The BerlinKabinettCup 2015 took place in Berlin, Germany, a few weeks ago, orchestrated by Martin Zwick. 39 German Riesling Kabinett 2014 wines were included and ranked in the tasting. 2/3 of the wines came from the Mosel Saar Ruwer area. The wines were blind-tasted by 12 sommeliers, wine writers and wine retailers.
Martin Zwick: I select the wines for my Cup based on tastings, recommendations and reading. I serve the wines blind in 2er flights and after 5 flights the jury has to give their scores based on the 100pts-system. Then the next 5 flights will continue. At the end when all wines have received their scores I will show the wines. BTW, the best/worst scores of each wine will be deleted. Note: The estates JJ Prüm and Molitor didn´t send bottles, as it is too early for them. In addition Egon Müller doesn´t provide tasting bottles for competitions, never.
See also:
Carl von Schubert from the Maximin Gruenhaus Estate Returned a Favor: With his Wines in Washington DC (and in Seattle), USA
Riesling
There are about 47000 hectares planted with Riesling worldwide. Germany – with 22500 hectares – accounts for about half of the total. The second and third largest Riesling producer are the US (mainly Washington State and Finger Lakes Region) with 4800 hectares and Australia with 4100 hectares. But this is only about 1/10 of the total. Alsace follows with 3500 hectares. Alsace, Ukraine and Austria follow with 3500 hectares, 2700 hectares and 1900 hectares, respectively.
See also:
Wine Tasting at Weingut Gunderloch in Nackenheim, with Owners and Winemaker Fritz Hasselbach and Agnes Hasselbach-Usinger – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Overall, Riesling is really a niche wine, accounting for less than 1 percent of total wine production in the world - but a very special niche wine. In terms of quality wines, Riesling is usually included in the top three white wine varieties, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Riesling is highly terroir-expressive, meaning that the character of Riesling wines is clearly influenced by the wine’s place of origin.
See also:
Thomas Haag, Weingut Schloss Lieser, Germany’s Winemaker of the Year, Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2015
Martin Zwick and his Berlin Cups
Martin Zwick was initially known for organizing the BerlinRieslingCup every year. The BerlinRieslingCup is about Germany’s ultra-premium dry grand cru (Grosses Gewächs) Rieslings from Grosse Lage vineyards. It typically takes place in the second half of September, following the release of the Grosses Gewächs wines of the previous year.
See also:
Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Von Hövel in Konz, Saar Valley, Mosel, with Owner and Winemaker Max von Kunow - Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
In the following years, he added 3 other Berlin Cups: The BerlinGutsrieslingCup, which reviews and rates entry-level Rieslings. The BerlinKabinettCup: A ranking of off-dry, light Rieslings that carry the Kabinett predicate. Finally, the BerlinSpätburgunderCup, a ranking of German Pinot Noirs.
Thus, there are now 4 BerlinCups: BerlinRieslingCup, BerlinGutsRieslingCup, BerlinKabinettCup and BerlinSpätburgunderCup. See more below.
Picture: Christian Schiller with Armin and Caroline Diel at Schlossgut Diel See also:
Tasting with Sylvain Taurisson Diel at Schlossgut Diel, Nahe– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
What is a Kabinett?
What is a Kabinett? That depends. In the framework of the standard classification of German wine (the Law of 1971), Kabinett has a different meaning than in the framework of the new classification adopted by the VDP.
See also:
Dorothee Zilliken, Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken Presents her Noble Rieslings at Frankfurt/Wein in Frankfurt, Germany
In the standard classification, a Kabinett is defined by the sugar content of the grapes at harvest. It is a wine made from grapes harvested with a sugar content of 67 to 87 degrees Öchsle that was not chaptalized. Such a wine can be fully fermented and become dry. These are the Kabinett Trocken wines.
See also:
Lunch and Wine Tasting at Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt in Morscheid, Mosel with Owner Annegret Reh-Gartner – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Alternatively, the winemaker could stop the fermentation so that natural sugar remains in the finished wine (and perhaps add a bit of sterilized juice – Süssreserve) to produce a wine that is fruity-sweet. That could be indicated on the label as Kabinett Feinherb, or Kabinett Halbtrocken.
See also:
Wine Tasting and Cellar Tour at Weingut Dönnhoff with Christina Dönnhoff– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
In sum: In the framework of the standard classification of German wine, a Kabinett could be a dry or a fruity-sweet wine, with the terms Trocken, Feinherb and Halbtrocken indicating the sweetness level in the wine. In both cases, it is a rather light wine, made with grapes that were picked early in the harvest.
The VDP producers have introduced a new classification, very much based on the Burgundian approach. In their new classification, Kabinett no longer stands for a certain ripeness of the grapes at harvest, but stands for a certain sweetness level of the wine in the bottle. If a winemaker harvests grapes at the Kabinett level (in terms of sugar content at harvest), but wants to make a dry wine out of it, the winemaker has to market the wine as Qualitaetswein (QbA).
See also:
Ernst Loosen Presented his Wines at Weingut Dr. Loosen, Bernkastel-Kues, Mosel Valley, Germany
Only wines that have a certain sweetness in the finished wine can be sold as Kabinett. Kabinett Trocken does not exist for VDP producers (although some VDP members still produce Kabinett trocken during a transition period). All the wines sold as Kabinett are in a certain Kabinett sweetness range.
For the VDP winemakers, Kabinett is an indication of a certain sweetness profile. And Auslese is sweeter than Spätlese and Spätlese sweeter than Kabinett. The terms “Halbtrocken” and “Feinherb” have become redundant in the VDP classification system.
See also:
Kiedrich: Visit of the Basilica of Saint Valentine and of Weingut Robert Weil - Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
The wines in the BerlinKabinettCup 2015 were all wines where the fermentation was interrupted to generate a wine “that dances” as Stephen Rheinhardt has put it in the Sueddeutschen Zeitung: A low alcohol wine with some remaining sweetness – Feinherb and Halbtrocken Kabinetts, no Trocken Kabinetts.
Martin Zwick: I made this "BerlinKabinettCup" not because of another Cup, not because of ranking, not because of scores. The true star is the KABINETT. Here in Germany Kabinett was heavily overlooked in the last years, as most people drank trocken, trocken, trocken. My "BerlinKabinettCup" created awareness in Germany for Kabinett and now the people buy more Kabinett. That´s all about.
Pictures: In the Garden of Weingut Schäetzel with Kai Schätzel See also:
Tour, Tasting, and Lunch at Weingut Schätzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
BerlinKabinettCup 2015 Ranking
2014 Weiser-Künstler Ellergrub 90pts.
2014 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg 90pts.
2014 Willi Schaefer Himmelreich 90pts.
2014 Gunderloch Jean Baptiste
2014 Schäfer-Fröhlich Felseneck
2014 JB Schäfer Pittermännchen
2014 Julian Haart Ohligsberg
2014 A.J. Adam Hofberg
2014 Schloss Lieser Wehlener Sonnenuhr
2014 R.Haart Goldtröpfchen
2014 Schloss Lieser Juffer
2014 von Hövel Hütte Vollmondwein VS
2014 Diel Pittermännchen
2014 von Hövel Oberemmler Hütte
2014 Julian Haart Goldtröpfchen
2014 Grünhäuser Abtsberg
2014 Zilliken Rausch
2014 Diel Goldloch
2014 von Kesselstatt Domprobst feinherb
2014 Meierer Kesten
2014 Peter Lauer Kupp Fass Nr. 5
2014 Dönnhoff Leistenberg
2014 Zilliken Bockstein
2014 Karthäuserhof Karthäuserhofberg
2014 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen
2014 Robert Weil
2014 St.-UrbansHof Bockstein
2014 Schätzel Nierstein
2014 Schloss Johannisberg Rotlack
2014 Wagner Stempel Siefersheim
2014 MF Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr
2014 Willi Schaefer Domprobst
2014 Werther Windisch
2014 Fritz Haag Brauneberger
2014 St.-UrbansHof Goldtröpfchen
2014 MF Richter Elisenberger
2014 von Hövel Scharzhofberger
2014 von Kesselstatt Scharzhofberger
2014 Weins Prüm Domprobst
Charlie Gierling’s Comments (Taster)
My impression is, that the vintage was difficult in those more northern parts. We had wines labeled "Kabinett" with overripe, even burnt fruit, some with unripe fruit und some with unclean (rotten) fruit. As every year, there were some great bottles, but I would have called them rather Spätlese or even Auslese than Kabinett. A producer from the Mosel actually explained why the wines were so different: the time window for harvesting clean, ripe grapes was extremly short on the Mosel. In around one week, the grapes turnde from immature to rot.
I would pick 3 wines of the evening:
- my favorite: Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken, Riesling Kabinett Saarburger Rausch. More like a Spätlese, but what a good one! Precise and full of energy.
- my surprize: Gunderloch, "Jean Baptist" Kabinett feinherb. Good spiciness.
- the most kabinett-like: Willi Schäfer, Graacher Himmelreich.
schiller-wine: Related Postings (Berlin Cups)
Germany’s Best Ultra-premium Dry Riesling Wines - BerlinRieslingCup 2014, Germany
Germany’s Best Ultra-premium Dry Riesling Wines - BerlinRieslingCup 2013, Germany
Germany’s Ultra Premium Dry Riesling Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2012
Germany’s Top Wines – The Berlin Riesling Cup 2011 Ranking
Martin Zwick’s BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2015 - Rating Dry Entry-level Rieslings from Germany's Best Producers
Martin Zwick’s BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2014 - Rating Entry-level Rieslings from Germany's Best Producers
BerlinGutsrieslingCup 2013– Rating Entry-level Rieslings from Germany
Berlin Gutsriesling Cup 2012, Germany
Martin Zwick's BerlinKabinettCup 2014, Germany
BerlinKabinettCup 2013 - Kabinett 2012, Germany
Germany's Best Pinot Noir Wines - BerlinSpätburgunderCup 2012/2014
BerlinSpaetburgunderCup 2011/2013, Germany
schiller-wine: Related Postings (Tours by ombiasy WineTours)
4 Wine Tours by ombiasy coming up in 2015: Germany-East, Germany-South. Germany-Nord and Bordeaux
Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)
Bourgogne Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), France
Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
Germany-South Wine Tour by ombiasy, 2014
Bordeaux Wine Tour 2013 by ombiasy
Schiller-wine - Related Postings
German Spaetlese Wines Can Come in Different Versions. I Have Counted Five.
Steffen Christmann (Weingut A. Christmann) and Wilhelm Weil (Weingut Robert Weil) Presented the New Wine Classification of the VDP, Germany
When Americans Drink German Wine - What They Choose
Wine Consumption: Do Germans Drink Sweet or Dry Wine?
Approaches to Classifying German Wine: The Standard Approach (the Law of 1971), the VDP Approach and the Zero Classification Approach
Wine Tasting at Weingut Gunderloch in Nackenheim, with Owners and Winemaker Fritz Hasselbach and Agnes Hasselbach-Usinger – Germany-South Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Carl von Schubert from the Maximin Gruenhaus Estate Returned a Favor: With his Wines in Washington DC (and in Seattle), USA
Thomas Haag, Weingut Schloss Lieser, Germany’s Winemaker of the Year, Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2015
Cellar Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Von Hövel in Konz, Saar Valley, Mosel, with Owner and Winemaker Max von Kunow - Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Tasting with Sylvain Taurisson Diel at Schlossgut Diel, Nahe– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Dorothee Zilliken, Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken Presents her Noble Rieslings at Frankfurt/Wein in Frankfurt, Germany
Wine Tasting and Cellar Tour at Weingut Dönnhoff with Christina Dönnhoff– Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)
Ernst Loosen Presented his Wines at Weingut Dr. Loosen, Bernkastel-Kues, Mosel Valley, Germany
Kiedrich: Visit of the Basilica of Saint Valentine and of Weingut Robert Weil - Germany-North Wine Tour by ombiasy (2014)
Tour, Tasting, and Lunch at Weingut Schätzel in Nierstein, Rheinhessen – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)