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Georg Breuer
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Riesling
The pale skinned fruits of the Riesling grapevine have been grown in and around Germany's Rhine Valley for centuries, and contributed much to the country's wine culture. Today, Riesling grapes are grown and processed in several countries around the world, where they are prized for their ability to grow well in colder climates, and their unique flavors and characteristics. Riesling grapes produce an impressive array of wines, including fine semi sweet and dessert wines, to excellent dry white wines and sparkling varieties, all which allow the grape to shine through as a premier example of an excellent white wine varietal. One of the things which makes Riesling such a special grape is the fact that it is highly 'terroir expressive', meaning that the features of the land it is grown on can come across well in the flavors and aromas in the wine. As such, it isn't unusual to find flavors of white stone, or smoky ash-like notes in a fine Riesling alongside the more usual orchard fruit flavors more commonly associated with good white wines.
Region: Rheingau / Rheinhessen
Rheingau, on the valley sides of the beautiful Rhine river in Germany, has long since been home to many of the country's finest white wines. With a relatively small area of three thousand hectares under vine, Rheingau has always been a region more concerned with quality than quantity, and the wineries of the Rheingau region feature master wine makers with generations of experience and expertise in getting the very best flavors from their grapes. The grapes in question are almost always of the Riesling varietal, and ancient grape renowned for its dry and crisp character, and its ability to express the finest features of the terroir it grows on. In Rheingau, the terroir is nothing less than superb, featuring clear, crystal mountain waters, mineral rich soils and a mild, cool climate in which Riesling grapes flourish and thrive, producing wines of real distinction and beautiful flavours.
Country: Germany
If German wine has had something of a bad reputation in the past, it may well be the fault of the fact that for a long time now, the Germans have simply kept all the best produce to themselves. Visit any town or village in wine producing regions of Germany, and you'll be faced with a stunning array of extremely high quality wines, each matched with local dishes and full of distinct character and flavor. As white wine production makes up for about two-thirds of all Germany's wine industry, this is by far the most visible and widely enjoyed type of wine, but one should not overlook the quality and range of rosé and red wines on offer from this fascinating country. In particular, the Spatburgunder wines (the German name for Pinot Noir) are generally of an exceptionally high quality, being full of dark, intense hedgerow fruit flavors and exciting spicy notes with a silky smooth finish.