B-21 Top Recommendation Read More
One of the most exciting categories in collectible wine over the past two decades is unquestionably Grosses Gewächs Riesling. Few wines in the world can match white Burgundy for such detailed and distinctive individual terroir expressions, but these single-site, dry expressions from Germany's acclaimed "grand cru" vineyards are more than making their case, typically at prices a mere fraction of what you'd pay for a white Burgundy with equivalent pedigree.
"Prinz shows how small wineries continue to set the benchmark for quality in the Rheingau." - Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
One of the best effects of the GG ascent on the wine scene is the newly focused attention on German wine regions other than Mosel, such as the Pfalz, Nahe, Rheinhessen, and Rheingau, where Weingut Prinz is emerging as a bona fide boutique star for their pristine renditions of the most prized vineyards. Garnering huge accolades across the board from Stuart Pigott, James Suckling's long-time Riesling critic, the top-tier Prinz wines are quintessential representations of what makes the GG category so dynamic, highlighted in spades by the 98-point 2023 Hallgarten Jungfer. "As straight as a laser beam extending out toward infinity," this is pure minerality at its very best, the sout-southeat facing slope and very poor quartz soils imbuing the Jungfer with "almost supernatural vibrancy" and conveying the wine's origins with crystalline clarity. Each with their own 98-point scores, the "extremely cool and delicate ... very sophisticated" Schönhell and the "monumental power" of the Marcobrunn, Rheingau's greatest site, offer fascinating counterpoints to Jungfer. Together, they showcase a wine region and an estate reaching thrilling new levels of excellence that any serious wine lover can appreciate, with the cellar-worthy substance to outpace most other collectible white wines in the world. |