RHEINGAU NOW: Finally Back at the Top!

Text by Stuart Pigott, tasting notes by Tim Eichelberger & Stuart Pigott - last revision: 14.09.26

We recently published stories about the Eva Fricke and Kaufmann wineries and have therefore not added those notes into this story. Please study them if you want a more complete picture. Likewise, stories about Schloss Johannisberg and Robert Weil are forthcoming, and the notes for their new wines will first be published with those reports. Even so, this package has 135 tasting notes, which is the absolute upper limit for us.

The biggest problem facing the Rheingau and German white wines of the 2025 vintage is the assumption that this is just another very good vintage and therefore doesn't deserve special attention. I know what some of you are thinking right now: the world's got enough problems so don't distract me! Yes, the world is currently looks likea Shit Show, but that's when you really need delicious wine!

And yes, it's true that a lot of excellent wines have been produced in Germany during since the acceleration of climate change here become noticeable in 2015, but I think the best 2025 wines are really remarkable thanks to their combination of concentration (more than previous five vintages, though not quite as much as 2019) and elegance (more than any vintage since 2007, perhaps even 2001). For me, the finest of them are some the most remarkable young white wines I ever tasted with a charisma that's irresistible.

As the tasting notes below reveal, the Rheinagu has an additional advantage: one of the places that the 2024 vintage Rieslings were most successful was the Rüdesheimer Berg at the western end of the region, and nextdoor Assmannshausen where Pinot Noir/Spätburgunder dominates the vineyards. Anyone in doubt should taste the dry Rieslings Theresa Breuer of Georg Breuer made from the Rüdesheimer Berg in 2024 and the Pinot Noirs August Kesseler made in Assmannshausen in 2024. They blow our minds!

On top of this 2023 was a very good vintage for dry Riesling in the region with some great high points (see the story about the Künstler winery that was the very first publication of this website). We also tasted some very exciting Pinot Noir reds from the great 2022 vintage. They are still in the market and the best of them show just how far Germany has come with this fickle grape!

The Rheingau is finally back at the top, where it last was during the 1970s! By this I don't mean that every Rheingau wine available now amazing, rather that the number of exciting wines is back around the same level that it was then. This isn't the result of one or two wineries coming up with impressive ranges of wines, rather it is the result of many producers - from the small like the Prinz winery to the large like Kloster Eberbach - upping their game. Here we present at least the most important wines from more than a dozen of them.

How does New Rheingau taste? Mostly it's a dry Riesling wines with medium-body in spite of having ample structure and depth of flavour. Just a few vineyard sites like the Marcobrunn of Erbach and the Domdechaney give wines that are typically mouthfilling and unashamedly powerful, due to a combination of a warm meso-climate and deep, water-retentive soils. If anything, those are the most challenging Rheingau wines to make, because they can so easily end up feeling massive. Here, Gunter Künstler is the contemporary master of elegance.

However, as a general rule alcohol levels in 2025 are 0.5% - 1.0% higher in the 2025 vintage wines than their direct predecessors from 2024 and 2023. During the last ripening phase the accumulation of other elements in the grapes is directly coupled with the sugar accumulation, and this is the reason that the 2025s are not just bigger, they are also generally more compact and structured. If what you are looking for is "typical" German elegance in the old-fashioned sense, then you may well prefer the more delicate wines from 2024, but if you're just seeking "delicious" then my guess is you will almost always finding yourself reaching for the more concentrated and juicy 2025s. Famously the devil is in the detail, but I suggest that in this case there's something angelic there too!

EXCELLENT RHEINGAU WINES FOR FRIENDLY PRICES

Chat Sauvage Rheingau Pinot Noir 2022 – 13% /This silky and elegant Pinot Noir brims with black cherry, baking spices and black pepper. The finish is velvety smooth, spicy and exceptionally generous. For an entry-level wine this is excellent in every regard. 94 (TE)

Georg Breuer  Rheingau  Riesling  Terra Montosa  2025 - 11.5% / Only just bottled, but the pineapple chutney character of this leaps out of the glass at you. Serious concentration and ample fine tannins, the mineral acidity already beautifully integrated. Very long, compact dry finish with zterrific power for a dry Riesling with just 11.5%! 95 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Domdechaney Dompräsenz Erste Lage  2025 - 13.5% / Very graceful in spite of the enormous power and concentration. Multi-dimensional spiciness and earthiness. Enormous length and great complexity at the spectacular finish. Tastes like a top GG! 96 (SP)

NOTE: Only for paying subscribers the notes for all 135 wines tasted can be found below. The ratings include one wine with 100 and four with 99!