I decided to try a range of (mostly late harvest) dry Rieslings. A little background, forgive any mistakes, I am a wine novice. I like white wines primarily. Großes Gewächs (GG) came recommended on this sub. It is an unofficial designation of the voluntary group VDP but may also indicate some of the best dry Rieslings. A little research indicated that there may be some very interesting wines of similar technique sold as Spätlese (late harvest) or Auslese (select harvest) trocken (dry). My understanding is that Auslese, Spätlese and trocken are rigidly defined under German law and predate the GG designation which has no legal standing but is nonetheless well respected.
These were all drank at room temperature as I prefer. I find chilled wine quite off-putting other than Champagne.
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# Selbach Oster 2014 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese trocken
[https://www.selbach-oster.de/](https://www.selbach-oster.de/)
Color: I would say gold and green.
Aroma: Subtle grape fragrance, little or no floral, fresh and crisp – very clean smelling.
First small sip: Acidity overwhelms flavor.
First glass: Very very smooth green apple taste. Very delicately flavored. Dry and light, extremely well balanced.
Second glass: By far the tastiest glass of wine (or champagne) I’ve had yet (when I drank it). For an acidic wine it has a fantastic smoothness. I’ve only had one kind of Sancerre but this is what I would’ve hoped for in Sancerre and did not quite find. I have high hopes for the next two bottles.
“The finest green apple juice made from a magical tree in an orchard with a unicorn.”
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# Markus Molitor 2016 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese** trocken
[https://markusmolitor.com/](https://markusmolitor.com/)
This is only marked as trocken on the back label in the descriptive text but is indicated as dry by the white capsule. Decided just to try the two star rather than three because it was already pretty pricey.
Color: Light yellow or straw, very little green.
Aroma: Very clean fruit smell. Subtle aroma that I would describe as oak and reminds me a little of Chardonnay. Slight what I would call yeast or musty smell.
First small sip: Amazingly delicate for first sip, slight floral notes. Acidity did not overwhelm.
First glass: Apricot and hint of floral. Very nice flavor. The fully ripe nature of the grapes seems to show. Despite aroma I don’t notice much oak taste. There is an aftertaste I can’t put my finger on, more of the apricot taste I think. Light and dry but with a sophisticated taste to me. I would not say it is as profoundly good tasting as the Selbach Oster but it seems less acidic, smoother and the apricot (or so) taste is a welcomed change.
Second glass: Taste is a bit cleaner now. Still apricot. It’s distinctly not as pure and clean tasting as the Selbach was but the fruitier flavor is very interesting. The light bodied nature is pleasant as is the slight floral note. Really a potpourri for the nose and tongue. I have rarely tasted fully ripe grapes in my life so I don’t have a frame of reference for how that impacts the flavor here. If this were not dry and light bodied it would not be appealing to me but taken to its base and subtle notes it is quite nice.
Third glass: Very dry and light, pleasant. Kudos to producer. At this point the flavor blends in to the range of the Selbach Oster aside from the distinct fruity aftertaste, and seemingly lower acidity. Smooth.
Bit of grass taste after vaping cannabis.
I don’t see this in tasting notes but I find a somewhat more cerebral effect from this wine than most.
I have also tried the \*\*\* (three star) of this same wine and it is excellent, even more refined. More delightful peach and apricot tones. Well worth the price. I highly recommend either of these.
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# Maximin Grünhaus 2017 Abtsberg GG
[https://maximingruenhaus.de/](https://maximingruenhaus.de/)
Color: Light yellow and golden
Aroma: Crisp, apricot, maybe slight peach. Perceive some yeast as with Molitor Auslese. Slightly fruitier smell than prior two bottles.
First small sip: Acidity overwhelms, some grape (cv. ‘Cotton Candy’) aftertaste.
First glass: Definitely tastes of what I perceive to be ripe grapes. A fruitiness close to apricots. Very smooth, a slight roundness I guess? Does not seem highly acidic or extremely dry even though I know it must be both. Strangely after another swallow I got some green apple which has persisted but balanced with the original apricot/grape flavor. There is a slight bitterness.
Second glass: Very light and fine tasting wine. The history of the terroir of this bottle is interesting, it is clearly a good location for a vineyard. As with the Selbach Oster I am reminded of fine, almost magical tasting green apple juice but in this case with a distinct apricot flavor. Continue to get distinct subtle hints of the grape ‘Cotton Candy’ (which may be primarily available in the US) but not in a cloying or off-putting way. Very delicate body, reminding me of rose water (in consistency not smell) as had Sancerre.
I feel this also has a cerebral effect like the Auslese. Not sure if there is any science behind that or if others have experienced that sort of thing.
Also vaguely grassy notes after cannabis but mostly green apple.
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# Markus Molitor Graacher Domprobst Spätlese white capsule (trocken) 2016
[https://markusmolitor.com/](https://markusmolitor.com/)
Color: Yellow
Aroma: Unremarkable dry white wine smell
First small sip: Lovely fruitiness
First glass: Very delicate. Apricot. Flowery.
Second glass: Not quite as acidic as I might like but very pleasant.
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# Karthäuserhofberg GG 2013
[https://www.karthaeuserhof.com/](https://www.karthaeuserhof.com/)
Color: Deep yellow
Aroma: A bit grapey
First small sip: Very nice grape flavor, balanced acidity, fruity.
First glass: Delightful fruity flavor without being sweet. Distinct grapefruit taste but not too sour. Tastes about like the juice left over from eating half a grapefruit with some sugar on top. Mostly lacks the peach and apricot flavors common to the other Mosel rieslings.
Second glass: Really nice flavor. Fairly unique but not strange. One of the best of the bunch from memory. Definitely shows a little age. To me this is a more sophisticated flavor than the others but I wouldn’t say complex at all. It’s actually quite straight forward in flavor.
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# Dönnhoff Felsenberg GG 2018
[https://www.doennhoff.com/](https://www.doennhoff.com/)
Color: Faint yellow
Aroma: Slightly fruity
First small sip: Sour, very little sugar
First glass: Quite a dry wine, and bitter, at first. I had a white Bordeaux the night before so it is a sharp contrast. After I am accustomed to the flavor it is quite pleasant, evocative of Sancerre. Probably a more sophisticated type of dry taste than I am used to.
Second glass: Very much along the lines of Sancerre but less bitter and bone dry than the example I’ve had. A little fruitier than that but similar. I can’t say that to me this is worth the price of the bottle but I am sure that to people who prefer absolutely dry wines this would be a delight. Very clean tasting, water-like without being watery.
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# Müller-Catoir Haardt Riesling trocken 2017
[https://www.mueller-catoir.de/](https://www.mueller-catoir.de/)
Color: Yellow green
Aroma: Somewhat apple or pear, definite fruit smell
First small sip: Sour and a little watery
First glass: Good green fruit taste. Pleasant but fairly unremarkable compared to the other Rieslings here. Not quite acidic enough for how it tastes but good.
Second glass: The wateriness is actually pleasant, this is nice. Good summer wine. It’s not fair to compare to the others given the entry level price of this wine. This is not as good as a the Hugel Alsatian riesling I like so much at a similar price, unless you favor for the lighter body of something like this. Slight floral tones are pleasant.
Third glass: Some people might actually prefer this to the others, not I though. It’s quite good at any rate.
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# Maximin Grünhaus 2018 Monopol
[https://maximingruenhaus.de/](https://maximingruenhaus.de/)
Color: Faint yellow
Aroma: Fruity
First small sip: Very pleasant, nice acidity and fruitiness
First glass: This is not in the same league as the Auslesen or GGe above but for the price it is very nice. Pleasant acidity minerality but at first taste not as much of the wonderful peach, pear, etc. fruitiness that the late harvest wines have. I would say it is has a… wine taste, with some degree of green fruit. In the US this is a $20 wine and compared to American wines at the same price I think this is still fairly priced after the overhead of importing. It definitely does make me appreciate Auslesen. After my palate become accustomed there are distinct fruit flavors, perhaps I just had not properly cleansed it first. To me, estate wines are always worth a premium versus those from varied sources, and this one being wholly owned is also a distinguishing factor because some vineyards are jointly owned in Germany.
Second glass: Good tasting. I think the wild yeast shows and this has, as far as I remember, some of the same qualities as the Maximin GG. This has something of the delightfulness of the Auslesen once you get accustomed to the flavor.
Third glass: Actually some of the late harvest flavor in here. Nice bottle.
Later bottle of the same on a different day: Different palate yielded peach, apricot, pineapple flavors. Delightful wild yeast. This is a well priced wine.
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# Molitor Ockfener Bockstein Spätlese White Capsule (Trocken) 2016
[https://markusmolitor.com/](https://markusmolitor.com/)
Color: Light yellow, slightly green
Aroma: Sharp, slightly musty
First sip: Very nice apricot flavor, ripe
First glass: Well rounded Spätlese flavor, fruity while dry. Nice acidity. A certain freshness despite the ripeness – ripe for Riesling, fresh for fruit. If there were a fruit that tasted like this, like a cross between a peach and a pineapple, it would probably be my favorite fruit. Compares favorably with other late harvest rieslings.
Second glass: Nice. Little bit spicy.
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