BADEN 2025: Defying the Rain

BADEN:Defying the Rain

By Frank Ebbinghaus - last revision: 03.05.26

PART ONE: APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE?

Wow! – What an inspiring debut for the first Rheinhessen wines of the 2025 vintage! Stuart rightly asks: “Is 2025 a great vintage?” And he has already made an initial assessment: “2025 IS AN EXCELLENT VINTAGE FOR GERMANY AND IT MAY WELL BE A GREAT ONE.” Of course, our tastings in Mainz can only provide initial indications. After all, the great dry wines of the vintage, the “Große Gewächse”, were not presented in Mainz and it is too early to taste most of them. However, we do not stop at general assessments, but have tasted our way through hundreds of wines from the vintage, predominantly entry-level estate wines and village wines. At stuartpigott.com, you can find out in great detail what to make of the German 2025 vintage.

So what is the situation like in the other German wine-growing regions? This report takes a look at Baden. And we must begin with a rather obvious observation: Baden is not Rheinhessen. Here, it is not Riesling that predominates (apart from the Ortenau region between Baden-Baden and Freiburg), but the Pinot varieties. And it is predominantly from these varieties that the ‘Große Gewächse’ are produced.

So things in Baden are somewhat more single-minded than in the more northerly wine-growing regions.  But by no means more boring – even if some superstars such as Franz Keller and Dr Heger did not present any 2025 wines and there was only one rosé from Salwey.

PART TWO: A GREAT YEAR, BUT…

The winegrowers were unanimous in their view: a great year – then comes a big BUT. This caveat relates to the heavy rainfall that hit Baden shortly before and during the harvest, forcing the winegrowers to act quickly. “When the rain came, the Pinot Blanc started to rot,” recalls Robin Michel from the Michel Winery in Vogtsburg/Achkarren. Up until then, he says, the weather conditions had been very good overall. 2025 was not an “extreme year”. He considers the 2025 vintage to be “very, very good” and draws a comparison with 2019.

The situation was somewhat different in the Ortenau region, where late-ripening Riesling is grown. Robert Schätzle of the Robert Schätzle – Schloss Neuweier winery in Baden-Baden-Schloss Neuweier lost a significant amount of yield due to the selective harvesting that the rain in 2025 made necessary, but is very satisfied with the quality. Schätzle wines are very fruity, but he did not present any wines from the 2025 vintage. His mature, expressive, yet very refined 2022 Neuweier Mauerberg Riesling dry VDP-Erste Lage, as well as the 2021 Riesling Goldenes Loch GG, show that Riesling enthusiasts should definitely keep this winery on their radar.

The winemakers’ positive assessments are confirmed by the extensive tasting. Not a single wine was weak; all displayed lively freshness, excellent drinkability, predominantly moderate alcohol levels and superb balance. 

PART THREE: 2025 in Baden – APPLAUSE!

The winemakers’ positive assessments are confirmed by the extensive tasting. There were hardly any disappointments; virtually all the wines displayed an inviting freshness, excellent drinkability, predominantly moderate alcohol levels and good balance.

18 wines tasted, seven with 90.

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WHITE BURGUNDY, PINOT GRIS AND CHARDONNAY

Heitlinger  Baden  Pinot Blanc  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Walnut and pear, crisp, fresh and lively, with plenty of drive. 88 (FE)

Heitlinger  Baden  Pinot Gris  trocken 2025 – 12% / Restrained nose with a hint of pear, full-bodied but not opulent, gentle, excellent balance. 90 (FE)

Andreas Laible  Baden  Weißer Burgunder  Durbach trocken 2025 - 12.5% / Elegant pear aroma, slightly reductive, green nuts, juicy, decent phenolic bite, refined. 90 (FE)

Michel  Baden  Pinot Gris  Vom Löss trocken  2025 - 12.7% / Delicate, yet by no means subtle, juiciness, kept in check by a plenty of freshness. 87 (FE)

Schlör  Baden  Pinot Blanc  Reichholzheim trocken 2025 - 12.5% / Complex aroma with a hint of walnut; appears more refined on the nose than it tastes. Fresh fruit, slightly bitter and very slightly smoky. Still needs to find its feet, but could turn out very well. 87 (FE)

Schlör  Baden  Chardonnay  Reicholzheim trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Delicate spice, a hint of melon, cool, fine creaminess and juiciness, also harmonious. 90 (FE)

Schlumberger-Bernhart  Baden  Pinot Blanc  Vom Löss trocken  2025 - 12% / Quite closed, displays fine acidity, lovely freshness and a hint of alcohol on the finish. 88 (FE)

Seeger  Baden  Chardonnay  Collection Anna Marie trocken  2025 - ??% / Fresh aromas of lemon, lemon balm and a hint of fine wood, mineral; on the palate, lemon balm and wet fine wood again. 90 (FE)

RIESLING

Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein  Baden  Riesling  Zell-Weierbach “Granit” trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Ripe, exotic notes; aromas of mango and pineapple, yet surprisingly fresh and juicy on the palate, with pineapple and subtle hints of bitterness. 90 (FE)

Burg Ravensburg  Baden  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Subtle aroma of peach and herbal spice, lovely acidity with hints of peach and spice. 88 (FE)

Andreas  Laible  Baden  Riesling  Durbach trocken 2025 – c. 12% / Slightly reductive, yellow fruits, a subtle phenolic character and wonderful freshness develop great depth, refined. 90 (FE)

GUTEDEL, SILVANER AND WHITE CUVÉES

Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein  Baden  Weiss.Wein.Gut. Cuveé Weiss  2025 – 11.5–12% / Rich yellow fruit, herbs, subtle bitterness, juicy and fresh. Simple, but well made. 85 (FE)

Lämmlin-Schindler  Baden  Gutedel  Maschen trocken  2025 - 11.5% / Aromas of wet stone, barely any fruit; a lovely phenolic character lends freshness, structure and finesse. 87 (FE)

Schlör Baden  Silvaner  Reicholzheimer First EL  2025 - 12.5% / Closed on the nose, but lively on the palate, fresh, very balanced, pear, Nashi pear, green herbs, refined. 90 (FE)

Schlumberger-Bernhart  Baden  Gutedel  Vom Löss trocken  2025 - 11% / Deep aroma of pears and gooseberries, fresh, fine acidity, a hint of green herbs and wet-stone, delicate, creamy finish. 88 (FE)

ROSÉ

Heitlinger  Baden  Rosé trocken  2025 - 11.5% / Barely any aroma, a hint of yeast, plenty of juice, raspberry and yellow fruits, lovely freshness, substantial body. 88 (FE)

Salwey  Baden  Rosé trocken  2025 - 12% / Yeast, yellow fruits and a volcanic fire blazing somewhere. Still rather disjointed. Maybe better after more time in the bottle? 84 (FE)

Staatsweingut Freiburg  Baden  Bacat Rosé  2025 – 11% – Sweet strawberry, but the 18 grams of residual sugar are quite well integrated; fresh enough to just avoid being kitsch; a good party wine. 82 (FE)