By Rose Murray Brown MW   Published in The Scotsman 18 June 2016

Racy and vivid with mouthwateringly fresh acidity and moderate alcohol – what more could you want for your summer garden quaffing wine?

That is what dry German Rieslings taste like, but so many of us avoid these wines thinking they are either too sweet or too sickly.   Indecipherable gothic script and complicated front labels often do not help us in our plight, but German winemakers are now making a real effort to produce clear punchy memorable front labels –putting all the detail on the back. 

Added to that – there is a growing band of passionate young winemakers who have worked in cellars abroad from New Zealand, Australia to California checking out the dry Riesling competition – and are now back home in Germany running wine estates.  The May brothers and Jochen Dreissigacker in Rheinhessen, Eva Fricke in Rheingau and Sumi Gebauer in the Pfalz are key figures in Germany’s dry white wine revival in the UK.

It is a great time to discover these wines as there are now more dry German Rieslings on our shelves than ever before – and the recent vintage 2015 in bottle looks very promising with a balance of ripe fruits from the warm summer with balancing acidity.  2014 was a more difficult cooler vintage, so choose carefully.

Our tasting of over 25 German Rieslings on the UK market varied from the Mosel’s ‘Feinherb’ off-dry styles to searing dry ‘Trocken’ styles.   Some tasters preferred the delicate floral blossomy character of the Mosel Saar Ruwer region (but less so in the Trocken style from Mosel as some were too searingly dry).  Other tasters who preferred riper fruits and a weightier style favourited the warmer Rhine regions of Rheingau, Rheinhessen and Rheinpalz, particularly in the Trocken style. 

If you know where to search and what to buy, in my opinion dry German Rieslings can offer real value and quality in comparison to Rieslings from the New World.

 

DRY GERMAN WHITES : £10 & UNDER

MINERALSTEIN RIESLING 2014   ***STAR BUY***
Region: Mosel Saar Ruwer & Pfalz
Alcohol: 12%      
Style: Dry
Price: £10 Marks & Spencer
M&S has always had a good German selection as one of its wine buyers Gerd Stepp who used to work for the supermarket in the UK and has now returned to his family wine estate.  He has cleverly combined the mineral slatey flavours of Mosel with the riper peach tones of Pfalz to make a superb refreshing summery white to serve with smoked halibut salad or sushi.

DR L RIESLING 2014
Region: Mosel
Alcohol: 8.5%
Style: Off Dry   
Price: £5.98 (reduced from £7) at Asda until 14 July; £8.99 bt or £8.09 each for 6 bts at Majestic Wine
You cannot fault this as an inexpensive introduction to German Riesling; light floral notes, just off-dry with a touch of minerality & low alcohol ideal for summer quaffing – very good value at Asda’s offer price – but not the best Dr Loosen wine in our tasting.

                                                               
RUPPERTSBERG HOHEBURG RIESLING KABINETT 2015   ***STAR VALUE BUY***
Region: Pfalz
Alcohol: 11%      
Style: Off Dry
Price: £6.50 The Wine Society www.thewinesociety.com
Hugely popular with our tasters who loved its ‘tutti-frutti sweetness’, ‘apricot and honey notes’, ‘ripe citric fruits’, ‘medium dry palate, but still really refreshing’- a brilliant bargain buy from the Ruppertsberg co-operative’s original Hoheburg vineyard.  Shows the quality of 2015 vintage.  A wonderful lunch wine with salmon terrine.

GREY SLATE PRIVATE RESERVE RIESLING 2014
Region: Mosel
Alcohol: 10.5%
Style: Off Dry
Price: £9.99 Waitrose
If you see ‘Feinherb’ on a label, it indicates medium-dry rather than crisp dryness – tasters found this Dr Loosen example slightly too sweet for quaffing – suggested it might be better with food; match with either veal in a cream sauce or even a lightly spiced chicken curry.

VILLA WOLF RIESLING 2014
Region: Pfalz
Alcohol: 12.5%       
Style: Very Dry
Price: £9.99 Luvians, Cupar & St Andrews
Made by winemakers Sumi Gebauer and Patrick Moellendorf who have revitalized this Ernie Loosen-owned estate: distinct spritz on opening, very dry, clean linear palate with light orchard fruits, apple and lime notes, very minerality with good length: the best Loosen wine in our tasting.  An ideal match with sushi.

 

DRY GERMAN WHITES: UNDER £20

PHILIPPS ECKSTEIN GRAUSCHIEFER RIESLING TROCKEN 2011
Region: Mosel
Alcohol: 12.5%
Style: Very Dry
Price: £15.60 Alpine Wines www.alpinewines.co.uk
Grauschiefer is the grey slate soils found near Graach on Mosel’s steep slopes.  Made by Patrick Philipps on his small family estate (they also have a guest house if you want to visit).  This Trocken is described as a dash of lemon on hot slate, which is pretty accurate.  Mature aromas with diesel notes from long bottle age, lime and lemon flavours, a vibrant sleek Riesling.

MY KARP RIESLING FEINHERB 2014
Region: Mosel
Alcohol: 9.5%
Style: Off Dry
Price: £11.49 laithwaites www.laithwaites.co.uk
Another low(ish) alcohol wine, so expect a bit of sweetness here – hence the name ‘Feinherb’ on the label.  My Karp name derives from the winery name, Weingut Karp Schreiber who have been making wine on the dramatically steep slate slopes since C17 now run by Alwin Karp.  Apricot and rich honeyed notes, but very refreshing on the finish with a steely length.  Serve with grilled fish and summer salad.

EVA FRICKE RIESLING TROCKEN 2014  ***STAR BUY***
Region: Rheingau
Alcohol: 12%        
Style: Very Dry     
Price: £16.15 Berry Bros & Rudd www.bbr.com
If you are a Riesling fanatic and have not tried Eva Fricke’s wine yet, you must – she offers brilliantly made wines at a reasonable price – so buy before her prices start to rise.  This young well-travelled winemaker originates from Lower Saxony, but has experience in South Africa, Spain and Australia.  Our tasters remarked on its ‘fresh minerally’, so pure and refined.

AXEL PAULY PURIST RIESLING KABINETT TROCKEN 2014
Region: Mosel
Alcohol: 11%
Style: Very Dry 
Price: £14.50-£17.50 Drinkmonger, Edinburgh & Pitlochry; Vino Wine Shops, Edinburgh
Described as having ‘dagger-like acidity’; this is extremely dry, too dry for some tasters.  For those who liked piercingly dry styles, this is an elegant minerally Riesling from the Pauly family’s steep grey/blue slatey soils in Lieser now run by son Axel Pauly who trained in California.  Serve with sushi or seafood.

KARL MAY RIESLING TROCKEN 2014   ***STAR BUY***
Region: Rheinhessen
Alcohol: 12%
Style: Dry
Price: £12.49 bt or £11.24 each for 12 bts www.laithwaites.co.uk
Very popular with tasters who loved its apple and lime fruits, ‘vivid refreshing notes’ and very fine long finish.  The label states Trocken, but tasters found it ‘deliciously racy’ ‘fruitier and better balanced than other Trockens’ in the tasting.  From a historic family winery based in Rheinhessen since 1815; sons Peter and Fritz May recently worked in Framingham in New Zealand, Grosset in Australia and Preisinger in Austria – and their world-wide experience shines through.

KNIPSER JOHANNISHOF RIESLING TROCKEN 2015
Region: Pfalz
Alcohol: 11.5%
Style: Very Dry    
Price: £13.95 Vino Wine Shops, Edinburgh
Very steely, searingly dry, slightly spritz on opening; a mixed rating from tasters with a good average score across the board.  Some found this Pfalz Riesling a bit ‘nippy-sweetie’ and ‘too tart’, whilst others liked this Trocken’s ‘sleek minerality’.

DREISSIGACKER ‘ORGANIC’ ESTATE RIESLING 2014  ***STAR BUY***
Region: Rheinhessen
Alcohol: 12%
Style: Dry
Price: £13.50 Drinkmonger, Edinburgh & Pitlochry; Cornelius Wines, Edinburgh; Woodwinters, Edinburgh & Bridge of Allan; Valvona & Crolla, Edinburgh; Aitken Wines, Dundee
The highest scorer in our tasting – tasters noted its balance between ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity; ‘minerally racy character’, ‘vibrant freshness’ combined with ‘succulent ripe fruits with grapefruit and lime notes’.  A key member of the Rheinhessen-revival, Bechtheim-based winemaker Jochen Dreissigacker has caused a stir in Germany and abroad for the quality of his wine range from low yielding vines.  A real winner.

Join Rose’s Down the Danube wine tasting on Wednesday 19 October in Edinburgh £42 www.rosemurraybrown.com