2020 German Riesling

Well, it’s that time of year again. Vintage reports and early offers are about to start trickling in and I just placed my first major order (Hofgut Falkenstein). I’ve read the MFW issue 55 report, but curious what else people have heard through the grapevine (pun intended) and what people are planning to buy. Will it be another “vintage of the century”? neener

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I feel like all of the recent (and not so recent) vintages, while different, are varying degrees of great, so I’ll likely buy my usual suspects.

And I would want reminders of 2020 why?

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To show that beautiful wine can be produced during the shittiest global/economic circumstances?

Nope. I may just quit for a year. I am really over 2020.

Riesling newbie question: how can I get ahold of these early offers? I’ve been drooling over those amazing 2019 Falkestein reviews y’all are posting and I don’t want to miss the next vintage!

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Mine was early because of a longstanding relationship I have with the retailer. Where do you live? Easiest thing might be to contact the importer for your region to see which stores near you typically get the wines.

Thanks for the response! I’m in Michigan. I’ll try to track down the importer but if you have any pointers that would be much appreciated.

Okay Brian…hard to admit, but I’ve spent 35 years chasing the Vinous-Dragon without dialing up Riesling on my dial. So, how about schooling me…who should I buy, where should I buy, why should I buy Riesling over any other white varietal. I’m a long term Type 2 Diabetic and have 0 desert wines, ports, Late Harvest in my cellar.

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I think there is so much great Riesling that you shouldn’t have any problem getting great Riesling once it’s available on store shelves, just look on Wine Searcher. Admittedly, there doesn’t seem to be much 2019 Falkenstein available in MI currently, but there are a ton of other amazing producers to choose from (e.g. Haag, Lieser, Schaefer, Prum, Zilliken, Donnhoff, etc. etc.).

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Not all riesling is sweet/fruity. Based on your other white wine likes (at least from what I recall), some spätlese trocken may be up your alley (late harvest-picked grapes, so good ripeness, but fermented dry with ABV usually around 11-12% and residual sugar up to 9 g/L). Many producers who make dry riesling that people post on the boards here.

Why riesling? Where to begin… Great wines with great expression of terroir, in a variety of styles (dry, off-dry, sweet), that still remain very undervalued for the quality and are incredibly ageworthy.

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Should be.

Nooooooooooo!!

Even CFE???

I may be a bigger fan of Kabinett and Spatlese than the dry wines, but I have had too many delicious, dry or dryish Rieslings to ever wish that category away.

That would be a shame for the poster above who has Type 2 diabetes. Not to mention all of us who love dry Rieslings.

Very early to say, but I’ll have a go. Overall, acidity seems to be slightly up on 2019 whilst extract seems to be down on 2019. Lighter, simpler, and very refreshing wines seems to be the thing (with a small sample size).

Some notes -

2020 Letiz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Kabinett - BIG peachy nose. In the mouth, a big peachy hit, then lemon zest. Sweetness and acidity seem in tune - quite a soft/muted sweetness and long but not searing acidity. The big difference from the 2019s is the lack of extract in the 20s. This is relatively watery in comparison with a 19. Overall, it seems as balanced as some of the 2019s were, but simpler. Super drinkable, I’m not sure bottle 2 will survive the night. 7.5%. It is very moreish, probably more so than the 2019. [I have had about ten of these so far, they are brilliant, best Rheingau year in a while??]

2020 Julien Haart HaartRiesling - Bottle 1 : Still smells a bit funky from fermentation. A big initial hit of green fruit and quite a harsh/‘angular’ acidity. All apples and no lemons. But then I find somewhat of a lacuna in the midpalate, and the only later flavour - beyond the apply-acidity - is a whisp of hotness from the alcohol.
Bottle 2: Less funky and much more integrated.

2020 AJ Adam Riesling Trocken - Apple-y nose. Big lemon zest and juice flavors. A bit of minerality /salinity. A huge and long hit of quite harsh (malic?) acidity. Very good for an estate wine. Should be superb when it settles down.

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Most of the producers I buy regularly fall into the “I will take what nature gives me” camp, so it is a little hard to know what I’m going to buy before I know what is produced. I suppose that if I had my wishes, the producers that didn’t really get to wait for anything riper than auslese last year will be able to do so this year as I didn’t get much noble sweet wine from the 2019 vintage. Hopefully Julian Haart will have a little more wine this year and its always interesting to see what Keller does with the vintage.

Nope. But one of the beauties of riesling is that no other grape (with the possible exception of chenin blanc) can produce such great wines at all points on the dry to sweet spectrum!

I buy the same producers every year and then some. What I look for is there a particular style or region that excels in a particular year (e.g., Kabinett or dry Mosel etc.) and then I go a little deeper in those.

I bought massive amounts of 2019, before prices started inching up. My buying strategy has always been to go heavy on the best vintage, figuring I could always trade if I needed bottles from other years.

Yeah, that largely mirrors my strategy, though I am often down to buying a specific wine in most years if it available.