Today’s mind-blowing rarity is one of the most spellbinding “Grand Crus” I’ve tasted, and perhaps the most “Burgundian” Riesling I’ve ever experienced. Honestly, if it was buried in a lineup of $125+ whites from Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, it would blend in effortlessly, and may even be the star of the show! For this, we have an iconic producer, a historic vineyard, and the red-hot allure of the rarefied Grosses Gewächs category to thank.

Allow me to explain. Producer: Von Winning, among Germany’s greatest contemporary successes and easily on the shortlist of the world’s greatest dry Riesling producers. Vineyard: Ungeheuer, a centuries-old site that produced (1) the celebratory bottle for the completion of the Suez Canal, and (2) wines that became the muse of Goethe and Otto Von Bismarck, who famously called the 1873 vintage “monstrously” good. Grosses Gewächs: Also known as “GG,” this relatively new category serves as the zenith of powerful, bone-dry, richly textured Rieslings. In record time, the world has become enraptured by these explosively mineral and highly pedigreed gems, and the top bottlings unquestionably exist in elite wine’s upper crust. Ultimately, Von Winning’s GGs are among the finest out there, and for a Burgundy hound like me, today’s 2018 “Ungeheuer” (which spent 18 months aging in barrel) demands my full and undivided attention. We hardly have any to share, so do yourself the favor of securing a Grand Cru Riesling that shook my very core. Given the right setting, this is one of those wines you’ll never forget.

This electrifyingly dense GG is a perfect introduction (if one is needed) to an estate that has become a darling of sommeliers and critics alike. Although its history dates to the mid-1800s, Von Winning’s modern era was ushered in when entrepreneur Achim Niederberger purchased the vineyards and winery and re-launched the Von Winning label in 2007. The estate was originally founded by Friedrich Dienhard, whose descendants are still in the wine business today in the town Koblenz. The name Von Winning didn’t come along until later, when Dienhard’s granddaughter, Emma, inherited the property and her husband, Leopold Von Winning, took the reins. The estate then passed through a series of hands and the Von Winning name disappeared until Niederberger came along and revived it.

Sadly, Niederberger passed away at a young age in 2013, leaving his wife, Jana, with a multi-faceted wine operation that also includes the estates of Bassermann-Jordan and Von Buhl. She is ably assisted at Von Winning by a team led by General Manager Stephan Attman. They have introduced organic farming practices to the property’s enviable collection of vineyards around the villages of Deidesheim and Forst in the Pfalz, a region that runs towards Germany’s border with Alsace. The Vosges mountain range that shelters Alsace from storms from the West becomes the Haardt mountain range across the border in the Pfalz, so, like Alsace, the Pfalz is a drier, warmer region than some of the other classic regions along the Rhine. This is music to the ears of Grosses Gewächs—wines that are built on powerful structure and textural richness.

In the simplest terms, a Grosses Gewächs wine must be from a designated Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) vineyard and fermented dry. “Ungeheuer” is one of those Grand Cru vineyards and it lies in the village of Forst. The vineyard is sprawling and dates back to the 1600s, when it was owned by the family of the same name. By the 1800s, it was among the most renowned and expensive Riesling sites on earth, enjoyed by the upper class and political elite. Soils here are a mixture of sandstone and clay sprinkled with basalt and lime deposits, plus the site boasts one of the driest and warmest microclimates in the village. Combine all this with the vineyard’s history and fame and you get an elite Grosse Lage.

After hand harvesting, Von Winning ferments their grapes naturally in 500-liter barrels. They don’t introduce any cultured yeasts, so it often takes months for fermentation to complete. Upon completion, the wine continues resting on its raw lees and is never racked during its extended maturation. In all, it sees 18 months of barrel aging before an unfined bottling via gravity. 

The white Burgundy comparison runs incredibly deep in Von Winning’s 2017 “Ungeheuer.” The moment we splashed this into our glasses, we all looked at each other with surprised expressions: It smelled exactly like a top bottling of nervy, taut Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey. The palate is rich, bracingly tense, and loaded with baking spice and vanilla that feels eerily similar to Premier/Grand Cru Burgundy. For the record, this still has distinct Riesling qualities with its rich tropical and citrus fruits, smoky-petrol aromas, and supercharged levels of acidity, but it's impossible not to draw parallels to the world’s finest Chardonnays. You’ll also uncover candied grapefruit, tangelo, white peach, and green pineapple alongside persisting notes of crushed stone, struck flint, and hints of wild greenery. We recommend opening one now (preferably over two days) after a minimum 60-minute decant and preserving your other bottles for consumption over the next 10-15 years. This will compete with the greatest white wines of the world—cherish every ounce!