What do Austria, Germany and Alsace, a short hop over the Rhine, have in common? Very little, purists might say, but, nudged by a reader, I’d argue that this wine-producing trio are on the same page. For starters all three remain relatively unfashionable and decidedly undervalued compared with the prestigious and pricey bottles from elsewhere in France and in Italy. All three enjoy cool northern grape-growing climates, handy in an era when drought-affected European vintages are increasingly common. In addition, all three are better known for white wines than red; about two thirds of Austria and Germany’s production is turned into white wines, and rather more than that in Alsace.
From a drinker’s viewpoint it’s the aromatic, bright, refreshing, streamlined, sparky, food-friendly fruit flavours of all three that linger in the mind, boosted by higher acidity and, most of the time, lower alcohol. In an over-oaked wine world it’s also a relief to note that the trio are all about fruit, not oak.
The signature grape of the three is riesling, but here’s where the similarities end. German riesling, from the best steep slate-soil sites, has a racy rapier precision with taut acidity and citrus-blossom scents, as well as lots of lime and green apple on the palate. Even at the cheap-and-cheerful end, German riesling has greatly improved. Tesco’s 2023 Finest Mosel Steep Slopes Riesling is a spritzy, greeny-white, lime-blossom charmer (Tesco, £7.25). With noticeably warmer German harvests, stone-fruit riesling flavours creep in.
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In comparison sunnier Austria, to the south, produces pure, minerally rieslings with more punch and spice. Be quick and nab the last few bottles of Aldi’s delicious pepper and nutmeg-spiced 2022 Specially Selected Austrian Riesling (in-store only, £4.99, down from £8.49).
The fruit and flower-garden whites from dry, sunny Alsace are more aromatic still, with a wide range of flavours from hundreds of soil types. It’s hard to pick just one perfumed white from the pack, but there’s nowt like a great gewurztraminer to lift a dull day. The Turckheim co-operative makes some wonderful wines; tuck into its lovely, luscious, rose and violet-scented 2022 Gewurztraminer (Waitrose, £11.49).
For all that, it’s Germany’s seductive and now properly ripe reds I keep coming back to. Assmanhausen in the Rheingau has long been the place for pinot noir, and quality is soaring — check out the ripe, nutty, smoke and creosote-edged gem that is the 2020 Assmannshäuser Rotschiefer pinot noir from Künstler (thewinesociety.com, £24).
From left: Taste the Difference Grüner Veltline; Domaine Schoenheitz Gewurztraminer; Donnhoff Tonschiefer Dry Slate Riesling; Bercher Burkheimer Feuerberg Spatburgunder
Alsatian, Austrian and German stars
2023 Taste the Difference Grüner Veltliner, Austria
12.5 per cent, Sainsburys, £11
A crisp, zingy, fruity, white pepper and aniseed-licked grüner from Markus Huber’s 30-year-old vines.
2021 Domaine Schoenheitz Gewurztraminer, Alsace
13.5 per cent, leaandsandeman.co.uk, £19.95
Splash out on this gorgeous exotic gewurz with its refreshing yet sweet lychee and rose-petal fruit.
2022 Dönnhoff Tonschiefer Dry Slate Riesling, Germany
12 per cent, tanners-wines.co.uk, £25.50
Get a lot of bang for your buck with this wonderfully steely, spritzy, mouthwatering lime zest gem.
2015 Bercher Burkheimer Feuerberg Spätburgunder, Germany
13.5 per cent, thewinesociety.com, £36
Splurge on this delicious single-vineyard pinot noir, with masses of taut, smoky, black pepper and strawberry.
From left: Edmundo Malbec; Specially Selected Toscana Rosso; Orvieto Classico; Le Grand Retour Malbec de Cahors
Star buys of the week
2022 Edmundo Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina
13.5 per cent, Waitrose, £8.99, down from £11.99
I wouldn’t pay £11.99 for this bold, spice box and mulberry-fruited, French oak-aged malbec, but at under £9 it’s a steal.
2022 Specially Selected Toscana Rosso, Italy
14 per cent, Aldi, £7.89
Dusky, earthy, new-wave Tuscan — a judicious, savoury mix of sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
2023 Orvieto Classico, Italy
12.5 per cent, Co-op, £6.85
Light, floral, herby, unoaked, screw-capped, traditional Umbrian white, with that classic bitter nip on the finish.
2021 Le Grand Retour Malbec de Cahors, France
13.5 per cent, Majestic, £12.99
Check out the original French malbec, with this robust yet unoaked, surprisingly juicy, black-fruited example.