Let’s set the record straight: if you’re not paying attention to Germany’s wine scene, you’re missing out on some of the best dry wines. Among the most exciting ones are Grosses Gewächs (GG), a term that translates to “great growths” and is used to designate wines from Germany’s equivalent of grand cru vineyards. After spending three days at the GG preview tasting in August—which is hosted by the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP), an organization that promotes Germany’s top wines—where I sampled nearly 400 wines, I can assure you that there’s something for every wine lover, whether you’re a classicist or skew adventurous.
Riesling once again stole the spotlight. Revered as one of the finest dry wines in the world, the latest GG Rieslings continue to raise the bar for excellence in winemaking. These wines are the epitome of German terroir, showcasing the country’s most esteemed vineyards. Crafted with meticulous care, they might as well come with a velvet glove and a fanfare.
GGs are released after the year after the grapes are harvested, on September 1. This allows them time to mature in the cellar before reaching the public. However, certain wineries choose to hold their best wines back for an additional year to allow further development. Even so, they typically need at least five years to truly open up. In some vintages, it takes even longer to reach their prime. For this reason, these wines are often purchased with cellaring in mind.
The newly released 2023 vintage has
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
