Germany: look out for the eagle
Richard Hamblin, Manager and Sommelier of The Blueprint cafe goes mad with the umlauts.
The seminar chaired by the President of the Verband Deutscher Prädikats und Qualitätsweinguter, or VDP for short, had lasted a good 45 minutes. Unfortunately by the end I was only a little bit wiser as to the subtle nuances and complexities of current German wine law. The President, the fabulously named Michael Prinz zu Salm-Salm, had outlined the VDP to the assembled audience of sommeliers from the UK and the States. Founded in 1910 it has estates from all the winegrowing regions in Germany although it represents only 4% of the wine growing area and only a meagre 2% of the current production by volume.
The eagle and grape insignia on the labels of VDP wines mean the consumer can be reassured that the grapes come from top quality vineyards, where the yields are restricted and the must weights of the grapes are high. However to keep you on your toes there is no consensus as to what a top level wine should be called. In the Rheingau they are Erstes Gewächs, in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Erste Lage and everywhere else: Gross Gewächs. Bear in mind that this lack of consensus is only between the 200 members of the VDP who contrive to share a common purpose.
Germany’s actual wine law, which applies irrespective of membership, of the VDP is largely based on the natural ripeness of the grape. Prädikat translates as ‘praiseworthy attributes’ and Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) are those wines which are ripe enough not to need sugar added before fermentation. Officially qualities and styles go up in ascending order from Kabinett (dry or off dry, very light in body and alcohol); Spätlese (should be medium-dry to medium-sweet but now often made trocken or dry); Auslese, Beerenauslese (BA), Eiswein (from frozen grapes with the ice discarded so the wine is very concentrated in flavour, acidity and sugar) and finally Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA – extremely expensive due to its rarity, from shrivelled almost raisin like grapes affected by noble rot, most definitely sweet). Surely only in Germany could the term for dry Trocken be the prefix for its most revered sweet wine.
It is also case that growers or at least those who are focused on quality can ‘demote’ a wine if they do not feel it is a true reflection of its Pradikat in contradiction to the analysis of its sugar content in the laboratory. Confused?
Thankfully after all this the tasting at the Mainzer Weinbörse was truly a delight, a magical riverside location with 100s of delicious Rieslings to savour. Tingling acidity and minerality, combined with a zestful fresh fruitiness where the hallmark of the younger offerings, whilst those with a greater residual sugar had more floral and honeyed aromas. Riesling truly is at its astonishing best on the banks of the Rhine and its tributaries.
I wasn’t quite so taken by the other varieties on offer. Some of the Weissburgunder (or Pinot Blanc) were interesting in an apple and light spice sort of way with some reassuring weight in the palate; the Grauburgunder (or Pinot Gris) just about worked from the Breuer estate; whilst the much vaunted Spätburgunder (or Pinot Noir) was generally disappointing. In just about all instances the fruit or what there was of it seemed to have lost out in the battle with its oak treatment.
The true highlights of the trip were the opportunity to sample some Rieslings which had spent some appreciable time in the bottle. The 1989 Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen Riesling Auslese from Balthasar Ress had an incredible light orange hue, whilst the 1987 Baron Zu Knyphausen Eiswein nose was marmalade heaven. For the record the best tastings were those conducted at Georg Breuer, Rudesheim; Robert Weil, Rheinghau with the wines of Dönnhoff in the Nahe incomparable.
Not all of the above mentioned wines feature on the list at Blueprint Café, though there are always German rieslings available.
