sweetness

If none of these words feature on the label, another way of checking is by looking for any Beyond German Prädikat terminology. Prädikatweine The impression of sweetness in a sweetness that would usually is the category once called QmP or isn’t just down to how much accompany these flavours in Qualitätswein mit Prädikat – the highest level residual sugar and acidity it has. nature, even if the wine which of wine quality in Germany. It’s effectively a The following list of factors can contains these flavours has been scale that refers to the ‘must weight’ of the also play a role: fermented to dryness. used (their degree of fermentable before fermentation) rather than the Oak Alcohol sweetness of the finished wine. In ascending Ageing in contact with oak can Alcohol can taste sweet (as can order of must weight: , spätlese, release sweet-tasting compounds glycerol), so a wine with a high , and eiswein, into the wine. It can also impart alcohol content can taste slightly . The last four are flavours that are associated with sweet even if it contains practically nowadays always sweet. Kabinett and spätlese sweetness, such as naturally no residual sugar. can go either way, but an alcohol level of 12% occurring vanillin, or caramel or or more would suggest that all the fermentable coffee flavours produced from Serving temperature sugars have turned to alcohol and the wine is toasting the oak over a flame. The lower the serving temperature, dry. The final term (I promise) worth knowing the less sensitive the palate is to is grosses gewächs – a prestige category of Ripeness sweetness. A very sweet wine can German that is always dry. The flavours of very ripe grapes – taste cloying at room temperature, All this German terminology is necessarily overripe, jammy or dried fruits – but more refreshing and drinkable technical and is relatively complex compared can prompt us to think of the when chilled. to other regions, but at least it helps you make an educated guess. With New World Rieslings you have to rely on descriptions on the label or know the producer. But generally speaking cool-climate regions, especially the Loire, Australian Rieslings are usually bone dry; New Alsace and Germany. Either that, or they’re Zealand Rieslings also tend towards dryness, made elsewhere with associated varieties. but you can find some excellent medium-dry And no grape is more closely intertwined with and medium-sweet examples, such as Pegasus semi-sweet styles than Riesling. Bay’s Bel Canto and Aria. Germany and Riesling The treasures of Alsace Even a glimpse of the traditional German Alsace is arguably the greatest white wine flute-shaped bottle can suggest sweetness. It’s region in the world, and this is in part thanks understandable: Riesling retains acidity as it to the way it has embraced sweetness – a kind ripens, so a degree of natural unfermented of third dimension that can make other wine grape sugar in the wine is fairly common to regions look flat in comparison. But speaking Sweetest taboo bring balance. Germany has also sometimes commercially, sugar is also its greatest struggled to fully ripen its grapes, so a little weakness; without the same terminology as sweetness was prized. But tastes are changing. Germany, it’s even easier to be caught out by Wine labels can be confusing when it comes to indicating how sweet According to Steffen Schindler of the German unexpected sweetness here than over the a wine will taste. But help is at hand, as Matt Walls offers some useful Wine Institute: ‘ is drier than border. Opening a semi-sweet wine when pointers to help you navigate the space between sweet and dry ever. Today, almost 70% of all wine produced you’re expecting a dry one needn’t be a big in Germany is dry or semi-dry. Back in the deal, but most of us have an idea of the style 1970s, more than two-thirds were sweet.’ we feel like drinking at any given time. So, for It happens to us all once in a while. You And by ‘right’ direction, I don’t necessarily Above: sugar is a tool The most useful term when identifying many, it’s a case of once bitten, twice shy. open a bottle, take a sip, and instead of a dry mean towards a dry wine. Dryness can that winemakers can whether a German Riesling is dry or not is Unusually for , the grape varieties wine, your tongue flags up an unexpected mistakenly be seen as a sign of sophistication use to add complexity ‘trocken’, meaning ‘dry’. The impression of are usually stated on the label; they are your sweetness. It’s rarely an issue with red wines, or quality, perhaps because many mass-market to their wines sweetness in a wine isn’t just down to residual first clue. Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner and Muscat ➢ and fully sweet dessert wines are relatively wines contain some sugar. But sweetness is sugar, it’s also affected by the level of acidity. easy to spot (smaller bottles, higher prices, nothing to be wary of. On the contrary, the So, a trocken wine can have up to four grams usually merchandised separately), but some judicious withholding of residual sugar gives per litre of residual sugar (4g/l RS), or up to ‘German wine is drier than ever. medium-dry and medium-sweet white wines winemakers scope to play with structure, 9g/l RS provided that the total acidity (TA) is can appear to the eye almost identical to their balance and flavour. Not all of the greatest no less than 2g/l below the level of residual Today, almost 70% of all wine dry counterparts. However, there are certain wines are fully dry or fully sweet. The tricky sugar (so if a wine has 9g/l RS, it would need at clues you can gather from grape variety, part is knowing when best to drink them. least 7g/l TA). The terms ‘halbtrocken’ and produced in Germany is dry or regional tradition or label terminology that Except for some regional curiosities, ‘feinherb’ mean medium-dry. But usage of any

Photograph: Mike Prior Mike Photograph: can lead you in the right direction. semi-sweet wines are usually produced in of these terms is not obligatory. semi-dry’ Steffen Schindler

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are almost always dry. Pinot Gris and demonstrates that medium-dry Alsace ‘Chenin Blanc Philippe Foreau similar way to how trocken wines are measured Gewurztraminer are usually off-dry but can be Riesling can be compellingly delicious. Pierre of Domaine du in Germany. For sweeter wines, there is a anywhere from dry to medium-sweet (grand Gassmann explains that there’s no indication is another Clos Naudin sliding scale upwards from sec, to sec tendre, cru examples are often more noticeably as to sweetness on his labels because his wines to demi-sec to moelleux, but these aren’t sweet). Riesling is usually dry – but not always. are made with long ageing in mind, and as grape that legally defined and are used at the producer’s So how can you tell? wines mature, the sensation of sweetness discretion. ‘Liquoreux’ and ‘sélection de grains It’s increasingly common to see a sweetness gradually fades. retains its nobles’ indicate fully sweet wines. scale on the label, depicted either graphically Gewurztraminer is now grown around the Philippe Foreau of Domaine du Clos Naudin or numerically. It’s helpful but not mandatory. world, and outside Alsace it’s usually dry. acidity as it makes Vouvrays of varying sweetness. He sees However, within the next year or two, it’s highly Pinot Gris is just as widespread, and though more demand for dry styles from restaurants, likely that producers will be obliged to use ‘sec’ normally dry, it often denotes a richer style ripens, in a while home drinkers buy across the board. Dry on the label if the wine is technically dry. than when the grape is labelled Pinot Grigio. styles are the easiest to match with food, but ‘Vendange tardive’ and ‘sélection de grains similar way demi-sec can work brilliantly with savoury nobles’ wines are reliably fully sweet. Chenin Blanc and the Loire dishes too, particularly with white meats, rich Alsace Riesling has been rapidly evolving. Chenin Blanc is another grape that retains its to Riesling’ sauces or strong spicing. Moelleux wines are The traditional style has long been dry, but in acidity as it ripens, so winemakers can play often best drunk alone, before or after a meal. the 1990s there was a trend towards a sweeter with a range of sweetness levels in a similar But it’s these sweeter styles that, according to expression. Trimbach makes exclusively dry way to Riesling. Its heartland is the Middle Sarah Hwang of Domaine Huet, ‘best radiate Rieslings, and they have always championed Loire region in northern France, and although the heart and soul’ of her domaine ‘and carry the dry style. Owner Jean Trimbach says: ‘I’m a number of appellations such as Anjou and on the traditions of Vouvray’. happy to say for the last 10 years many of [the even Savennières make a tiny amount of In years to come, we may wonder why so producers] who fell into sweetness – a sort of semi-sweet Chenin Blanc, its greatest many of the wines we drank were huddled at false richness – are back to dryness again.’ exponents are the appellations of Vouvray and the other end of the spectrum. D But to taste the Rieslings of an estate such Montlouis-sur-Loire. as Domaine Rolly Gassmann, whose wines all It’s obligatory for their dry wines to display Matt Walls is a Decanter contributing editor have some degree of residual sweetness, the word ‘sec’ on the label; it is measured in a and the DWWA Regional Chair for the Rhône

Explore sweetness in wine with Walls’ suggestions Rolly Gassmann, Riesling, Alsace, fresh aromas – lime blossom, hawthorn inner tension, agreeable bitterness and a France 2013 93 blossom – that follow onto the medium- mineral edge. Drink 2018-2019 Alc 14% Lise et Bertrand Jousset, En Aparté Unusually, the 2010 (grown organically) pear and shortcrust pastry. An incredibly £18.95-£22.50 Berry Bros & Rudd, Harvey dry palate. Floral nectar sweetness hits Moelleux, Montlouis-sur-Loire, has a proportion of malolactic, giving a long, intense and tangy finish. Great Nichols, Waitrose Cellar the tongue, just balanced by gentle Hexamer, Porphyr Riesling, Nahe, France 2009 96 rounder, gentler feel. Unfurling now, with purity, concentration and impact. Give An increasingly rare medium dry Alsace acidity. Precise, pretty, very drinkable. Germany 2015 91 N/A UK www.domaine-jousset.fr notes of apple, plum and turmeric. Full, me foie gras! Drink 2018-2029 Alc 13% Riesling. Kaffir lime leaf, lemon curd and Drink 2018-2020 Alc 13.5% £13.17 The Vino Beano A new estate with old vines and dry, expressive, generous, complex – this flinty reductive aromas. Ripe acidity From Schlossböckelheimer In den biodynamic methods. Joyful aromas of is wonderful. Drink 2018-2035 Alc 13.5% Fritz Haag, Brauneburger brings balance and structure. Weightless Willi Schaefer, Graacher Felsen’s volcanic soil with porphyry. pineapple, apple compote and beeswax. Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling fresh finish with finger lime notes. Himmelreich Riesling Smoky lime, flint and grapefruit on the Medium-sweet but you barely notice; it’s Domaine du Clos Naudin, Trocken Grosses Gewächs, Complex, compelling and characterful. Kabinett, Mosel, Germany nose. The off-dry palate is rich in fruit, so fresh, pure, featherlight and perfectly Vouvray Sec, Vouvray, Loire, Mosel, Germany 2015 94 Drink 2018-2023 Alc 12.5% 2016 92 with keen acidity and a mineral grind. balanced. Drink 2018-2025 Alcohol 11.5% France 2014 94 £30.20 Howard Ripley £17.60-£19.95 Howard Ripley, Great value. Drink 2018-2021 Alc 11.5% £32.95 Stannary St Wine Co From the heart of the producer’s Bruno Sorg, Gewurztraminer Justerini & Brooks, Tanners Szepsy, Betsek Tokaji Furmint, Honeyed on the nose, with slate Brauneberg vineyard, this Grand Cru Eichberg, Alsace, A tiny 4ha estate with a big August Kesseler, R Riesling, Rheingau, Tokaj, Hungary 2015 95 subtle quince and mushroom; old-vine Riesling is dry but France 2016 92 reputation. Elderflower and Germany 2016 90 £42.99 AG Wines, Top Selection fresh like snow. Very dry, powerfully rich and mineral, £25.50 Tanners satsuma aromas; lifted and £10.10 Justerini & Brooks ‘Száraz’ on the label denotes a with a driving mineral core. revealing concentrated lime and Bright, gentle varietal aromatics pure. Fresh like laundered Very floral, with lime blossom and white dry wine. Szepsy is the master. Understated, reserved and mandarin fruit around a steely of rose and citrus. It’s medium- sheets. Medium-sweet and pepper. Medium-dry, with good intensity Floral notes, green apple and serious but unforgettable. A acid core. Drink 2018-2029 Alc 12.5% sweet, but this is secondary to light-bodied. Perfectly balanced: just a and a subtle mineral undertow. Rheingau rhubarb. Cooling and calming classical marble statue of a the freshness, acidity and delight. Drink 2018-2023 Alc 7.5% straightness and character with a light yet electrifying on the palate. wine. Drink 2018-2026 Alc 13% Huet, Vouvray Moelleux Le Haut Lieu, terroir expression. Finesse and touch. Drink 2018-2021 Alc 10% Stunning purity and finesse; Loire, France 2016 93 precision, despite the richness. Framingham, Pinot Gris, Marlborough, this is quietly wonderful. Domaines Schlumberger, Pinot Gris £33.60 Armit Drink 2018-2022 Alc 13.5% New Zealand 2016 91 Léon Beyer, Réserve Personelle Drink 2018-2033 Alc 13% Grand Cru Kitterlé, Alsace, France Heady honeysuckle, honey and candied £14.50-£17.40 Exel, Liberty Wines, Gewurztraminer, Alsace, France 2015 89 2010 94 lemon aromas. This biodynamic wine is Ovum, Off the Grid Riesling, Oregon, The New Zealand Cellar, The Wine Reserve £17.25 Yapp Bros Trimbach, Riesling Cuvée Frédéric £34.99 Blanco & Gomez, D Byrne & Co, medium-bodied, rich, mouthfilling. It’s US 2016 92 Gentle pear and blossom aromas. Like smelling a rose flecked with pink Emile, Alsace, France 2010 95 The Drink Shop sweet, but far from dessert wine. Quince £23.55-£26.99 Exel, Highbury Vintners, Full-bodied and medium-dry; tempered peppercorns. Keen acidity ups the sense £38.50-£48 Berry Bros & Rudd, Exel, Very full and flowing medium-sweet style, and crème pâtissière on the finish. Very Les Caves de Pyrene, The Grocery E2 acidity adds to the impression of of dryness. Not the longest, but precise, Great Western Wine with balanced acidity. Honeyed quince, well balanced. Drink 2018-2028 Alc 13% Low-intervention Riesling with light, richness. Balance is achieved through fresh and brisk. Drink 2018-2019 Alc 14% Photograph: iDealwine Photograph:

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