A ballerina, a wrestler and a mountain climber walk into a bar… It could easily be a joke, and with jovial raconteur Erni Loosen telling it, it would definitely make you laugh. But actually, Erni is describing how he sees the Grosses Gewächs wines grown on Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Ürziger Würzgarten, and Erdener Treppchen.
The first, with its classic Devonian blue slate, is the dancer: elegance, finesse, delicate acidity. Würzgarten, with its rare red volcanics, is the wrestler: muscular, rocky, rounded. And then, the oxidised red slate of Treppchen, the mountain climber: sleek but powerful, with racy, mineral-driven acidity.
Erni tells us that 2024 is a year where these vineyard signatures are expressed “nice and clear”. And, as always, the methodology helps; these three wines are raised identically. 100% healthy grapes from ungrafted, 100+-year-old vines, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for at least 12 months on their lees in topped-up, 3,000-litre foudres.
2024 was a weird year in Germany; frost stole the headlines, and it was wet, but the stats will also tell you it was really warm—and yet most characterisations of the wines point to relatively cool classicism. It even has Erni scratching his head. He is many things, but “I’m not a scientist”, he admits, looking at the confounding juxtaposition of climatic data and taste bud feedback.
“With some wines, I’m really astonished by how beautiful the acidity is,” he says. “And, for me, a perfect ripeness with the right amount of acidity, not too high, not too low, just the amount which we’re looking for for dry wines.”
Erni knows these vineyards inside out; the ballerina, wrestler and mountain climber are practically offspring. And we at CellarHand have been assessing and appreciating these GGs for years and years. Yet, they still give us a jolt that is equal parts surprise and recognition.
“So, overall an absolutely gorgeous vintage,” says Erni. “I mean, astonishing, you know? We all have been tasting and thought, ‘Wow!’” Now, it’s your turn to be wowed by these ’24 GGs.