2024 Pre-Auctions Report: Trier & Bad Kreuznach - Songs of the 49th Parallel

BY ANNE KREBIEHL MW | SEPTEMBER 05, 2024

Prompted by a likely September harvest, the Trier and Bad Kreuznach auctions were moved to November–hopefully now a permanent slot for these key events for German wine lovers. The auction of the Grosser Ring, covering wines from Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, will take place on Friday, November 8, 2024, in Trier. The Bad Kreuznach auction, covering wines from Nahe, Ahr and Rheinhessen, follows the next day, Saturday, November 9, 2024. The chosen weekend, deliberately, is the one preceding the Hospices de Beaune auction in Burgundy; the intention is to attract more international collectors who might have scheduled a European trip anyway.  

These auctions, while still somewhat niche in the wine world, are gaining currency with live streams and international bidders. Last year, the Trier auction achieved sales of EUR 2,565,780.36 for its Prädikatsweine and just under EUR 100,000 for its Grosse Gewächse. The most expensive lot was Egon Müller’s lot of 3 magnums of 2015 Riesling Scharzhofberger Beerenauslese at EUR 19,992. Bad Kreuznach recorded total sales of EUR 2,422,304.44–the most expensive lot here was Keller’s mixed lot of three magnums at EUR 13,000.

View of the Ürziger Würzgarten at dusk in late summer with a calm Mosel.

Old School, New Term

The members of the Grosser Ring, i.e., the VDP estates in Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, met on June 28, 2024, for their so-called Taxprobe. In this tasting, the producers determine the starting prices of the wine lots in consultation with the commissionaires, the only people who can bid at the auctions. In some cases, they also decide which wines will be auctioned lots, some members showing 2 Kabinetts to determine the one that will be auctioned. This is a rather old-school process, and the discussions can be telling, but more of that later. This year’s Trier auction will be the 137th annual auction of Prädikat wines, which dominate here. It will only be the 6th annual auction of Grosse Gewächse from these regions. The Bad Kreuznach auction lots are tasted among the producers at a separate meeting in Monzingen, also attended by the commissionaires, but the producers decide on the prices themselves. Here, dry wines dominate.  

I attended the Taxprobe in Trier on June 28 and tasted the Bad Kreuznach auction wines on July 1. At the time, naturally, many of the wines were barrel samples. One or two wines were re-tasted during producer visits in the region in August and in Wiesbaden on Sunday, August 25, where the auction wines are showcased in the evening following the first day of the VDP’s annual Grosses Gewächs Vorprobe event. In 2024, two wines will be up for auction that could not be tasted due to rarity. However, both wines were reviewed as original releases by Joel Payne and David Schildknecht, respectively:

· Emrich-Schönleber’s one magnum of 2005 Riesling Halenberg Trockenbeerenauslese Goldkapsel

· Wittmann’s 6 magnums of 2018 Riesling La Borne Alte Reben

Under the Hammer

The key for both events is that the wines are special lots, only sold at auction due to their outstanding quality. Some estates present wines from the same site year after year; others offer different wines they feel are unique enough to be sold at auction. While the focus is always the most recent vintage, some library releases and large formats make the event even more special. Auction wines are thus rare and hard to get hold of–but everyone can bid, even without attending, by commissioning a wine merchant. There are 31 lots from 15 estates up for grabs in Bad Kreuznach. These include a mixed Charitykiste, a charity box, plus a private dinner with winemakers Philipp Kuhn and Frank Schönleber, who will bring a selection of wines at perfect maturity. The Trier auction encompasses 78 lots from 16 producers, including a mixed Benefizkiste for charity.

Notable Absences

Two absences are notable in this year’s Trier auction. With spring frost decimating his 2024 harvest, Egon Müller decided to hold back his 2023 auction lots until next year. It is a similar story for Loosen–despite much more acreage to choose from.

The 2023 Vintage

While 2022 was characterized by prolonged dryness, rain was a firm feature in 2023. This clearly favored steep, stony, well-drained sites, which Germany has plenty of–and producers who have an absolute focus on viticulture. Across regions, 2023 was a vintage that clearly told the wheat from the chaff. In Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, good botrytis was rare. Two thousand twenty-three is not a year for highly concentrated Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen, with the highest 2023 Prädikat at auction being Auslese–albeit three with lange Goldkapsel: two from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr by Willi Schaefer and Schloss Lieser, respectively, one from Graacher Himmelreich by JJ Prüm. Christoph Schaefer of Willi Schaefer in Graach says, “It was difficult to get this absolute clarity in high concentration and, for us, we only have tiny, tiny quantities, and we were lucky to be able to select Auslesen.” He continues, “2023, for me, is a vintage of elegance and finesse with depth and complexity.” Oliver Haag of the Fritz Haag Estate in Brauneberg notes that it was “difficult” in 2023 to “tell good from bad botrytis,” but he also emphasizes the “perfect balance of fruit and acid.”

Songs of the 49th Parallel

The absence of the highest Prädikate and the predominance of Kabinett, Spätlesen and Auslesen is why I chose this title for my report. Two thousand twenty-three is a perfect year for Spätlese. Why? Because this undervalued Prädikat shows one of the most compelling, shimmering faces of Riesling. It offers scented, most full-fruited yet still light-footed and elegant expressions. While it may not have the near weightless playfulness of Kabinett or the concentration of Auslese, Kabinett occupies that beguiling, liminal space that just hovers between the lightness of touch and the fuller expression of fruit. Spätlese is the opposite of ‘more is more.’ It is a superlative of a different kind, the culmination of nuance where thrilling acidity and absence of botrytis allow us to perceive immense purity and disarming fruit. Lovers of Kabinett are also in for tons of pleasure. Bad Kreuznach offers thrills of a different kind–mostly of dry, hair-raising Rieslings that are alive with fruit and energy. Just the memory of tasting them gives me a shiver of pleasure. The 2023 Riesling vintage in Germany is one that has everything: tons of fruit, proper acidity, much dry extract at moderate alcohol levels and–in dry white wine territory–unparalleled longevity. What is not to like?

Riesling vines in the Berncasteler Doctor Vineyard in the Mosel.

Pricing

In view of the prices achieved last year, it was interesting to overhear some commissionaires trying to push back on pricing. Their chief argument was the global economic situation and geopolitical uncertainty. While these are in no doubt, this particular argument to me is spurious; for three reasons in particular. First, the wines at these auctions are unique and rare culminations of a tradition that arose from a particular combination of topography, climate, grape variety and soil. The style in which these wines are made is irreproducible in any other part of the world. They are from extremely steep slopes, often from ancient, low-yielding vines. They require immense dedication, patience and back-breaking work. In short, the wines are a labor of love. If that labor is remunerated properly at auction, the winemakers deserve it, if only for keeping a wine landscape, a Kulturlandschaft, alive. Second, many of the wines are still underpriced in a global context. Third, those who collect wines, while affected by global economic trends, are usually not at the sharp end of those. Economic circumstances are real enough for the entire wine industry, compounded by climate change that exacerbates the challenges of these winemakers. Why anyone would quibble with that, especially when the market–the auction on the day itself–will decide prices, is beyond me.

Where & When

A tasting of the wines will precede both auctions. In Trier, these tastings and the auction are by invitation only, as spaces are coveted. In Trier, the wines can be sampled at the “Masterpieces of the Mosel” tasting on November 7. The auction itself begins at 1pm on Friday, November 8, 2024, in the Park Plaza Hotel in Trier and will be conducted in English. The Bad Kreuznach wines can be sampled from 9am to 11am on the day of the auction, which will begin at 1pm on Saturday, November 9, 2024, in the Museum der Römerhalle in Bad Kreuznach and will be held in German with an English translation. Both auctions will be live-streamed by the local VDP chapters. Anyone can bid via wine merchants specialized in German wines who place their bids to order via the commissionaires. Bidders can state the number of bottles they request and their maximum price–even single bottles can be bought.

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