ob2s
Posts: 1689
Joined: 1/30/2007
From: SW Portland Ore
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So, re Kabinett, Spaetlese, Auslese [KSA] (BA,TBA, Eiswein are almost always dessert wine)
German Regulations for these QmP wines dictate the sugar levels at harvest. 50 years ago this meant the Spaetlese was sweeter than the Kabinett and the Auslese sweeter than the Spaetlese. Now it is different (sometimes), however if you think about these in terms of increasing density or maybe intensity, then we can move on to Feinherb, Trocken etc, in a minute.
Due to this thing called globa.... I mean hotter summers, even the traditionally sweet [KSA] can be sweeter that what was traditional. A Kabinett should be the driest of the 3, but the regulations are such that you can pick at Auslese sugar levels and label it Kabinett. So when it comes to regular KSA, you have to use ABV #s to determine how sweet it will be. All this of course changes over time in bottle, a lot of time really. When you see a Kabinett with 7.0% ABV, this could have been a Beerenauslese in 1973. A 'classic' Kabinett is on the order of 10ish% ABV.
The German palate has changed quite a bit, maybe rebelling against the ocean of sweet **** in blue bottles shipped the world over, but anyway, they drink more dry riesling than traditionally sweet wines. Much of it is exported.
Trocken: These are of course vinified to levels considered dry. 11.5->14% ABV. The great unwashed can have a Trocken wine and say it is sweet. Yes there is resid sugar, but intensity of fruit is NOT always sugar. You can have KSA Trocken wines, these can be very special, like a 2015 Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese*** Trocken I had over the holidays. It was very dense, fruity yet dry. It was Grand '2Live' Cru. It can be a hassle to meet the regulations of KSA (chapitalisation,etc) when you want to make a Trocken wine. So many high end trocken wines are called Qualitaetswein, which can also be a designation of 3 euro wines. Most Grosses Gewaechs (grand cru-ish) dry wines are from the best parcels of the vineyard but are labeled Qualitaetswein. And they actually are quality and $$$.
Halbtrocken: Same as above for KSA but used less often now, ABV ~ 10-11.5%. This is an official term with ABV regulations.
Feinherb: It is kind of like Halbtrocken with more flexibility. So now we transition to opinion.... Feinherb is a concept really. What can the wine maker do to achieve the perfect balance between sweet and dry ? If they find that combination, the bottle might reflect that by putting Feinherb on the label. These are the wines I really have a passion for. You can find KSA Feinherbs as well as Qualitaetswein Feinherbs. Not every Feinherb is the ultimate expression, of course, wine is life. Winemakers also use Feinherb to make a Kabinett for instance that has classic dry-ish characteristics.
VDP and Grosses Gewaechs is another discussion, but one thing I can say is that this labeling means a GG good deal is rare.
< Message edited by ob2s -- 1/10/2018 12:17:20 PM >
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German Riesling Producers - thoughts? - 
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