Join me in the shop on Saturday17th June for a tasting of our 2015 German ‘Auction’ Rieslings. Combining the word ‘auction’ with the year ‘2015’ will have any Riesling enthusiast trembling with anticipatory excitement. Let me explain why…

Auction Rieslings
If you imagine that the German system first follows the Burgundy one — multiple owners in each vineyard, and each vineyard bottled separately, the Germans simply add one layer: the wine style: fine delicate kabinett, fresh tangy spatlese, luscious rounded auslese, complex and intense beerenauslese, and essency TBA. Within the selections that are made for each level, top growers make one further separation: the very best, most interesting and complex musts are reserved to make auction wine .

These micro production wines (sometimes only a few bottles for the world) are sold each September at auction in Germany. We are big fans. We taste all of the wines, make our selection, and do our best to bring a few bottles of these rarities back to Hong Kong to share.

The 2015 Vintage
Tasting in Germany last September, I felt the 2015 vintage was the very best I have tasted since the landmark 2001 vintage. The fruit side to these is unquestioningly generous, ripe, luscious, yet a balanced growing season has meant that the hallmark refreshing acidity is simply wonderful, contributing harmoniously to the fruit to deliver clean, precise, very well defined wines.

Auction Rieslings from 2015 is today’s tasting… 
With an extra 9 months in bottle since I last tasted them in Germany, I’m excited to be able to revisit these and share the experience with you. The first two examples – Christmann and Donnhoff, we bought from the Nahe auction, and they are made in the top tier dry style (Grosses Gewächs). The remaining 6 Mosel wines and 1 Nahe are made in the traditional fruity style ranging from kabinett up to auslese goldkap.

Come see for yourself what the fuss is about.