Rheingau Rieslings for a renaissance

A showing of mainly 2008s from Rheingau members of the VDP association of top German wine producers in London last February showed clearly just what a 'refreshing' vintage this is. The 2008s from Künstler (pictured) showed especially well and I may well have been too conservative in my suggested drinking dates.

A comparison of Leitz winemaker Eva Fricke's own 2008 and 2009 Lorcher Krone Rieslings last week confirmed that the 2009s are delightfully open and welcoming but perhaps lack the rigour and possibly longevity of the best 2008s. According to old-timer Dr Franz Michel of Domdechant Werner'sches, '2008 is a...