(Jürgen Howald / Manfred Klimek, Editorial Team)
It’s no longer a secret: Germany’s finest sparkling wines no longer need to be compared to Champagne. They now confidently reflect their origins, the slate and other aspects of the terroir, and the people who know that time and dosage (if there’s still one) are about more than just bubbles. Anyone serving Griesel, Christmann & Kauffmann, Raumland, Jülg or Vollenweider today is serving an attitude – the attitude of a wine and sparkling wine culture that has long since broken free from imitation.
Griesel – Blanc de Blancs Tradition Brut 2022
Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc – half each – form the basis for Griesel’s ‘Tradition’. Spontaneously fermented in wood, matured for nine months without sulphur, then aged on the lees for almost two years. Disgorged in spring 2025, with a dosage of just two grams. The result is less an aperitif than an experience: brioche, stone, pear, apricot, a hint of tarragon. And then that profile: salty, citrusy, outrageously precise. The Chardonnay provides the charm, the Pinot Blanc the backbone. With its cool, chalky character, this sparkling wine is a plea for structure over sweetness, for terroir over spectacle. Even in the upper end of the entry-level range, Griesel manages to maintain a standard that puts many big names to shame.
Christmann & Kauffmann – Cuvée No. 204 Brut Nature 2021
Cuvée 204 is the antithesis of the run-of-the-mill. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc – grown on limestone and red sandstone, harvested from vineyards whose names sound like a Palatinate manifesto: Gimmeldingen, Königsbach, Mußbach. 31 months on the lees, no dosage, pure clarity. On the nose, a hint of the sea, salt, limestone and mussel shells, followed by citrus, quince, almonds and a subtle note of brioche. On the palate, it then takes a turn towards the intoxicating: tension, salinity, energy. This is not a sparkling wine that seeks to please, but one that fascinates. 2021 was a year of perseverance, cool and unyielding, and that is precisely what you taste here. A sparkling wine like a refreshing poem: clear, crystalline, uncompromising.
Raumland – XV Triumvirat Grande Cuvée Brut 2015
It is an icon of modern German sparkling wine – and remains so. The Triumvirat, now in its fifteenth vintage, is Raumland’s signature wine: 61 per cent Pinot Noir, 20 per cent Meunier, 19 per cent Chardonnay, almost entirely from the Dalsheimer Bürgel, a chalky, cool, almost Champagne-like vineyard. One hundred months on the lees – an eternity in the glass. On the nose: quince, grapefruit, smoke, dark berries, dark chocolate. On the palate: richness, depth, salinity. Parker describes it as ‘deep, pure and complex, intense and iodine-scented’ – and one might add: contemplative. It demonstrates just how closely great precision and great tranquillity can be linked. To drink Raumland is not merely to drink sparkling wine, but to savour a West German statement.
Jülg – Chardonnay Réserve Extra Brut 2015
If France and Germany meet in a glass, it is here. The Chardonnay for this prestige sparkling wine is grown on both sides of the border, in Alsace and the Southern Palatinate, on limestone. Hand-harvested, aged in large oak barrels, 68 months on the lees, dosage under three grams. On the nose: chalk, flint, orange peel, brioche, jasmine. On the palate: salty, firm, vibrant – a sparkling wine with architectural precision. The long ageing gives it creaminess, but no softness. Jülg demonstrates just how much German Chardonnay can show its cool side: gripping, structured, almost demanding. Not a sparkling wine to drink casually, but one to savour. Anyone who is reminded of the Côte des Blancs here is not far off the mark – but here, the borderland accent comes through.
Vollenweider – Tschiel No. V Brut Nature
Daniel Vollenweider, the maverick from the Moselle who sadly passed away too soon, named his sparkling wine ‘Tschiel’ – meaning ‘heaven’ in Romansh, a tribute to his Swiss heritage. 100 per cent Chardonnay from the Briedeler Herzchen, aged on the lees for 54 months, no dosage, minimally sulphured. White peach, apple and lilac on the nose; vibrant and uncompromisingly dry on the palate. No Riesling sparkling wine, no frivolous fruitiness, but pure, austere minerality. It serves as a reminder that elegance need not be sweet, but can be still. Tschiel is not a sparkling wine for widespread appeal, but for connoisseurs who appreciate reduction as a style. And Vollwenwieder’s heirs are picking up exactly where Daniel had to leave off.
Five sparkling wines, five expressions of a sparkling wine culture that makes Germany appear just as important a sparkling wine region as France, Spain or Franciacorta. These are wines that demonstrate just how mature German sparkling wine has become: not loud, not overly sweet, not designed for show. They speak of patience, of hard work, of the conviction that time is the finest form of luxury. And they prove that today’s finest sparkling wines are produced not only between Reims and Épernay, but also between Bensheim and Briedel, amidst limestone, climate and character.