Jonathan Ray Jonathan Ray

June Wine Club II

issue 28 June 2014

It baffles me that German wines are still something of a hard sell in the UK. I imagine that they’re all too readily associated by consumers with that ghastly German export Liebfraumilch, which no self-respecting German will ever have heard of, let alone have drunk.

Forgive me if I’m teaching you to suck eggs, but fine German Riesling, which I adore, has nothing to do with such ghastly vinous bubblegum (which is chiefly made from Müller-Thurgau) and the 2007 Weingut Göttelmann-Dautenpflänzer Riesling Kabinett Trocken ‘Halbmond’ (1), from the Nahe, is a thing of great beauty, and ideal summer fare. Bone-dry, crisp and clean, and with a nice touch of bottle age, it has the expected complex notes of petrol, apples, honey and peaches and is simply delicious lightly chilled as a mid-morning sharpener or as an early evening aperitif. £11.95.

White Rhônes are also high on the list of what Tigger likes at the moment, and white Châteauneuf-du-Pape especially.

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