Had a wonderful 1994 Auslese trocken at an event put on by the Denver Wine Merchant, I’m wondering if there are any great ones being made today? Spatlese trocken? Is it possible to hunt old vintages down?
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Yes there are still great Auslese Trockens made in warm vintages. JB Becker makes both Spat and Auslese Trocken as does Martin Mullen. Uli Stein makes great Spatlese Trockens. Hard to find the old ones in the U.S. as dry wines were not really imported. I am constantly on the hunt for them.
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Don’t forget Koehler-Ruprecht, another big name still championing the Auslese trocken labeling. And available in the US.
Although not sure the OP wouldn’t find the same pleasure from all the various GGs. I don’t think the distinction between Auslese trocken and GG is anywhere near as important as just the general house/vintage/vineyard style. Lots to explore…
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Markus Molitor makes a lot of Auselse trocken (white cap) and fienherb (green cap).
Great points on both KR and Molitor.
Comparing to something from 1994, current Spätlese Trockens might be analogous.
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Arent the GGs bone dry? This auslese trocken had maybe 10-20 g/l (which is a sweet spot for me, and Im leaving the pun)
It did not, as the limit for Trocken is 9 g/l, same as the GGs.
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What David said. Same regulations. And a wide range of perceived sweetness across both categories, depending on many many factors. It’s really more about the specific wine than the designation GG or Auslese trocken.
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You would have loved the Kabinett Trocken vs Spät. trocken vs Auslese Trocken vs GG dinner we did the other night @ Noreetuh. Explored just this concept.
I would love to hear more about this dinner, if you have more to say.
The minimum must weight for Auslese is 88 degrees Oechsle in the Mosel. In past years, there were plenty of wines designated as Spätlese—or even Kabinett, for that matter—that achieved this requirement (the exceptions being 2021 and 2024).
Auslese trocken was seen more on labels beginning in the early 1980s, though most top producers only use Auslese to designate a sweet wine now. (Up until the early 20th century, Auslese was the only distinction of note on the Mosel and came from select overripe grape bunches.)
Unlike Koehler-Ruprecht, Hofgut Falkenstein no longer labels an unchaptalized dry wine that meets the ripeness requirement as Auslese trocken.
In the VDP, a Grosses Gewächs, or GG, designates a legally dry wine—which can be chaptalized, of all things—from an ostensibly top site, or “Grosse Lage,” (effectively, a “grand cru”). In the Bernkasteler Ring, a GG has to have a minimum must weight of 93 degrees Oechsle, but with no chaptalization. (For a deep dive into this topic, read the article by David Schildknecht.)
Most producers have followed the VDP’s lead and no longer designate either their dry or off-dry wines with a Prädikat.
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A wine between 9 and 18 g/l residual sugar with the requisite ripeness level would be an Auslese halbtrocken.
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Thanks for the insight Lars! This was my first experience with an auslese trocken so I guess it just felt sweeter than it was?
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Yes, it sounded like a great event and I was very close to going, but that was a busy time of the year.
I don’t think I saw any notes posted, how was it?
My pleasure, Max.
Various producers stopped designating their top dry wines as Auslese trocken in the early 2000s. Maximin Grünhaus is another example of this. Starting with the 2005 vintage, Grünhaus designated its ripest dry-tasting wines (formerly labeled either Auslese trocken or halbtrocken) as Superior and, for the 2008 vintage, “Alte Reben trocken” replaced “Spätlese trocken.” (Spätlese trocken and Auslese trocken first appeared on a label of Grünhaus with the 1981 and 1983 vintages, respectively.) The estate also dropped “Kabinett trocken” and reserved the Prädikat designations only for the Herrenberg Kabinett feinherb and the residually sweet Rieslings. More design and nomenclature changes were made when Grünhaus rejoined the VDP in 2016.
Great to see other Denver folks here, I was disappointed to miss their recent event but make it to most of the Denver Wine Merchant tastings. I recently grabbed the 2023 Stein Riesling Spatlese Trocken Palmberg 2023 at Denver Wine Merchant and they had a handful of them around.
The main reason why Koehler-Ruprecht withdrew from the VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter), effective with the 2013 vintage, was the decision, back in 2012, “to classify all dry wines as quality wines [Qualitätsweine, formerly called QbA] only—a restriction that is diametrically opposed to the philosophy to produce Prädikat wines (high-quality wines with special attributes) espoused by the winery.”
As mentioned above, the main issue is that all dry wines should be classified as Qualtiätsweine—meaning that it is permissible to chaptalize them, including the high-end Grosse Gewächse (GG), which are usually packaged in an extra-tall, heavy bottle with an embossed “GG” or previously an Erste Lage symbol. Yet Koehler-Ruprecht prides itself on producing dry Prädikatsweine, unchaptalized wines with a predicate (Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese), which follows the tradition of the VDP, formerly known as VDNV (Verband Deutscher Naturweinversteigerer, or Association of Natural Wine Auctioneers). The term “natural” meant no sugar or water added to the grape must and was disallowed with the passing of the 1971 German Wine Law. “We believe that in order to produce authentic wines that reflect their vintage, we need to use unadulterated grape musts.” The VDP, however, only wants to keep the Prädikate for residually sweet wines.
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Bernd Philippi’s wrath against VDP is legendary.
Apologies for self quoting
Ive previously read opinions that GGs are best after 10-15 years, but the auslese trocken I drank was going strong after 30. Anyone have thoughts on general drinking window? Any specific producers or bottles I should seek out if Im looking for the higher end of residual sugar?