Classic Rheinhessen Rieslings and California’s Cult-Level Collectibles: Weekly Tasting Report (Aug 21-27)

Senior Editor Stuart Pigott has spent the past few weeks running around the wine regions of the Rhine and its tributaries, the Nahe and the Mosel, tasting the single-vineyard GG wines (Germany’s equivalent of Burgundy’s grand crus) of the 2023 vintage that are released Sept. 1. Each trip has increased his conviction that this is as great a vintage as 2019, 2007 or 2001, which are all now legends.

If proof for this were needed, then his tasting at Weingut Keller in Rheinhessen provided it. Stuart cannot remember ever encountering three perfect dry rieslings during the same tasting session, and when he asked Klaus Peter Keller how he achieved such a result, the answer was disarmingly simple: “Great teamwork and excellent conditions during the growing season.”

The Keller Riesling Rheinhessen Abtserde GG 2023 is a total classic of this producer’s style. It is unbelievably concentrated and elegant, with so many dimensions of aroma – not least stone fruit, citrus, fresh herbs and chalk dust. Stuart is old enough to remember the latter from school! The finish is long, pure and incredibly stony.

Klaus Peter Keller and his son Felix both emphasized how the ample moisture during the second half of the summer was ideal for the famous vineyards of Nierstein, which in dry years easily suffer from drought stress. All of their wines from here were amazing, but the Keller Riesling Rheinhessen Pettenthal GG 2023 was a perfect example. The intensity of this wine's minerality made the earth move for Stuart, but it's also extremely subtle, with a cornucopia of citrus, white pepper and wild herb aromas.

The Kellers own a single vineyard on the Mosel, the monopole Schubertslay site in Piesport, where the vines were planted about 125 years ago. From this they made another great masterpiece, the Keller Riesling Mosel Schubertslay Alte Reben GG 2023. It has the delicacy of this region but is also as dense, bright and crystalline as a diamond. Stuart found the succulence and spicy complexity at the finish mind-expanding.

Scroll down to see the tasting notes for the Kellers’ first release of single-vineyard chardonnay and their second release of sparkling wine, both of them exceptional.

Some wine nerds seem determined to obsess about Keller as if they were the only amazing producer of dry white wines in Rheinhessen, but Stuart found a bounty of other extraordinary wines in the region.

For the Wittmann winery in Westhofen, 2023 was also probably the most exciting vintage of modern times. Stuart was overwhelmed by the range of Philipp Wittmann’s dry riesling GGs, but the star was clearly the perfect-scoring Wittmann Riesling Rheinhessen Morstein GG 2023. The interplay of mineral darkness and stone fruit light in the glass is incredible, and the wine is extremely deep yet also enchanting and fascinating. Only the 2019 and 2007 vintages of this wine match the 2023, and together they set a very high bar for Rheinhessen riesling GG wines.

And there’s enough of this wine for global distribution, which is certainly not always the case with every great GG. The situation of these wines is similar to Burgundian grand crus, some of which are very limited editions, with others produced in serious quantities depending on vineyard parcel size.

The wines from the twin estates of Battenfeld-Spanier and Kuhling-Gillot have more up-front power and are self-confidently dramatic. Cue the spotlight! H.O. Spanier and Carolin Gillot-Spanier have been a couple and a winemaking team for 20 years and they, too, hit a career high point with the 2023 vintage.

It’s impossible to pick out a single wine of theirs because there are many great stars. The Kühling-Gillot Riesling Rheinhessen Pettenthal GG 2023 is another extraordinary expression of this great terroir, with off-the scale-flint and smoke expression, but also great Amalfi lemon intensity. The Battenfeld-Spanier Riesling Pfalz Kreuzberg GG (Auction Wine) 2023 is intensely chalky with great concentration, elegance and precision. It comes from just the other side of the border between Rheinhessen and the Pfalz, an arbitrary line that meanders through this limestone terroir.

Totally different due to their great crystalline purity and mountain freshness are the wines from the high-altitude vineyards of Wagner-Stempel in Siefersheim. Stuart stresses the remarkably high quality of the entry-level wines here, the most important of these being the Wagner-Stempel Riesling Rheinhessen Trocken 2023, which has excellent concentration and tingling minerality. He doesn’t think you’ll find better value for money in this category than this small jewel.

At the high pinnacle of the Wagner-Stempel range are two astonishing riesling GGs and a third dry riesling in the same mold. The Wagner-Stempel Riesling Rheinhessen EMT (Auction Wine) 2023 is masterpiece of brilliance and filigree from the volcanic porphyry soil of the steep and stony Heerkretz site. The Wagner-Stempel Riesling Rheinhessen Heerkretz GG 2023, meanwhile, is an essence of white peach and wild roses with the purity of a mountain stream. The Wagner-Stempel Riesling Rheinhessen Höllberg GG 2023 is a touch more robust, but with great grapefruit, mint, curry and flint complexity.

The Thorle brothers – Johannes and Christoph in Saulheim – also make great dry rieslings, but it was their pinot noirs (marketed under the German synonym spatburgunder) from the 2022 vintage that wowed Stuart the most.

This began with an astonishing entry-level wine, the Thörle Spätburgunder Rheinhessen 2022, which is brimming with black cherry and violet aromas, plus delicate savory and spicy nuances of the kind we associate with single-vineyard wines. And Stuart has no doubt that the Thörle Spätburgunder Rheinhessen Hölle 2022 is one of the greatest red wines ever made in this region. It has astonishing Amarena cherry, raw meat and peppery complexity, and is also very concentrated and compact with velvety tannins and a salty freshness.

Hot on its heels is the Thörle Spätburgunder Rheinhessen Probstey 2023, which Stuart described as like entering a dark forest with all the berry, wildflower and forest floor aromas. The huge structure of this wine is so beautifully integrated it carries you away on the magic carpet of its silky finish.

On a lighter note, the excellent new natural wines from Katharina Wechsler in Westhofen include a truly exceptional example of this category, the Katharina Wechsler Spätburgunder Rheinischer Landwein Cloudy by Nature Sexy MF Rosé 2023, which is partly named after the song of that title (the "Sexy MF" part) by Prince. In a word or two, the interplay of juicy strawberry fruit, leesy creaminess, animating acidity and a touch of herbal freshness is both breathtaking and joyful.

BRYANT FAMILY COLLECTIBLES

Three out of our four top-rated California wines this week come from Bryant Family, the cult-level collectible estate on Napa Valley’s Pritchard Hill, and they reconfirm the power, concentration and ageability of top Napa cabernet sauvignons and blends from the 2021 vintage, a small-quantity year.

The Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 received a perfect score due to its amazing depth, focus and structure, with fine-grained tannins weaving through myriad flavors ranging from mint, cedar and star anise to graphite, blackberries, blueberries and toasted oak. Executive Editor Jim Gordon, who tasted the Bryant Family wines with co-owner Bettina Bryant and winemaker Kathryn Carothers, says it will age well for at least 20 years – if not 40 – and urges anyone who can buy some to wait at least six years to pop the cork.

The Bryant Family Vineyard Napa Valley Bettina 2021 was close behind in quality, giving a more velvety, refined and creamy expression that reflects the influence of other Bordeaux varieties in its blend: 66 percent cabernet sauvignon, 19 percent cabernet franc, 10 percent merlot and 5 percent petit verdot. The Bryant Family Vineyard Napa Valley DB4 2021 is also a Bordeaux-style blend, all silk and suppleness that makes it drinkable now as well as age-worthy.

A new winery, Annulus Cellars, makes its debut this week with three highly rated Napa Valley 2021s, in particular the Annulus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Oakville Vine Hill Ranch 2021, which is rich in black fruits and dark chocolate. Also worth noting from California are the 10 wines from the El Dorado appellation in the Sierra Foothills that scored 90 points or above.

READ MORE NAPA VALLEY CABS SHINE IN 2021: APEX VINTAGE IN A ‘REDEMPTION’ YEAR

In Hong Kong, French negociant CVBG held a tasting of the non-Bordeaux icon wines that will be released on La Place de Bordeaux in September. These included top wines from countries like Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, as well as French wines from Champagne and the Rhone Valley.

You’ll find some collectible Champagnes in this week’s report, like Leclerc Briant’s Chateau d’Avize 2014 – a very dry, chalky and mineral blanc de blancs that will reward cellaring. Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt also liked Barons de Rothschild’s Rare Collection Rosé 2014, a silky and creamy rosé made from chardonnay with a small proportion of pinot noir red wine, and their voluptuous and lightly honeyed Rare Collection Blanc de Blancs 2014. And from Chile, Clos Apalta, one of the top producers in the Central Valley, is releasing a new wine, the Valle de Apalta Prelude 2022, which scored high with its full body, fresh acidity and firm, dusty tannins. The wine delivers a racier expression of fruit with engaging pepperiness from the blend of 53 percent carmenere, 36 percent cabernet sauvignon, 7 percent merlot and 4 percent petit verdot, making it a fresh addition to the two wines that Clos Apalta already produces.

From South Africa, our top tastings this week came from husband and wife producer David & Nadia. At the top were their range of stunningly mineral, single-vineyard chenin blanc bottlings from the Swartland, alongside their grenache-based reds. Claire was most impressed by the length and tension in the Skaliekap 2023, followed by the tight, linear and sharp Platbos 2023, while the Hoe-Steen and Rondevlei have plenty of texture and creaminess in addition to the cool minerality present in all their wines. 2023 was cooler, resulting in more phenolics in the wines, compared with the taut 2022's, winemaker David Sadie told Claire via Zoom.

READ MORE CHAMPAGNE ANNUAL REPORT: A FRESH APPROACH THROUGH WILD WEATHER

More top South African offerings in this week’s report include Klein Constantia’s 2023 complex, single-block sauvignon blanc wines from the cool, windblown western cape, plus their Bordeaux-style red blend from Stellenbosch, the Anwilka 2022. Check out their relatively new chardonnay bottlings too, from 2022 and 2023, which show lots of tension and salty freshness.

For a stellar example of pinotage, look out for Kaapzicht’s Steytler 2021, a harmonious and polished red, which is just as excellent as their Bordeaux-style red, the Steytler Pentagon 2021. And if you’re into fortified wines, consider the Port-style wines from Boplaas (both vintage and tawny styles) and Delaire Graff, plus dessert wines from Miles Mossop and Perdeberg.

– Stuart Pigott, Jim Gordon and Claire Nesbitt contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.