The success story of
Lemberger is remarkable for several reasons. On the one hand, for a long time, the very old variety was not trusted at all to produce the qualities we experience today. And for another,
Lemberger has so far been grown almost exclusively in
Württemberg, an area that is unfortunately not taken entirely seriously by discerning wine drinkers to some extent even today.
As one can imagine from these circumstances, the geological conditions here are extremely varied. The vineyards range from 50 to around 700 metres above sea level; the soils of the 16 municipalities are dominated by limestone, granite or slate, depending on the location, but they also keep changing within the zones.
The reasons for this scepticism have only long since become obsolete. Twenty years ago, most Lembergers were indeed banal, pale, thin and not infrequently cloying. Simple everyday drinks, often without any pretension. With the success of much more concentrated wines aged in small wooden barrels Blaufränkisch in Austria, a rethink also began in Württemberg. Here, too, the focus was initially on as much maturity and wood as possible. The wines soon had their fans, as they followed a worldwide fashion. But in the long run, this was also a problem: the wines were predominantly rather interchangeable, lacking character, finesse and real depth. Moreover, it was soon discovered that compottish, high-alcohol wood bombs usually develop far less well than originally thought.
It took quite a while to find out how fine first-class Lemberger/Blaufränkisch can become in good sites. Again, the Austrians were a few years quicker to realise this, but in the end, German producers also made tremendous progress. On a broad front, the wines are now becoming finer, cooler, more polished and at the same time more multi-faceted from year to year. Today, the best German Lembergers are serious competitors for first-class Austrian Blaufränkisch - and they are no longer copies. This has also been noticed outside of Württemberg, where more and more producers are taking up the variety, especially in Baden and Rheinhessen.
Next to Pinot Noir, Lemberger still occupies only a niche in Germany, but it is becoming increasingly larger and more valuable. For us, this is reason enough to dedicate an annual BEST OF to the variety.
We have tasted almost 90 Lemberger in the last months. We have listed the best results here and as always also in a PDF listed. Links to all the wines tasted and their producers with detailed descriptions can be found here.
White wine
- 92WP 2013 Ruthe GG, Count Neipperg
- 92WP 2015 Lämmler GG, Schnaitmann
- 91WP 2015 Mönchberg Gernhalde GG, Haidle
- 91WP 2015 "Rothe Bach", Saint Antony
- 90WP 2015 Lämmler GG, Aldinger
- 90WP 2015 Old Vines, Sankt Antony
- 90WP 2015 Altenberg, Knauß
- 90WP 2015 Lämmler GG, Heid
- 90WP 2015 Verrenberg GG, Fürst Hohenlohe-Öhringen
- 89WP 2011 "XR", G.A. Heinrich
- 89WP 2015 Schlossberg GG, Count Neipperg
- 89WP 2015 Ruthe GG, Count Neipperg
- 89WP 2014 "Hades", Jürgen Ellwanger
- 89WP 2014 Roter Berg GG, Count von Bentzel-Sturmfeder
- 89WP 2014 Schlosswengert GG, Hohenbeilstein Castle Estate
- 89WP 2015 Wohlfahrtsberg, Knauß
- 89WP 2016 Häder VDP. Erste Lage, Haidle
- 89WP 2014 Wartberg GG "Sonnenstrahl", Kistenmacher-Hengerer
- 89WP 2015 Michaelsberg GG, Dautel
- 89WP 2014 Oberer Berg GG "Der Schwarze Löwe", Graf Adelmann
- 88WP 2015 Wachtkopf ***, Steinbachhof
- 88WP 2016 "Steinwiege", Schnaitmann
- 88WP 2013 "Felsen", Kusterer
- 88WP 2015 Roter Berg GG, Bentzel-Sturmfeder
- 88WP 2015 Sonnenberg VDP. Erste Lage ****, Dautel
- 88WP 2014 Sonnenberg VDP. Erste Lage ****, Dautel
- 88WP 2014 Scheuerberg GG "Steinkreuz", Drautz-Able
- 88WP 2014 Stiftsberg VDP. Erste Lage, Kistenmacher-Hengerer
- 88WP 2014 Michaelsberg GG, Dautel
- 88WP 2015 "Lange Berg", Saint Antony
- 88WP 2015 "Simonroth", Schnaitmann
- 88WP 2014 Eilfingerberg GG, Duke of Württemberg
- 88WP 2015 Himmelreich, Klumpp
- 87WP 2016 Bönnigheim *** "Gipskeuper", Dautel
- 87WP 2015 Bönnigheim *** "Gipskeuper", Dautel
- 87WP 2013 "Hades R", Drautz-Able
- 87WP 2016 "Variegated marl", Haidle
- 87WP 2015 Hofenberg GG "Glaukós", Wachtstetter
- 87WP 2015 Halde **, Steinbachhof
- 87WP 2015 Schwaigern, Count Neipperg
- 87WP 2012 Reserve, Rolf Heinrich
- 87WP 2015 Held, Gabel
- 87WP 2013 "Steillage", Kusterer
- 87WP 2015 "Der Rote Löwe", Count Adelmann
- 87WP 2015 Mönchberg Berge GG, Haidle
- 87WP 2016 Berg VDP. Erste Lage, Aldinger
- 87WP 2015 Wachtkopf **, Steinbachhof
- 86WP 2015 Steingrube, Fischer
- 86WP 2015 Berg GG, Jürgen Ellwanger
- 86WP 2015 Oberer Berg GG "Der Schwarze Löwe", Count Adelmann
- 86WP 2015 "Am Turm", Saint Antony
- 86WP 2015 "Josua", Lauffener Weingärtner
- 86WP 2016 Lassak
- 86WP 2015 Schorzach **, Bentzel-Sturmfeder
- 86WP 2015 "N°1", Reinhard Schäfer
- 86WP 2015 Steinbachhof
- 86WP 2014 "Big Antlers L!", Hirsch
