The Best of Riesling: My Top 6 Rieslings from the 2023 vintage.

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

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[@satomitu1]

Absolutely,Forster Ungeheuer,by Reichsrat von Bull

[@Dkkm10]

What wine key do you use?

[@nicholasrobinson9740]

Good video. Perhaps you could do the same for Spatburgnder?

[@mikaelplaysguitar]

This is my favorite wine video each year. So much Riesling, so much fun!

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Thank you 🙏

[@NachtwaechterSchlafprodukte]

Konstantin please mention or write the drinking windows in the description. This would be immensely helpful for your viewers! I am always lost when I am interested in a wine as the drinking windows is probably my second most important buying decision. Great video as usual 😊!

[@clydeblair9622]

You left me drooling all over my phone. I wish I could afford to spend a year immersing myself in Rieslings like this.

[@JabadSBS]

I would like to see more german grapes like silvaner, portuguieser, gewurztraminer... And best examples of those grapes!

[@SimpleXSP]

Portuguiser would be fun, we also have that in Czechia

[@davidf760]

Never heard about portuguieser, is there any relation to portuguese grapes?

[@SimpleXSP]

@@davidf760 it is very not known. Blauer Portugieser is a cross between Grüner Silvaner (male parent) and Blaue Zimmettraube (female parent; the offspring of Blauer Gänsfüsser). Historical ampelographic sources have provided very solid evidence that the geographic area of origin of the variety is Lower Styria (today Slovenian Styria).

[@DaGeit]

Gewurztraminer is definitely one of my favorite grapes. If we wanna go into rare grapes as well, maybe try some Klevener de Heiligenstein (Alsatian wine though, not German)

[@misterAvdB]

huxelrebe!!

[@mmmbass6068]

I haven’t finished watching this yet, but man KB - your face was glowing as you worked through the Schäfer-Fröhlich!

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

My palate was too ;)

[@JnB-fb3gv]

Last Winter I tasted with three friends a bottle of Schäfer-Fröhlich Felseneck GG 2012. I was blown away. It tasted like Riesling but at the same time I couldn't stop thinking about Chardonnay from Cote d´Or. Beautiful wine. Just beautiful!

[@alastairgreen6783]

I have some from 2008, and will open it soon.

[@ericjust6238]

Never thought to use the phrase floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee in my wine descriptions, but I love how accurate that could be for something like a Riesling

[@williamrobinson7435]

Well worth a second look, this is a perfect introduction to high end Rieslings. The wines are represented and selected by our finest modern Master Of Wine. Nice one Konstantin! 🌟👍

[@calli9936]

Huge fan of Maximin Grünhaus Abtsberg Rieslings, would love to hear your opinion.

[@whitelightning2291]

Just love watching you talk about German riesling. Clemens Rothenpfad was my favorite when I visited, has a very unique mineral character from red slate. ES Halenberg is exactly what you said, a crazy ride between that incredibly soft texture, bright acidity, and intense concentration. Will have to try the Weil and PKuhn. Adding Schloss Johannisberg Silberlack which is a personal favorite

[@Trotnixon04]

Love seeing you back to tasting quality wines. We all have experienced bad wine so the Lidl and China videos weren't super enlightening - great to learn about wines to seek out down the road! Thanks!

[@dangareau3143]

Great timing with this episode. I only discovered Riesling this year (red wine guy) but holy crap is there some incredible wines out there and this episode just got me more excited to delved deeper into these German gems. Some get Riesling coming out of Australia as well. Just saying. Great episode. Cheers!!

[@oa.vodopiyanov]

Great thanks! 🎉 You dive me into ocean of top Riesling's!

[@georgeliapis47]

Haven’t had the pleasure to try a lot of VDPs, but the SA Prum GG one from 2011 and 2012 were absolutely stunning, a mix of flavour so complex that blew away everything else we have tried - and crowned Riesling as the top white grape variety for us, by far. This video now… is a perfect Christmas bucket list!

[@justinaubin2592]

What a fun video. You seemed like you were really enjoying yourself as well.

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

I was!

[@stroopwafel6141]

Riesling is my number 1 grape for (dry) whites, but the GG's are quite expensive now. One can still find affordable Rieslings in the Nahe, Pfalz and Rheinhessen. Entry wines around 12-15 euro, very good wines between 20-30 euro. Joy per sip is unbeatable.

[@Fisklina]

Glad to see you've finally joined the Schäfer-Fröhlich train haha. They've been one of my favourite producers for years and never disappoint.

[@VinoVistara]

Thanks Konstantin!

[@andrewwebster15]

You can’t cover Riesling too much for my tastes. I love it. Hard to get the premium ones in Canada, and these might be out of my price range anyway, but it’s great to learn more about the varietal and styles.

[@nyhotdogman]

Top! Habe auf genau dieses Video gehofft :D

[@nyhotdogman]

Konstantin - wie fandest du den 2023er Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle GG? Habe mir davon mal 2 Stück bestellt :)

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Der hat auch dieses Jahr wieder überzeugt.

[@michaele7177]

My favorite of Schäfer-Fröhlich in 2023 is Felseneck GG. Idig (Riesling) of Christmann is gorgeous, but my personal favorite over all, is Kreid 2023 of Rings.

[@bernardfontaine9576]

Hello, thanks for this sharing. I would like to know which vintage of riesling tastes the most for you right now ? For instance, I believe that Chablis from 2014 or left bank bordeaux from 1990 just taste perfect today... Thank you for your simplicity and kindness. Have a nice week.🥳

[@koenvandijk3883]

I didn’t have the chance to drink them all. But i visited Worwag weingut this year. Their wines are amazing and their Riesling is my favorite.

[@chefpaulfehribach]

Boy favorite GG riesling is a tough question, but currently it's a 2016 Bassermann-Jordan Hohenmorgen ask me tomorrow and you might get a different answer lol. Love the channel and especially your takes on German wine!

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Thank you!

[@karlinggard]

The 2023 vintage for Riesling blew me away at the Vorpremiere, especially the Nahe and northern Rheinhessen. Happy to see we shared a lot of the same wines in our top picks!

[@barkingdaggs72]

Would love to hear your thoughts on Von Winning. Personally I love their GG wines, but they tend to be a producer that people seem to either love or hate.

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

I like their wines but sometimes the oak influence bothers me.

[@RandyEby-t3k]

Great video as always! As a professional brewer who just enjoys wine for fun I think it would be pretty interesting to see you taste some beers and hear your thoughts on them and the category in general, espeically with Germany being such an important region for beer both historically and in modernity.

[@clydeblair9622]

Yes, Nahe. I tasted a knockout Nahe Qualitatswein with boar burgers!

[@bethdevine6453]

Love this. TY. We are going to Nuremberg and Heidelberg in November and I’ll definitely be searching some of these out. By the way, what do you do with all of the open bottles of wine? Cheers 🥂

[@Madsakre]

SF is my favourite producer.. period..

[@glennjohnson4919]

I refuse to spit. 162 wines a day would be the end of me. But that Riesling tasting sounds extraordinary. I’m envious, as always.

[@williamrobinson7435]

@@glennjohnson4919 Absolutely correct.

[@marknelson8724]

Tasting 162 wines would be a very nice day, trouble is that I would probably go through them too fast and so possibly miss nuance and subtle notes. This might explain how "shouty" wines get the higher scores.

[@angusmcmillan8981]

I would love to see you compare these top class Getman bottles with the best Rieslings from Alsace, eg those from Trimbach or Zind Humbrecht.

[@mjcampbell45]

Great stuff - Konstantin do you have any thoughts on Swiss wine?

[@tostman333]

Wow, what a tasting!!! 👏❤️‍🔥💪

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

So good!

[@NomenNescio-g1o]

My go-to German wine producer or Winzer is Weingut Jünling in Neumagen Drohn. It's Riesling Salamandus I always look forward to. Thank you for your course in Riesling tasting, I learned a lot!.

[@donfluso9042]

you should try A.J. Adam in Drohn 😉

[@certisko1]

Hi Konstantin. I realy like dry rieslings from Weingut Dönnhoff - Roxheimer Höllenpfad or Kreuznacher Kahlenberg. Greetings from Slovakia

[@RalphWendlandt]

I can't decide on one favorite Riesling,I love Emrich-Schönleber Halenberg R, Rebholz Ganz Horn and Heymann-Löwenstein Uhlen R.

[@MB-ck4nq]

Schäfer Fröhlich hat mir auch sehr viel Freude bereitet. Sehr lecker 😋

[@loghorizon45]

0:00 already spitting straight facts

[@ased7463]

You should try A.J. Adam Riesling from Neumagen/Drohn, if you liked the funky , sulfuric aspect :-)

[@tarjeibenjaminsen8846]

Love it

[@didfet5496]

Hi you’ve selected your 6 favourite German Rieslings but it would be great to have a review of Alsace wines too.

[@christopheferraux2864]

here in France, when we talk about riesling we systematically think of Alsace wine. Could you make a video on Alsatian Riesling?

[@GinSoakedBoy]

Looks like only the Knewitz has been released in the 2923 vintage in Norway so far. Most of the others are available in their 2022 vintage, though I'm guessing 2023 vill be available soonish. Don't have the budget to taste all of these, but will definitely make a selection of a couple of them.

[@privatprivat9213]

I am a big fan of wine glasses. Could I ask you which stemware they’ve used at the event? Cheers from Düsseldorf!

[@lindqvistelias]

For price/value Nik Weis Layet GG. For some reason the 2020 sold at ~30€ in Sweden. Drinks great young, but just keeps getting better. Most of my GGs are 19-21 so ask me again in 5-10 years which is the best regardless of price :)

[@danfarmer6730]

Konstantin, have you ever rated a wine you tasted on your videos where you rated higher or lower after tasing it again?

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

It has happened.

[@jameswingad3212]

Interesting to see so many new names compared to the last time you did a video based on this tasting. When you say "a few years" how soon do you think the 23s will be ready to drink? Similar to 18?

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

They are already nice but I think in 4-5 years they will be even more fun.

[@eduardoribeiro383]

Konstantin, when are we getting from you a video on good and affordable Württemberg RED wines? PLEASE 🙂

[@b286guy]

“My teeth were in a sorry state.” 😂

[@vincentnb]

Clemens Busch wines are my favourite German wines

[@HawkeyeJmf]

Yes to more German grapes. I drank their reds b4 the whites!

[@longmuskox4194]

My favorite Riesling is Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling Dry. I do like some Rieslings from Traverse City, Michigan, but they are so obscure, why mention them.

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

I tasted the Eroica on the channel a while ago.

[@Big1Doc]

I'm so tempted by the Clemens Busch GG and I'm going to visit the Mittelmosel in October, but it's well above my budget unfortunately 😭🙈

[@zaphod333]

Answering your question of the day, I don't have /a/ favorite VDP Riesling as it depends on circumstances and feelings. Out of your selection I'd have to go with S-F, though I esteem Felseneck and Stromberg higher than Halenberg. For Halenberg check out Emrich-Schönleber. Clemens Busch I also like. The others, not so much; ymmv. As for “funkyness” or reduction: I recently came across a quote from another very respected VDP winemaker that goes like this: “We don't ferment dirty, we don't want to force reduction.” (That quote was given related to their high end Chardonnay though.) And that speaks from my soul, because I can't do much with this hip, distinctly reduced style. That's why I recently sorted out Knewitz. And don't forget to look outside VDP: There are some real gems to be found, and you can save a buck, too.

[@seganlp]

Curiously Konstantin is not using the Riesling glasses for this tasting... I have the same Riesling glasses and I use them for almost every wine....except Riesling...I find that they don't perform so well for the grape they were designed for... and I end up using generic white wine glasses for my rieslings...lol

[@mickeylee2624]

So far, I've only tried German VDP Wineries in Dönnhoff (Village Level), Kunstler (Erste Lage), and Dr. Loosen (entry level). The first is one of my very favorite white wines thus far and the second was very enjoyable being a far more elegant style (perhaps may have benefited from a bit more aging?), while the third was acceptable but unremarkable.

[@DanA-bt7dr]

Maybe you are too humble to point this out, but the best part? The price for these top tier wines! German wines are still so underrated/underappreciated. For the quality as well as difficult growing/harvesting conditions I think German producers ought to command more for their wines. I'm bummed I missed the GG Clemens in my market last year. As a side note, I think there's a formal name for associating colours with things. I recall a musician explaining they heard music in different colours.

[@SvenSchneider-tl1bf]

VDP, Dönnhoff Hermannshöhle & Schönöeber Halenberg, non VDP Seehof Morstein old grapes (best value)

[@Dalsgaard33]

My favorite Riesling: Von Winning Pechstein

[@sascharohde5012]

Bei Riesling bin ich ja voll dabei. Die Vielseitigkeit ist fantastisch. Konstantin, wie versuchst du die Entwicklung der GG „vorauszusehen“? Ich habe auch schon degustiert, aber gemerkt, dass sie noch zu jung sind, aber wie weiss ich, wie sie in 5 Jahren sind? Gruss aus der Schweiz, Sascha

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Das ist alles eine Frage der Erfahrung. Wenn man diese Weine jung und gereift verkostet entwickelt man dafür ein Verständnis. Es ist aber keine exakte Wissenschaft

[@JRTnew]

My favourite this year is Ökonomierat Rebholz‘ 2023 Kastanienbusch GG

[@frankbremen5470]

The Gräfenberg is not a monopoly vineyard of the Robert Weil winery (13:27): As of 2021, five wineries share the Gräfenberg. The Robert Weil winery owns the largest share. The rest is divided between the Georg Sohlbach, Speicher-Schuth, Schüler-Katz and Barbeler-Wilhelm wineries.

[@andreasdietrich7005]

Zur Zeit Josef Milz, Hofberg, GG 2020 . letzte Woche aufgemacht und echt schon schöne Reife.

[@benlaben07]

I’m looking for a Riesling that I could lie down for 15-20 years. Do you think any of these have that potential?

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Yes, they do. Off dry styles are usually even more age worthy though

[@DeejayKStor]

any chance you've tasted Domäne Serrig ?

[@donfluso9042]

Vielen Dank! Bin überrascht das der Halenberg dieses Jahr die Nase vorn hat gegenüber dem Felseneck GG. Falls dir der Rheingau zu eingeschlafen vorkommt, probiere mal ein paar Weine von Carl Ehrhard, das ist mega Stoff.

[@welshtoro3256]

How about a review of Alsace Riesling or, indeed, Alsace whites in general?

[@jonikaranka3393]

Robert Weil GG has still surprisingly good prices in the UK. A very unsung producer for some reason. Maybe I'm a classicist.

[@bugsygoo]

I detect a slight change in your demeanor compared to that last Aldi tasting...🥰

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Slightly more happy with the wines in that tasting.

[@williamrobinson7435]

These are all of course relatively high end Rieslings and one could expect them to be good, nevertheless the high scores (we KNOW you've made every effort not to be biased) had me going "WOW!" every now and then.. As an old, fat Englishman who knows nothing addressing a German Master Of Wine I can say that if you ever get heartburn from Riesling it's because you are not eating enough mashed potato, Jamaican jerk chicken, mac & cheese, gravy, broccoli au gratin and so on with your wine. In other words I suspect that you are a Riesling glutton Sir. It stands perfectly to reason that if one is a gourmande in the Riesling dept, then one must proportion this with food. "Dr" 😂William prescribes; Rice pud and Riesling. Delicious. Seriously, I have had cheapo Riesling which has had (tho not as fine) broadly a simulcrum of the profiles you have described. Over here years ago we had an orange and lemon angelica sweets box u could buy, round, the pieces were made to resemble the slices of said fruits, and I recognise some of the "funky" notes to which you refer in Riesling as reminiscent of these delicious sweets, although they didn't really resemble the fruits they represented really 🤣at ALL.. I really MUST get myself invited to something posh so I can properly give you an informed opinion. 😇😋😋😋😋😋😋😋Delicious. Hic. Nice one Konstantin! 🌟👍

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Thank you :)

[@konradlllstaufer156]

Alles Gute nach Baden- Baden. Was ist dein Lieblingsrestaurant „ für jeden Tag“ in deiner Region? Keine Baiersbronner Sterne Küche.

[@LiveLifeLasting]

Best Riesling is from Eva Fricke, all of her lineup is superb, she never joined VDP

[@Steve-qb5sc]

Finger Lakes Rieslings can go toe to toe with any from Germany.

[@FelixBT93]

Gibt's den 2023 Fahrley von Clemens Busch schon im Handel? Finde bisher nur ab 2022 und die 2023 GGs sind doch eigentlich schon im Verkauf, oder?

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Vielleicht kommt der erst etwas später aufmachen den Markt. Das ist aber auch eine sehr kleine Menge

[@nicovanboekel3973]

Heymann Lowenstein if i have to name one that is affordable

[@Azxnrjsle]

First comment!

[@ninostrcic6709]

What's the reason behind the rule that GG wines always have to be dry?

[@ollibaum295]

i love köhler Rupprecht...i think its not VDP i think its above VDP:-)

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

They are great. I visited them for my Pfalz Video a while back.

[@ArthurPowell26]

you ever tried Walt Riesling?

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Not yet!

[@ohpotatoesandmolasses]

No Falkenstein?!

[@panaceiasuberes6464]

Alvarinho (descendant of Riesling, I'll conceed), Encruzado, Verdelho... and I'm just mentioning the Portuguese varietals better than Riesling. :)

[@zaphod333]

The descent of Alvarinho from Riesling has not been definitively refuted, but it has been seriously questioned, hasn't it? As far as I know, it is now considered to more likely be related to Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc or Petit Manseng.

[@patricklaureys9238]

If Pinot Noir is God, then Riesling is for sure the Holy Spirit.

[@ROGER-yo9cy]

Blind tasting: German Riesling VS French Riesling? 😉

[@ROGER-yo9cy]

Or Riesling VS Hondarribi Zuri

[@andrebern7905]

Württemberg?

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Not this time. No Baden, Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Ahr, Mittelrhein, Hessische Bergstraße either... ;)

[@uabpsab]

Are these wines all kabinetts?

[@larsj.4844]

I think they are all "Spätlese" quaility because all GG Rieslings (Grand Cru) are Spätlese

[@xjackisbackx]

No, they are Grosses Gewächs so a dry style (but with higher must weight than Kabinett).

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

Grosse Gewächse need to be dry, hand harvested at max 50 hl/ha, and they have to be from the allowed varieties from classified sites. They do not carry Prädikate (like Kabinett) on the label.

[@clydeblair9622]

An Alsatian tasting.

[@nicolasmaligner8753]

Alsace is missing here.

[@KonstantinBaumMasterofWine]

The tasting only includes German wines

[@manuelcarvalho3928]

Pleeaasee stop swirling the glass in close-up so that we can see the wine colour clearly! Otherwise it is like " watch me playing with wine inside a glass and I am not spilling it...Yeeaaaah!

[@JuergenW-rk5gg]

Fun fact, Kallstadt in the Pfalz is the home town of Donald Trump's grandfather. They probably won't advertise that much