Top Ten German White Wines - 2016

Made from old vines (alte reben). Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is nice with minerals/wet rocks, slight pineapple and a bit of diesel. Medium bodied. Some viscosity. On the palate, this is slightly sweet. Lots of minerality with a bit of pineapple and citrus (Meyer lemon?). Good acidity. Nice finish. Showing just a hint of age, this should drink well for another ten to fifteen years (at least). Nice on its own, this will work with lighter salads; a pasta salad would work well.
From the Nahe, one of Germany’s best wine growing regions, comes this delightful rosé of Pinot Noir. Known as Spätburgunder in Germany, Pinot Noir is one of the country’s top red wines. Pale copper in color this is an uncomplicated rosé that is aimed for pure enjoyment. There’s proper acidity that flows through this wine from start to finish and just a hint of sweetness. Soft fruit notes of honeydew melon, lemon and strawberry dominate with a whisper of black cherry on the finish. Light, clean and satisfying. ORIGIN: Nahe, Germany. ALCOHOL: 12%
AP#2. These wines are always so good and reasonably priced and worth buying a few of. Silvery/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose has peaches, slight citrus and "wet rocks". Medium bodied. Good acidity. On the palate, nice peach notes with some minerality. A bit of depth. Nice finish. This drinks easy but there is more stuffing than at first apparent. Drinking well now, it will improve a bit. Nice on its own, this will be great with spicy Asian food.
AP #2. 9.0% abv. In a tasting of about 10 2019 Spatlese, this was my favorite (the only JJ Prum in the tasting). Silvery gold in color with slight green hues. Nice nose with lots of "wet stones", some citrus, and a bit of sulfur. Medium to full bodied. There is a nice depth here that should flash out over time. On the palate, peach, citrus with underlying minerality. Long finish. This is drinking well now with a bit of air, but should continue to improve for the next decade. It should drink well for another fifteen to twenty years after that. A nice accompaniment to spicy Asian f
AP#4 for those keeping track. This is very, tight and needed over an hour to really start to open up. Yellow/gold in color. The nose has wet rocks, along with some peach/apricot. Medium bodied. Moderate acidity. On the palate, more about the peach fruit than minerality. Tasty. Sweet, not cloying. Good finish. This needs about five more years to open and then should drink well for another fifteen to twenty.
Another excellent value in German Riesling. Yellow/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose has peach and slight wet rocks. Medium bodied. On the palate, this is less sweet than most 2019 Spatlese's tried. Plenty of peach fruit with some minerality. This drinks really easily especially considering the 8.5% ABV. Nice finish. Easy to drink on its own, it will work well with Thai or Chinese foods.
Green/gold in color, clear and bright. Expressive nose of "wet rocks" with some pineapple/tropical fruits. Medium to full bodied. On the palate, there is a touch of trapped CO2 that blows off quickly. Sweet, not cloying with good acidity. Lots of minerality and a slight pineapple note. Tight. Long finish. This needs a few more years to open and then will drink well for another twenty after that. It drinks great on its own (but is sweet) and will work great with a cranberry or beet salad as well as spicy Asian foods.
In a recent tasting among friends, this was the group's top rated wine. AP #2 for those who keep track. Green/gold in color. The nose is nice with pineapple, peach and flinty. Medium to full bodied. On the palate, this is sweet. Sweeter than typical, but there is also nice acidity to cut through it. Lots of apricot and pineapple notes with some wet stones. Nice finish. This drinks great on its own and would work well with spicy Asian foods. Drink over the next fifteen to twenty years.
This is AP #2 for those who keep track. Yellow/gold in color. The nose is very tight and took a while to open. It was surprisingly already showing a hint of diesel along with "wet rocks", slight green apples and guava. Medium to full bodied. Excellent acidity. On the palate, this is again, quite closed and took more than an hour to open up and show much. Minerals, slight green apple and more minerals. It is sweet but barely so for a Spatlese. This should amply reward those who give it another five to eight years (or more) in a good cellar. It should drink well for forty years afte