Burgundy has Grand Crus, Bordeaux has First Growths, and Germany has Grosses Gewächs. These dry, full-bodied, single-vineyard marvels are bottled in small quantities, greedily snatched up around the globe, and exclusively savored by the savviest wine drinkers. If you crave elite Côte de Beaune complexity supercharged with Riesling’s exoticism, the alluring GGs and best-in-class labels of Von Winning will change your life. Powerful, dense, and dripping in luxury, I imagine it’s what Montrachet would taste like if located in the Pfalz!
Von Winning is among Germany’s greatest contemporary successes and easily on the shortlist of the world’s greatest dry Riesling producers. In fact, I’m of the strong opinion that few, if any, are matching the consistently superb quality of their Grosses Gewächs bottlings. Also known as “GG,” this buzzing category serves as the zenith of powerfully dry, richly textured, vineyard-designate Rieslings. In record time, the world has become enraptured by these explosively mineral and highly pedigreed gems, and when it comes to top bottlings like Winning’s 2018 “Grainhübel,” it’s accurate to declare that (1) it cannot be simulated by any other wine and (2) it will provide many hours and days of stimulation! Our stocks are exceedingly limited, so grab up to six bottles now and take heed of the exciting note below.
BONUS: For those who want a taste of Von Winning’s uppermost tier, we have a literal handful of their 2018 GG “Kirchenstück,” a mythical vineyard ranked first in the historic 1828 Bavarian classification. Click here to secure one or two bottles.
Today’s luxurious GG is a perfect introduction (if one is needed) to an estate that has become a darling of sommeliers and critics alike. Although its history dates to the mid-1800s, Von Winning’s modern era was ushered in when entrepreneur Achim Niederberger purchased the vineyards and winery and re-launched the Von Winning label in 2007. The estate was originally founded by Friedrich Diehard, whose descendants are still in the wine business today in the town of Koblenz. The name Von Winning didn’t come along until later when Dienhard’s granddaughter, Emma, inherited the property and her husband, Leopold Von Winning, took the reins. The estate then passed through a series of hands and the Von Winning name disappeared until Niederberger came along and revived it.
Sadly, Niederberger passed away at a young age in 2013, leaving his wife, Jana, with a multi-faceted wine operation that also includes the estates of Bassermann-Jordan and Von Buhl. She is ably assisted at Von Winning by a team led by General Manager Stephan Attman. They have introduced organic farming practices to the property’s enviable collection of vineyards around the villages of Deidesheim and Forst in the Pfalz, a region that runs towards Germany’s border with Alsace. The Vosges mountain range that shelters Alsace from storms from the West becomes the Haardt mountain range across the border in the Pfalz, so, like Alsace, the Pfalz is a drier, warmer region than some of the other classic regions along the Rhine. This is music to the ears of Grosses Gewächs—wines that are built on powerful structure and textural richness.
In the simplest terms, a Grosses Gewächs wine must be from a designated Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) vineyard and fermented dry (less than nine grams of sugar). “Grainhübel” is one of those top-designated vineyards in the village of Deidesheim. The seven-hectare site, located right behind Von Winning, is rather flat and soils here are a mixture of sandy loam with sandstone and limestone.
After hand harvesting these ripe Riesling grapes, Von Winning ferments them naturally in 500-liter barrels. Because they don’t introduce any cultured yeasts, it often takes months for fermentation to complete. Following, the wine continues resting on its raw lees and is never racked during its extended maturation. In all, 18 months of barrel aging pass before an unfined bottling via gravity.
I suggest a 30-minute decant before consuming today’s 2018 “Grainhübel” but even without it, the wine still explodes with exotic perfume, insane richness, and an inexhaustible, constantly churning mineral core. The nose swells with kiwi, lime, mango, juicy peach, white flowers, honeysuckle, and mandarin on a sweeping bed of enticing oak spice, crushed stone, and smoke. The rich palate is so enjoyable and lush, oozing with fathomless layers of yellow and green tropical fruits that are electrified by a pulsating acid-mineral combo. The finish stretches far and deep, all of it suggesting a wine that is prepared to evolve for well over a decade. You may think to reach for an expensive white Burgundy for the attached King Crab legs recipe, but trust us on this one—Von Winning is more than a worthy alternative, it’s a game-changer. Cheers!
