Decanter’s favourite German Grand Crus

TEXT: KATE JONES, THE WINEBARN

Grand Cru is a French term meaning great growth and is used to classify the highest quality level of dry wines from the very best vineyards. Germany’s equivalent of Grand Cru is Grosses Gewächs (GG), a classification championed by the VDP.Prädikatsweingüter – Germany’s association of premium German wine estates and a true mark of quality.

Each Grand Cru wine is made from a single grape variety, selected to best suit the vineyard’s specific terroir, and is made from reduced yields to the strictest production standards. As such, each of these exceptional wines expresses a character completely unique to the terroir of its vineyard of origin.

Grand Crus are also renowned for their exceptional age-worthiness.
Decanter – the global leader in wine-related media – recently published its annual Grosses Gewächs report. The report highlights some of country’s very best Grand Crus – three of which are available from multi-award-winning wine merchant The WineBarn.

Meyer-Näkel - 2022 Dernauer Pfarrwingert Spätburgunder Grand Cru Dry Red Wine - 98 Decanter Points

Winemaker: Meyer-Näkel
Vintage: 2022 Dernauer Pfarrwingert Spätburgunder Grand Cru dry

Region: Ahr
Price per bottle: £99.99
Decanter rating: 98 out of 100

Awarded a magnificent 98 points out of 100 by Decanter, this exceptional Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) is characterised by its aromas of wild red berries, blueberries and cherries. Its intense, clear fruit is underlined by spicy herbal notes, delicate roasted aromas and violets. On the palate, it shows an animated freshness and saltiness, firm minerality and depth. This Spätburgunder shows complexity with a mouth-filling, silky tannin structure.

Located on the northwestern fringe of the Ahr wine-making region, Meyer-Näkel is a fifth generation family wine estate now run by sisters Meike and Dörte (pictured). Their Spätburgunders, produced from Pinot Noir grapes grown on the slate rich slopes along the river Ahr, have written red wine history and are renowned for being the best in Germany.

K. F. Groebe - 2021 Kirchspiel Riesling Grand Cru - 95 Decanter Points

Winemaker: K. F. Groebe
Vintage: 2021 Kirchspiel Riesling Grand Cru dry

Region: Rheinhessen
Price per bottle: £64.75
Decanter rating: 95 out of 100

The Kirchspiel Riesling Grand Cru has a complex mineral structure and a fruity aroma – classic of the country’s most popular wine variety. Its bouquet of peach, citrus and apricot is complemented by hints of mellow flint.

The Kirchspiel vineyard has vines that are over 50 years old. Located on the slopes of a south-easterly hillside in Westhofen, it benefits from long sunshine hours, as well as soil rich in limestone and weathered chalky clay.

Decanter's favourite German Grand Crus

Winemaker: Wirsching
Vintage: 2021 Iphöfer Julius-Echter-Berg Silvaner Grand Cru dry

Region: Franken
Price per bottle: £47.70
Decanter rating: 87 out of 100

Not only has this Silvaner been awarded a fantastic rating by Decanter, but Tamlyn Currin – wine writer for Jancis Robinson – also rated it highly. Tamlyn describes this wine as: “Cavalcades of flowers and fruit, herbs and nuts. It’s peachy and tropical, mangoes and white currants, but at a level of concentration and resplendence that’s hard to capture with words. Sumptuous but at the same time structured in a way that is both tenacious and diaphanous; like clouds carved out of marble, like breathing in hazy hills. Stunning now, but it will develop more and more beauty and complexity over the next 10 years. Silvaner at its zenith.”

Wirsching’s first-class Franconian vineyard Julius-Echter-Berg is where fantastic wines such as this Silvaner Grand Cru originate from.

You can taste these three wines – and over 120 more – at The WineBarn’s Annual Portfolio Tasting, which will take place on Monday 2 February in London.

To learn more, visit: www.thewinebarn.co.uk/collections/events

The WineBarn is a multi-award-winning wine merchant that specialises in exclusively German wine and has been bringing pure drinking pleasure to the UK for over 23 years. Its elegant wines have been selected to cover a range of styles – from the affordable to the luxury, from dry to sweet and from fresh to full-bodied, ensuring there is something to suit all tastes and pair with any cuisine.

To find your new favourite German wine, contact The WineBarn for a personal recommendation.

Visit: www.thewinebarn.co.uk
Call: +44 1962 761 215
Email: wine@thewinebarn.co.uk