Germany is known nationally and internationally as Rieslingland, and Riesling has been a success with the critics. But if you had to place a bet on the most popular variety among wine drinkers in your own country, you would probably do well to put your money on Pinot Gris. If you ask the winegrowers which wines are sold out first, in most cases it is the Burgundy varieties, i.e. besides Pinot Gris, above all Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay (Auxerrois plays only a small but sometimes fine outsider role in terms of volume).
 |
The figures of the cultivation statistics are corresponding: Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc have more than doubled their cultivation area in the last 20 years, Chardonnay - coming from a low level - has increased about fifteenfold. While the area under Riesling has remained at a good 23,000 hectares and the areas under almost all other white wine varieties have declined, in some cases massively, the Burgundy vineyards have grown to a total of almost 14,000 hectares - and the trend is still rising strongly.
The southern wine-growing regions continue to lead in the cultivation of white Burgundy varieties, above all Baden, the land of Pinot Gris par excellence. 12 of the 18 top Pinot Gris wines in our BEST OF come from Baden alone. Pinot Blancs are much more homogeneously distributed in Germany, and this also applies to the increasingly broad top range. 33 wines made it to BEST OF, among them a conspicuously large number from the Palatinate in addition to Baden, but Rheinhessen, Württemberg and Franconia are also prominently represented. In Chardonnay, Baden is still unrivalled in terms of quality, but this is mainly due to one single producer. Behind them this year, Baden and the increasingly strong Palatinate share the places - briefly interrupted by an outstanding Rheinhessen.
Stylistically, the trend at the top is moving further and further away from the fat, alcohol-rich examples with noticeable use of wood towards firm, bone-dry wines that have been aged on their lees for a long time. Even if Burgundy is clearly the model here, the result is by no means interchangeable copies, quite the opposite. The significantly increased precision makes the differences in origin and character all the more obvious.
Last year we tasted almost 700 wines from white Burgundy varieties up to the 2016 vintage (the 2017s will only be considered in the next BEST OF ). We present the best of them here and, as always, also in a handy PDF presentation. But there are many more of the recommendable wines in all styles and price regions. Links to all the wines tasted their producers with detailed descriptions can be found at the end of the list. This also applies to the Auxerrois, which definitely deserves attention, even if it is not represented with any wine in BEST OF this year.
Pinot Gris
- 93WP 2016 Vorderer Winklerberg GG, Dr. Heger
- 92WP 2015 Bassgeige Kähner GG, Franz Keller
- 92WP 2016 Schlossberg GG, Dr. Heger
- 91WP 2016 Fire Mountain Haslen GG, Bercher
- 91WP 2015 Schlossberg GG, Franz Keller
- 90WP 2015 Eichberg GG, Salwey
- 90WP 2016 Wingerte GG, Schlumberger
- 90WP 2015 Old Vines "Jasper", Ziereisen
- 90WP 2016 "Franz Anton", Franz Keller
- 90WP 2015 Monzinger "R", Emrich-Schönleber
- 89WP 2016 Sonnenhang "Aureus", J. Bettenheimer
- 89WP 2016 Sonnenstück GG, Blankenhorn
- 89WP 2016 Schneckenberg Erste Lage, Münzberg
- 89WP 2015 Löchle GG, Ravensburg Castle
- 89WP 2015 Devil's Path "Orange", Braunewell
- 89WP 2015 Henkenberg GG, Salwey
- 89WP 2016 Nonnenberg, Knauß
- 89WP 2016 Eichert Erste Lage, Bercher
Pinot Blanc
- 92WP 2016 Weilberg GG, Rings
- 91WP 2016 Schlossberg GG, Dr. Heger
- 91WP 2016 Eselspfad, Knewitz
- 91WP 2015 Bassgeige Im Leh GG, Franz Keller
- 91WP 2016 Münzberg GG "Schlangenpfiff", Münzberg
- 90WP 2015 Henkenberg GG, Salwey
- 90WP 2014 "O", G.A. Heinrich
- 90WP 2016 Winklerberg Winklen GG "Rappenecker", Dr.Heger
- 90WP 2016 "Franz Anton", Franz Keller
- 90WP 2016 "Réserve", Bischel
- 90WP 2016 Fire Mountain Haslen GG, Bercher
- 90WP 2015 Karthäuser GG, Juliusspital
- 90WP 2015 Kirchberg GG, Salwey
- 90WP 2016 Mandelberg GG, Dr. Wehrheim
- 90WP 2016 Ochsenloch Erste Lage, Münzberg
- 89WP 2016 Stein Erste Lage, Bürgerspital
- 89WP 2016 Hungerberg GG, Jürgen Ellwanger
- 89WP 2016 Rosenkranz - Im untern Kreuz GG, Minges
- 89WP 2016 Fürstenberg Erste Lage "S", Horst Sauer
- 89WP 2015 Gypsum GG "Marienglas", Aldinger
- 89WP 2015 "S", Dautel
- 89WP 2016 Kalmit GG, Kranz
- 89WP 2016 Wingerte GG, Schlumberger
- 89WP 2015 Gundersheimer, Bossert
- 89WP 2016 Nonnenstück "Vinum Meum", Reinhardt
- 89WP 2016 "Reserve", Wittmann
- 89WP 2015 Hell, Landgraf
- 89WP 2016 Oberer First GG, Schlör
- 89WP 2015 "ANA's Orange", Mohr
- 89WP 2016 Appenheimer, Knewitz
- 89WP 2016 "Montonia", Am Stein
Chardonnay
- 95+WP 2015 Schlossberg GG, Huber
- 95WP 2015 Bienenberg GG, Huber
- 92WP 2016 "Opus-O", Jülg
- 92WP 2015 "Jasper", Ziereisen
- 92WP 2015 Malterdinger "Old Vines", Huber
- 91WP 2016 Geisberg, Wageck-Pfaffmann
- 91WP 2016 "Réserve", Knewitz
- 90WP 2015 Kirchberg GG, Franz Keller
- 90WP 2015 Winklerberg Hinter Winklen GG "Grass in the Oven", Dr. Heger
- 90WP 2016 Zeter
- 90WP 2016 Muggenhardt Berg Erste Lage "Kalkgestein", Schlumberger
- 89WP 2016 Goldberg "Links am Sülznerweg", Wageck-Pfaffmann
- 89WP 2015 Stahlbühl Erste Lage, Münzberg
- 89WP 2015 "Réserve", Karl May
Links to all wines tasted sorted by grape variety:
