riesling vines, the ingenuity of Riesling’s ability to self-regulate its metabolism and sorting at harvest.

Relief and surprise were the primary emotions for winemakers across Rheinhessen and Nahe for the 2022 vintage, the driest and sunniest year since records began in 1881. Many expected opulence in their wines. Then rain arrived just in time. The relative slenderness of the wines and their moderate alcohol levels, however, are down to Riesling’s ingenious ability to self-regulate.

After having purchased the former royal Prussian state domain in the Saar Valley in 2016, German winemaker and Riesling supremo Markus Molitor now debuts the first two wines from the historic Serriger Vogelsang vineyard and the Domäne Serrig label: one dry Riesling, one Kabinett.

The VDP’s two regional auctions in Trier and Bad Kreuznach in September are key dates for Riesling collectors. I was invited to attend pre-auction tastings held by the producers over the summer ahead of the auctions themselves. This article explains how these auctions work, but far more detail on the vintage and wineries will be in the respective regional reports covering Rheinhessen & Nahe and Mosel, Saar & Ruwer.

For nearly 20 years, Klaus Peter Keller has almost surely been Germany’s most written-about wine grower, both at home and abroad. What makes his estate perhaps the most exciting in Germany today? This article takes a close look at the people, places and mystique surrounding Weingut Keller, including detailed notes on wines from vintages 2019-2021.

Klaus-Peter Keller’s wines have become collector catnip in recent years, with prices to match. It seems a long time since I made my only visit to the estate. In 2022, I was fortunate to taste several recent vintages and almost forgot this mature gem.

With only a small number of well-known estates, it is easy to overlook the viticultural significance of one of Germany’s most popular tourist destinations. That would be an unfortunate mistake. Mittelrhein's producers are turning out high quality wines that showcase a wide variety of styles.

A charity dinner themed around the significant wines of my career threw up a couple of surprises. I doubt DRC and Blue Nun have ever found themselves reviewed in the same article. In these days of bleak headlines, the vignettes accompanying these eclectic wines hopefully put a smile on your face.

The challenges posed by summer drought and sheer precocity of vine evolution are evident in the Rheingau and Mittelrhein, but there are numerous wines that no Riesling lovers should miss.

Vintage 2018 is not a show-stopper for Pfalz Riesling. Nor are the wines likely to go down in history for their longevity. Yet, it isn’t just an eminently appealing vintage, it’s also one of enormous promise, not just for the Pfalz, but for what it says about where German Riesling as a whole could be headed.

Two extraordinary 1959-themed dinners at the end of last year presented a mouthwatering opportunity to examine this legendary vintage. This article looks at those wines and some of the stories that lie behind them.

For any oenophiles still unaware – or seeking proof – that Rheinhessen justifies a buzz of critical acclaim and consumer excitement currently unsurpassed worldwide by any Riesling growing region, a perusal of the wines turned out in 2018 should do the trick.

I rue the fact that I have not or rather cannot keep up with German Riesling. Anyone who doesn’t like German Riesling either doesn’t like wine or is no longer alive.

There is a lot to like from 2018 in Germany: both multiple attractive features and a lot of wines to exemplify them. And then there are the exceptions, including the vintage’s genuinely exciting Rieslings, of which, yet again, many are found on the Nahe.

With more than their share of stormy weather, both literally and figuratively, the Rheingau and Mittelrhein yielded significantly varying quality in 2017, with some exciting successes.

Rheinhessen Riesling vines that escaped devastation by late April frost and a savage August 25 hailstorm were still exposed to punishing May-July drought. But growers soldiered on and, with help from subsequent meteorological breaks, were rewarded with impressive results.

The Nahe suffered significant crop losses to April frost. But when unseasonably chilly weather arrived once again after mid-September, it proved a blessing, allowing the creation of wines that combine aromatic finesse and textural allure with invigorating energy and infectious sheer juiciness.