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.
At a recent tasting at the winery of many amazing wines, this was my favorite. A stunning Riesling. The soils of the vineyard are volcanic. Green gold in color, clear and bright. The nose is great with notes of apricot and crème brûlée. Great acidity. Wonderful balance. On the palate, this is concentrated, lively and delicious. Flavors of peach, apricots, slight coffee and minerality. Long finish. This is great on its own and will work with almost any food. Grilled trout would be great! Drink over the next twelve to fifteen years.
Tasted at the winery. Grown on steep terraced vineyards. Golden in color, clear and bright. The nose has bold peach notes and nice minerality. Medium bodied. On the palate, peaches and minerals. Good acidity. Long finish. Delicious. This needs a few more years to develop but is already drinking well. Drink over the next twelve to fifteen years. This is great on its own and will work with a wide variety of foods. This would work well with stuffed pork chops.
Tasted at the winery. The wine is made from 3 south-facing steep slope vineyards in Seftenberg with mica schist soils.
Stunning wine. Silvery/green/gold in color, clear and bright. The nose has sulfur and minerals. The sulfur should blow off soon as this was bottled recently before I visited the winery. Medium to full bodied. Excellent acidity. Great texture. On the palate, this has nice minerality with some grapefruit notes. Long finish. This is still young but should drink well with some air. It should last for another fifteen to twenty years if well stored. Very food friendly, this will go great with crab cakes.
Tasted at the winery. 12% ABV. Yellow/gold in color, clear and bright. Great nose with wet rocks and a slight lemony note. Medium bodied. Good acidity. On the palate, the lemon notes are a bit stronger. Good minerality. Long finish. This is a bit lighter in style but still has depth and complexity. It is drinking well now and should continue for the next ten to twelve years. Very food friendly. It is dry. It should work very well with Thai food.
Another winner from Knoll in the excellent 2021 vintage. Silvery gold in color, clear and bright. The nose has asparagus, and white pepper. Light tannins. On the palate, this has concentrated lime notes. A bit of asparagus on the finish. Long. Deep. Well balanced. This would go well with lighter foods or even a not too spicy Chinese pork dish. Drink over the next seven to ten years.
The is a beautiful dessert wine from Austria. Beerenauslese literally means berry selected which means the grapes are harvested individually and not in bunches to ensure ripeness. Golden in color, clear and bright. The nose has honey, apricot and a slight balsa wood note. Viscous. Sweet, not cloying. Enough acidity to cut through. The palate also features the apricots and honey. Long finish. This is delicious and probably serves to be consumed on its own. Drink over the next twenty years. 10.5% abv.
Auslese is a German word meaning Selected Harvest. The grapes are late harvest grapes with high levels of sugar. Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose has a bit of diesel along with peach and slight apples. Light acidity but the wine is not cloying. On the palate, notes of white raisins, honey and peach with some minerality. Slightly sweet. Slight tropical fruits on the finish. This is delicious. It is great on its own and would work well with a not too sweet piece of (Austrian) pastry or cookie. Drink over the next ten to twelve years.