In late August, in the grand surroundings of Wiesbaden’s Kurhaus Kolonnaden, Germany’s VDP held its annual ‘sneak preview’ of the 2014 dry whites and 2013 reds from grand cru sites, known in Germany as Grosses Gewächs. It’s a brilliantly organised tasting that’s attended by just about every wine critic that knows and loves his or her dry Rieslings - and not just their Rieslings as we shall see - both from within Germany and from further afield.

Riesling