Given all the threads on German wines lately, I thought it might be interesting to see everyone’s top holdings in German wines by producer. I know we have done this before but I think it has been at least a little while and I know my order has been scrambled some after buying 2019s.
JJ Prum
Reinhold Haart
Zilliken
von Schubert
Selbach
My cellar has gotten somewhat top heavy over time as I only currently have 9 producers from whom I own 10 or more bottles - the other four are Schloss Lieser, Falkenstein, Schäfer-Fröhlich and Donnhoff.
While a few producers are dwindling (e.g. J. J. Christoffel, as I drink up my horde of 2001s), the top 5 has remained remarkably stable.
Donnhoff
J. J. Prum
Selbach-Oster
Willi Schaefer (tied)
von Schubert (tied)
As long as I keep buying from the top 5 nobody else will ever catch up, as they all have a massive head start. Schloss Lieser, Vollenweider and Zilliken form the core of the next tier. Leitz is actually in 6th place, but the availability has become so scattershot that it’s dropping fast as I drink the wines, and will fall to 9th or 10th soon.
These are my top 5, as a percentage of all riesling in my collection.
JJ Prum (18.8%)
Martin Mullen (13.3%)
Willi Schaefer (11.3%)
Hofgut Falkenstein (8.9%)
Von Schubert Maximin Grunhaus (8.2%)
My collection is pretty top heavy with these producers, and then under 2-3% for others. Max Ferd Richter may take over #5 once my 3 cases from the 2019 vintage arrive. Peter Lauer and Emrich-Schonleber are not far behind.
(I can’t really play, as sadly I have very little German wine these days, my wife dislikes them. JJ Prum probably top by number of bottles, then Muller and Von Kesselstatt (Josephshöffer))
Andreas Laible (I’d be surprised on that one as well)
Next tier includes Battenfeld-Spanier, JJ Prum, Julian Haart, Weiser-Kuntsler, Willi Schaefer, Wittman - not in order. Then there’s another 20 or so producers with more than 10 bottles. 51 producers in total.
Prum and Donnhoff are the only two I really seek-out; given the wide array of excellent other options, I’m happy to play with whatever my local retailers have — I still feel like I’m in the exploration stage, even though I’ve been buying German Riesling for nearly (15?) years now. Prum dominates in my top spot with 38%; Loewen is up there on the strength of one vintage of one bottling; Prum and Donnhoff are probably the two that appear most frequently on my receipts.