The best 30 dry German wines from the 2026 Grosses Gewächs releases

Swirl, sniff, taste, spit out – for three days, the 250 or so experts in the colonnades of the Wiesbaden Kurhaus do little else.

It is the annual ritual for wine critics, sommeliers and merchants from all over the world, who gather here at the end of August to taste and evaluate the new ‘Große Gewächse’ (or Grosses Gewächs, the 'Grands Crus') for the first time.

The so-called ‘GGs’ are the dry, top-quality German wines of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP, Association of German Predicate Wine Estates), which has around 200 members.

This time, 396 of their GG wines were available for tasting. The focus was primarily on two vintages: the white Grosses Gewächs from 2025, led by Riesling, and the red Grosses Gewächs from 2024, particularly Pinot Noir (known as Spätburgunder in Germany).

Riesling as the star

Of course, Riesling is the star, but one that once again did not make life easy for winemakers in 2025. Although – unlike in 2024 – Germany's vineyards were at least spared from frost.

Every year is different, and 2025 began warm and extremely dry; then there were a few regional showers – and suddenly the heat and drought returned.

This resulted in small, thick-skinned berries, but only in small quantities, which then needed to be harvested quickly.

This drought stress is evident in some wines, particularly certain Rieslings from the Mosel: bitter notes can be detected on the palate.

In the best cases, these provide a delicious balance to the more mature acidity in the fruit-forward wines and, consequently, to the obvious fruit sweetness.

The VDP describes a ‘turbo autumn’ during the harvest. Winegrowers in the Pfalz (Palatinate) and Rheinhessen, in particular, coped well with this.

VDP President Steffen Christmann, himself a winemaker in the Pfalz, speaks of exceptional complexity and density in the white wines: low yields and fully ripe grapes have produced concentration, whilst a pronounced acidity lends the wines tension and precision.

Those who harvested their grapes at just the right moment have produced wines that truly display an impressive combination of ripeness and freshness, of fruit intensity and acidity.

The Riesling Abts E from Weingut Keller and the Morstein from Wittmann in Rheinhessen are outstanding. The precision, clarity and beauty of both wines were exceptional.

Surprisingly, third favourite among the 2025 Rieslings this time comes from Franconia (Franken), a region otherwise better known for Silvaner.

However, the Rudolf Fürst winery is located in the far west of the region, outside the epicentre of Silvaner production – and the Centgrafenberg vineyard, with its red sandstone, evidently suits Riesling just as well as Pinot Noir.

The Rieslings from the Nahe are also noteworthy.

Whites beyond Riesling

As always, when it comes to Silvaner, the Stein-Harfe from Bürgerspital is a safe bet, and for Pinot Blanc (Weißburgunder), ‘Pinot Blanc World Champion’ Rebholz with his wine from the Mandelberg.

The 2024 Chardonnays, on the other hand, are disappointing. Superstar Julian Huber from Baden says he has decided not to bottle a single Grosses Gewächs with it this year.

The Schlumberger-Bernhart winery, also in Baden, was at least able to present a very respectable wine.

In Rheinhessen, Chardonnay is not yet permitted for Grosses Gewächs; otherwise, the Keller winery could have presented a world-class Bâtard-Montrachet-style wine in Wiesbaden with its 2024 Chardonnay from the Wachenheimer Rotenberg.

The best reds: navigate the challenges

Everyone is still feeling the effects of the heatwave of 2026 – and many are quick to forget that the weather just two years ago was exactly the opposite: late frosts, high humidity, resulting in significant pressure from fungal diseases, and uneven ripening made that year a real challenge.

The result was significantly higher acidity and fruit that seemed rather cool on the palate. However, the best winemakers knew how to turn the situation to their advantage for their red wines.

The Rings brothers from the Pfalz, together with Klaus-Peter and Felix Keller from Rheinhessen, have taken the lead among the red wines.

Keller’s wine from the Zellerweg am Schwarzen Herrgott vineyard in the cool, yet very dry, Zellertal valley displays captivating finesse and elegance with a silky texture.

Father and son attribute this primarily to their high-density planting of more than 20,000 vines per hectare. ‘This creates the finesse and depth,’ they say.

Only the Rings brothers can keep up at this level with their 2024 Pinot Noir from Saumagen – one of the Pfalz’s most traditional vineyards.

In this small valley basin, which opens out to the south and south-east, the soil consists of calcareous marl intermixed with numerous limestone fragments.

Here, everything simply came together in just the right balance: warmth and cooler nights, rain at just the right time.

Added to this was the right instinct to include only very few whole bunches in the fermentation this year.

The blend of new and used barriques during ageing was also spot on. A great wine from a vintage that was perhaps not quite so great.

2026 Grosses Gewächs releases – 30 top wines to try

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