Riesling's fresh and aromatic character makes it the perfect addition to any picnic, BBQ or al fresco dinner this summer. Here's five German dry Riesling 2014 wines from Decanter's recent panel tasting...
Long gone are the days when German Riesling wine was all about bulk sweet hock on shop shelves: dry is now the trend for many.
Scroll down for our top five Rieslings
Dry Riesling and ‘Sauvignon Blanc fatigue’
‘The consumer wants dry wines, and has done for several decades – and German dry Rieslings are some of the greatest, most compelling and exciting white wines on the planet,’ said David Motion, one of the Decanter experts in this panel tasting.
Giles MacDonogh, also on the panel, added, ‘It will be sad to lose the sweeter style, the proper spätlesen or kabinetts, but clearly the impetus in German wine is not for sweet wines now. In fact, the Germans stopped drinking them long ago, finding the sweeter wines unsophisticated.’
Matt Walls, the panel’s third member, believes Riesling could profit from ‘Sauvignon Blanc fatigue’, an issue recently covered on Decanter.com.
He said, ‘I think aromatic and refreshing dry Rieslings would be a very natural place for people to move on to.’
German dry Riesling 2014 vintage: The Decanter verdict
Despite the fact that the 2014 harvest was affected by constant rain in late august, our panel was pleasantly surprised by the end result.
‘There was enough heat in the spring and early summer to ensure the grapes were ripe at the time the weather broke,’ said MacDonogh. ‘So in certain regions, they were able to make really good wines if they made rigorous selections.’
SEE ALSO: Best summer wines – Steven Spurrier’s top picks
With 85% of the entries in this tasting achieving a Recommended rating or better, many producers clearly dealt admirably with the climatic conditions. The best examples had ‘tension and excitement with a transparent expression of their terroir’, said Motion.
All concluded the dry German Rieslings are largely versatile and can stand many types of food. Walls suggested not only asian food but white meat, and Motion even added red meat to the list.
See the full panel tasting results by subscribing to the August issue of Decanter magazine here
Edited by Laura Seal for Decanter.com
Decanter panel top picks:
Based on score and current availability.
Dönnhoff, GG, Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle, Nahe 2014
Nahe grower Dönnhoff would be in most people’s top 10 in German dry Riesling...
Points 97
Fritz Haag, GG, Brauneberger Juffer, Mosel 2014
The Dusemonder Hof – Fritz Haag winery’s original name – in Brauneberg is one of the great names of the…
Points 96
Von Othegraven, GG, Ockfen Bockstein, Mosel 2014
One of the top wines of the Saar Valley, which is included in the Mosel region, the 16ha, pure Riesling…
Points 96
Heinrichshof, Schlossberg, Mosel 2014
The rank outsider among our Outstanding producers, and for most of us a discovery...
Points 95
Bamberger, Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen, Nahe 2014
Quite restrained on the nose. Slightly spritzy, powerful on the palate with flavours of juicy ripe pears.
Points 95
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