RHEINHESSEN 2025: A New High for the "New" Generaton

By Stuart Pigott - last revision: 29.04.2026

The combination of the VinVin (25.04) wine fair of Maxime Herkunft Rheinhessen and Weinland Nahe plus the much larger Mainzer Weinbörse (26.04 & 27.04) wine fair of the national VDP enabled me to taste 63 wines of the 2025 vintage from this region. This is the first of a series of stories each about one major region: Baden, Franken, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, Württemberg. We will fill in the gaps during the next weeks and months.

PART ONE: THE €64,000 QUESTION

So how good is the 2025 vintage in Germany, and will it help save the German wine industry? The Germans (in general) always tend to think that an economic or political problem here in Germany is a GERMAN PROBLEM caused by the nation’s Germanness. And yes, this tendency is rooted in a kind of collective guilt. However, in this case Germany is just a tiny part of the Global Wine Crisis. For example, Bordeaux and California are much worse hit than Germany. However, that doesn’t alter the problem that a lot of people in the 45+ age group here who used to drink wine with gusto now reject wine as a poison. Some of those people also turned to cannabis (partially legalized here) or even micro-dosing psychadelics…so you see the URGENCY of THE €64,000 QUESTION.

Last Sunday and Monday at the Mainzer Weinbörse Frank Ebbinghaus, Tim Eichelberger, Pawel Gruntowski and I tasted around 300 wines of the 2025 vintage. These mostly entry level wines (what the Germans call Gutsweine) and village wines (please note that the latter are sometimes sold under names that reference vineyard geology like Vom Kalkstein, Schiefer). That means that we tasted ZERO wines of the top GG tier of single-vineyard dry wines. This and our delay in starting to taste wines of the 2025 at all are about waiting until the wines are fit to be tasted professionally assessed. For us 6 months after the harvest is the absolute minimum, and for high end dry white wines it’s 9 months after the harvest. Hence, the following judgement is necessarily approximate and cautious. However, we are in agreement about the following:

2025 IS AN EXCELLENT VINTAGE FOR GERAMY AND IT MAY WELL BE A GREAT ONE.  At present, no region is excluded from this judgement, but it'salready clear to us that there are regional differences (mostly due to theamount ofharvest period rainfall). The 2025s strike us as being somewhere between the concentrated and elegant 2019s and the more powerful 2015s. It's this power that makes them stand out in comparison from the excellent 2023s. Is 2025 a great vintage? We will make that call after tasting a slew of the GG and similar wines.

PART TWO: WHAT THE WINEMAKERS SAY  

Of course, when you’re writing about their wines winemakers tell things that are true, things that are half-true and sometimes things that just sound good. I therefore point out that the following comments line up with the way the wines tasted, otherwise they wouldn’t be worth repeating. 2025 is a terrific vintage for Fritz Groebe of Westhofen/Rheinhessen. He rightly observes, „we had full ripeness and higher alcoholic content than the previous vntages, but very well integrated, the wines have great minerality and are so animating!“ 

There’s only one note for Knewitz below, but I tasted a couple of other wines as unfiltered cask samples and they make clear that here too 2025 is a great vintage. „We had excellent ripeness, but great pHs of 3.1 to 3.4!“ Tobias Kneiwtz toldme. PH is the most reliable measure of acidity and these low numbers (meaning pronounced acidity) help make wines possible that are bright with a positive sleekness. Altogether, there were almost no broad Rieslings, though (as usual) there were a few wines like that from the white Burgundian varieties.

It wasn’t all easy going during the harvest, but the most successful producers like Daniel Wagner of Wagner-Stempel picked all their grapes for dry wines before heavy rain fell on the 24th September. „After that we only picked grapes for sweet Rieslings, but we had to throw quite a bit of rotten fruit on the ground,“ he explained. Daniel Wagner was one of the producers who confirmed my feeling that the 2025 vintage has similar power to 2015, „however, the yields were even lower than in 2015!“ What a stunning collection of dry entry-level / Gutsweine he produced!

Philipp Wittmann went the furthest of all, but his wines - including village wines too closed to be fairly assessed -  were stunning, so here are his unedited thoughts: „It was fascinating to harvest clean grapes with this great ripeness. The vineyards gave close to the maximum hey’re capable of! During the harvest I had the feeling that we were always three days too late, and the wines would be too big. However, after fermentation the highest alcohol levels were 13% -13.1%. So, without realizing it, I was exactly right!“ His astonishing Estate trocken 2025 is the first result to reach the market. Don't miss it!     

All this means that the 2025 vintage is a new high point for the "new“ generation of Rheinhessen winemakers that Wittmann belongs to. I started following them systematically back in the spring of 2004 (see my German-language book Wilder Wein, published in 2006 by Argon Verlag), so, they're not reallnewany longer. I still can't wrap my head around how, in the space of a few years, the members of the young winemaker “supergroup“ Message in Bottle turned the reputation of their region upside-down. In 2000 Rheinhessen was still the home of Bla-Bla-Bla Liebfraumilch, but by 2006 there was no doubt that it had morphed into the Dream Factory of German White Wines. I was a bystander, but I was often literally surrounded by the main actors of this movement, and the energy was unforgettable. Today, they stand tall with stunning 2025.

63 tasting notes. one Entry-Level (Gutsweine) with 94 and two with 93. One Village Wines (Terroirweine) with 95 and two with 94. One off-dry Riesling with 95 and one with 94. 

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PART THREE: 2025 IN RHEINHESSEN

DRY RIESLING 

Here you taste both the excellence of the vintage, but also a lot of winemaker ambition!

Battenfeld-Spanier  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Eisquell trocken  2025 - 12% / Whoa! Maybe this isn’t extremely subtle, but it has terrific depth and substance for an entry-level wine. I love the harmonic interplay of generous, yet restrained mirabelle fruit with  chalky minerality. Already delicious! 92 (SP)

Battenfeld-Spanier  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Hohen-Sülzen trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Excellent depth of chamomile, summer meadow and wild herb aromas. In spite of the solid tannin structure, delicacy and elegance. Long,cool and mineral finish.93 (SP)

Battenfeld-Spanier  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Mölsheim trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Still a bit closed, this has a citric character (think mandarin orange and bergamot). Very focused and cool in spite of the ripeness on the compact palate. Long, firm finish that’s stillquitetightly wound. Will show a lot better in half a year.  94 (SP)

Brüder Dr. Becker  Rheinhessen  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / With its subtle aromas of orange, pomelo and mint this well-rounded, medium-bodied dry Riesling is anything but flashy. However, it has good structure and a winning harmony that will make it appealing from release. 91 (SP)

Bischel  Rheinhessen  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Cool nose of apricot and jamsine. This has the intense chalkiness that I associate with the top sites of this corner of the region (it's a cuvée of wines from the Hundertgulden, Goldberg and Laurenziberg sites). Real power at the compact finish.  91 (SP)

Lisa Bunn  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Nierstein Vom Rotliegenden trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Peach, fresh pineappleand passion fruit pour from the glass of this joyful young Riesling, but don’t be deceived into thinking this is just for spring quaffing. As it flows over the palate the minerality builds and deepens ina very exciting way. Very long, silky finish. 93 (SP)

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 12% / The mirabelle and wildrose aromas are enticing, but this packs quite a punch in the positive sense of those words. Very centered at the long, well-structured finish. From the Aulerde GG site. 91 (SP)

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Riesling 1762  2025 - 12% / The white peach, lemon blossom and leesy aromas aremarried to a rather sleek body and a very animating mineral freshness. Long finish that’s elegantly dry. 92 (SP)

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Westhofen trocken  2025 - 12.5% / The peach and apricot aromas are augmented bysubtle notes of wild herbs. Excellent balance, in spite of the compact structure. The chalky minerality builds at the long complete finish. From the Aulerde and Kirchspiel GG sites. 93 (SP)

Gunderloch  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Roter Schiefer trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Terrific spring meadow freshness, white peach and lemon blossom aromas. Such a vibrant wine with mountain stream clarity. Sleek, long finish with stacks of wet-stone minerality! Still very youthful. 93 (SP)

Gutzler  Rheinhessen  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Pump up the Volume! Fruit salad aromas, (orange and pear dominating), ripple thoguh the mouthfilling body of this full-throttle dry Riesling. Huge finish, but there’snothing unbalamnced about this! 90 (SP)

Hofmann  Rheinhessen  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 12% / This has the roundness and harmony that so many consumers don’t associate with dry Riesling. Anything but perfumed, the cool herbal aromas giving it a positively green personality. Good substance and textural complexity. 91 (SP)  

Fritz Eckehard Huff  Rheinhessen  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Boom! The yellow peach aroma of this entry-level wine is irresistible! And in spite of the frank juiciness this is cool and elegant. Long subtle finish! 92 (SP)

Georg Gustav Huff  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Roter Hang trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Excellent depth for this humble category with a touch of exotic fruit alongside the peach. Excellent balance of fine tannins and mineral acidity. 91 (SP)

Knewitz  Rheinhessen  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 11.5% / Very flinty and slightly funky, but this is one made to develop for some years and the funk will fade.  A wonderfully textural wine in spite of the lightness of touch, then a long very chalky finish. 92 (SP)

Krüger-Rumpf  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Binger trocken  2025 - 12.5% / White peach and Amalfi lemon are there in abundance, but that description doesn’t do the subtelty of this village wine justice. As precise as it is concentrated, stony freshness driving the long, energetic finish. 93 (SP)  

Kühling-Gillot  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Qvinterrra trocken  2025 - 12% / The delicate white peach and wild rose aromas give this sleek dry riesling plenty of charm. Lemonand wet-stone freshness on the sleek and pristine palate. Long, very clean finish. 91 (SP)

Kühling-Gillot  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Nackenheim trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Complex nose of red-fleshed vineyard peach and rosehips. Concentrated and focused on the very racy and intensely mineral palate. Uplifting brilliance at the verylong, precise finish. 94 (SP)

Kühling-Gillot  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Nierstein trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Brimming with peach, pear, wild herbs and leesy complexity this is a great village wine! Very firmly structured with a dense mineral core, but not a gram of fat it’s a radical expression of Nierstein with enormous aging potnetial.  95 (SP)

Rappenhof  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Heironymus und Alexander trocken  2025 - 12% / Fresh pear fruit and moderately crisp with restrained lemony acidity and atouch of tannin supporting the finish. 89 (SP)

Steitz  Rheinhessen  Riesling trocken  2025 - ??% / Sleek and stony with a herbal coolness, this is an authentic expression of Rheinhessen’s most rugged wine landscape. A hint of smoke at the pristine finish. 90 (SP) 

Wagner-Stempel  Rheinhessen  Riesling  trocken  2025 - 12% / The beauty of a peach from the North that slowly ripened slowly and is as juicy as it is refreshing! Amazing vibrancy and stony minerality on the sleek and super-cused palate for an entry-level wine. The hint of funk (from reduction) only adds to the excitment at the brilliant finish! Vinified in a mix of large oak and stainless steel casks. 93 (SP)

Wittmann  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Estate trocken  2025 - 12% / Wild nature says hi in this extremely expressive entry-level dry Riesling that’s brimming with chalky mineralityand wild herb character.  I love the dew-like freshness! Great drive at the very exciting finish. 94 (SP)

OFF-DRY RIESLING

In spite of the interest in "Kabis" these are still underrated.

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Kirschspiel Spätlese  2025 - ??% / Fantastic nose of yellow apple, white peach and honeysuckle. At once succulent, structured and vivid on the generous palate. Way less sweet then the clisché (that sometimes aligns with reality) for this category. Long, stony finish. 94 (SP)

Gunderloch  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Jean Baptiste  2025 - 10% / This is Kabinett style, but in its own distinctive way. Brimming with white peach and pear aromas, plus notes of chamomile and garden herbs this is a joyfully off-dry expression of the Red Slope! Good concentration is married to a spring-like freshness and excellent wet-stone minerality. 94 (SP) 

Rappenhof  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Heironymus und Alexander  2025 - 10.5% / Very juicy with a hint of unfermented grape sweetness, but the forthright appley acidity makes this very refreshing and pulls you back for more. 89 (SP)

Eva Vollmer  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Kabinett Holy Crab  2025 - ??% / Very juicy with abundant fruit salad aromas and minty freshness, this is a successful Kabinettfor a region that doesn’t specialize in this style. 90 (SP)

Wagner-Stempel  Rheinhessen  Riesling  Heerkretz Kabinett  2025 - ??% / The touch of over-ripeness gives this concentrated an extra dimension of aromatic expressive.  As much stone fruit as citrusare packed into this super-sleek,barely off-dry masterpiece. Huge stony minerality at the compact and dynamic finish. 95 (SP)

DRY WEISSBURGUNDER, GRAUBURGUNDER & CHARDONNAY

The best wines here are excellent, but quite a few taste are easy-drinking summer wines.

Brüder Dr. Becker  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder  trocken 2025 - 12.5% /

Well-rounded and winey, with generous lemon jelly and dried apple character, the balance of restrained tannins, delicate chalkiness and lively acidity making it a very flexible wine for summer dishes. 90 (SP) 

Bischel  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / This dry Pinot Blanc has attractive candiedlime and lemon aromasplus a touch of flint. Cool and focused in spite of the mid-palate creaminess. Not so long. 89 (SP)

Bischel  Rheinhessen  Grauburgunder  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / A well-made, properly dry Pinot Gris that has a good balance of creaminess with melon and pomelo fruit. Well-rounded and not a jot too heavy. 89 (SP)

Lisa Bunn  Rheinhessen  Chardonnay  Vom Kalkstein trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Lemon curd and accacia blossom aromas pullyou into the deftly-crafted Chardonnay that marriesrestrainedfreshness with roundendess. Everything fits beautifully. Dried herb complexity at the finish. 92 (SP) 

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Grauburgunder  trocken  2025 - 12% / Generous summer apple and fresh nut character fills out the properly dry, medium-bodied palate. Good freshness at the finish for this grape! 90 (SP)

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Grauburgunder  Westhofen trocken  2025 - 12.5% /  Quite a serious wine for this fashionable grape with plenty of structure and some mineralty. Wonderfully fresh and animating at the finely-nuanced finish. From the Aulerde GG site. 92 (SP)

Gunderloch  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder  Vom Kalk trocken - 12.5% / The cool aromas ofgreen beans and garden herbs pull you into this sleek dry Pinot Blanc. The tannins at the finish are a surprise, but they actually fit well and anchor the wine. 90 (SP)

Gutzler  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Very bold and powerful for an entry-level wine, summer vegetable and fresh nut aromas fill out the ample body.Enough acidity to balance all this though. 89 (SP)

Hofmann  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / I love the spring-like freshness of this dry Pinot blanc with its positive summer vegetable character on the silky and animating palate. 90 (SP)

Hofmann  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder & Chardonnay Appenheim trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Still very youthful, but the interplay of creaminess with delicate toasty oak and chalky minerality. Depth without any hint of heaviness, then a long, complete finish. 92 (SP) 

Kühling-Gillot  Rheinhessen  Grauburgunder  Réserve trocken  2025 - 12% / A strikingly original wine for this popcategroy that’s creamy and well-structured in spite of the lightbody. Ripe melon and yellow apple aromas, also a touch of caramelized apple character at the crisp finish. 91 (SP)

Kühling-Gillot  Rheinhessen  Chardonnay  Réserve trocken  2025 - 12% / Full candied citrus fruit, restrained creaminess and tannins that gently build at the wine at the finish make this a good introduction to Rheinhessen Chardonnay. 90 (SP)

Rappenhof  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder  Heironymus und Alexander trocken  2025 - 12% / The bright nose of freshly sliced ripe pear pulls you into this juicy, well-rounded, yet fresh dry white. Very harmonious and easy-going. 89 (SP)

Rappenhof  Rheinhessen  Grauburgunder  Heironymus und Alexander trocken  2025 - 12% / Full melon fruitis married to youthful freshness. On the light side for this grape, but animating with a silky finish. 89 (SP)

Wagner-Stempel  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / A stunning entry level dry Pinot Blanc! Remarkable textural complexity on the creamy and elegant palate, the power deftly underplayed. Somuch nuttyand smoky character at the very long, polished finish. Due to the low yield this was vinified 50/50 in large oak and stainless steel casks. 93 (SP)

Schloss Westerhaus  Rheinhessen  Weissburgunder  trocken  2025 - ??% / This sleek, dry Pinot Blanc marries leesy creaminess with lemon blossom freshness and some structure to give an appeling and character expression of this popular grape. Good length. 90 (SP) 

Schloss Westerhaus  Rheinhessen  Chardonnay & Weissburgunder  trocken  2025 ??% / Quite creamy with plenty of lemon pie character, this is harmonious and appealing, but a bit short. 89 (SP)

DRY SILVANER

An unfashionable category, but every single wine rated 90+ !

Brüder Dr. Becker  Rheinhessen  Silvaner  trocken  2025 - 12.5% /

I love the cool fern and moss freshness of this self-confidently herbal, medium-bodied silvaner that has good depth and a satisfyingly crisp finish. 90 (SP)

Bischel  Rheinhessen  Silvaner  trocken  2025 - 12.5% /  This very successful entry-level wine makes you wonder why so few consumers take this grape seriously. Well-structured with ample chalky minerality, fine tannins and elegant acidity. Good herbal complexity at the finish! Vinified in a combination of stainless steel and used oak casks. 91 (SP) 

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Silvaner  trocken  2025 - 13% / I like the juiciness of this wine with its generous golden autumn fruit aromas, and it’sso light on its feet for awine with this alcoholic content at the long, harmonious finish. From old vines in the Aulerde GG site. 90 (SP)

Wagner-Stempel  Rheinhessen  Silvaner  trocken  2025 - 12% / I love the interplay of the yellow apple and quince fruit with the chalky minerality and restrained creaminess of this remarkably focused and structured expression of this underrated grape. Plenty of white-stone freshness and a touch of flint too. 92 (SP)

DRY ROSÉ & BLANC DE NOIRS

Clearly the weakest category in the region.

Brüder Dr. Becker  Rheinhessen  Spätburgunder Rosé  2025 - 12.5% / Generous and juicy with stacks of dried strawberry and raspberry cream, but also a healthy structure, this may strike some as old-fashioned, but this has real character! 90 (SP) 

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Spätburgunder  Rosé trocken  2025 - 12.5% / This rosé is anything but modern,tutti-frutti, in fact it has a Burgundian feel to it with a well-rounded body, textural richness and along supple finish. 90 (SP)

Groebe  Rheinhessen  Spätburgunder  Blanc de Noirs Kundry trocken  2025 - 12.% / This looks like a champagne base wine, is light and creamy with fairlysoft acidity. A little simple, but well-made. 88 (SP)

Gunderloch  Rheinhessen  Spätburgunder  Steinnelke Rosé trocken - 12.5% / This pale rosé is youthful, fresh and well-made, but it’s very light and simple. Short finish. 87 (SP)

Gutzler  Rheinhessen  Spätburgunder  Blanc de Noir trocken  2025 - 12% /  The aromas that remind me of lemon sherbet and freez-dried rapsberry may not be for everyone, but this has more substance than most German blanc de noirs and the freshness at the finish pulls you back for more. 89 (SP)

St. Antony  Rheinhessen  Love & Hope  Rosé  2025 - 11.5% / Brimming with red berries this is at oncevibrant and supple. The delicate spiciness at the finish gives this personality that is often missing in this catgeory. Everything fits beautifully on the light-bodied palate. A 50/50 cuvée of Pinot Noir and Blaufränkisch. 90 (SP)

SAUVIGNON BLANC, SCHEUREBE & CO.

2025 is an excellent vintage for all these aromatic grapes. 

Brüder Dr. Becker  Rheinhessen  Souvignier Gris  trocken  2025 - 13% / Although this is from only 6 year old vines it reallyshows what this fungal resistant grape variety can do. Ripe and fleshy with plenty of mirabelle and quince fruit on the well rounded palate where fine tannins provide the structure. Appealing msummer meadow freshness. (90)

Bischel  Rheinhessen  Scheurebe  trocken  2025 - 12.5% / Effusive cassis and grapefruit aromas pull you into this bright and succulent dry white. Lovely freshness at the silky finish. 90 (SP)

Espenhof  Rheinhessen  Sauvignon Blanc  trocken  2025 -  ??% / This combines the white currant, cassis and pink grapefruit aromas plus zesty freshness that I expect from Sauvignon in Rheinhessen with stony and leesy complexity. And there are 40,000 bottles of this! 90 (SP)

Mirjam Schneider  Rheinhessen  Sauvignon Blanc  Wirbelwind *** trocken 2025 - 12% / With discreet dried herbs and cassis aromas, this is a surprisingly well-rounded example of this popular grape and tastes bigger than 12%. For me it misses a bit of freshness and energy at the finish. 88 (SP)

Mirjam Schneider  Rheinhessen  Scheurebe  Distelfink *** trocken  2025 - 12.5% / This marries bright whitecurrant and elderflower aromas with creaminess and an elegant acidity on the well-balanced palate. 90 (SP)

Seehof (Fauth)  Rheinhessen  Scheurebe  Vom Kalkstein trocken  2025 - ??% / Who needs Sauvigon Blanc when dry Schreuebe shines this bright? Marries the vegetal expressiveness I associate with Sauvignon to a the elegant roundness of good Scheu. Long filigree finish with pronounced shalky minerality. 92 (SP) 

Eva Vollmer  Rheinhessen  Souvignier Gris  trocken  2025 - 13.5% / For an entry level wine this is rich and powerful, but being picking late has enabled this fungal resistant grape to give a much more interesting wine than usual. Aromas of persimmon and quince jelly. The restrained tannins help this carry the full body, but slightly warm finish. 89 (SP) 

Wagner-Stempel  Rheinhessen  Scheurebe  trocken  2025 - 12% / Effusive aromas oflemon curdandpeach melba, then very good depth and structure on the fairly sleek palate. Elegant long finish with so much charm how could you not be pulled back for more? 92 (SP)