Nahe wines: lost and found in between Mosel, Rheingau and Rheinhessen

Chances are you’ve got no clue what to expect from the wines of Nahe. And it’s ok. People come here to hike, cycle and take mud baths. Am I forgetting anything? Ah, yes. Nahe is a wine country too.

An hour drive from the major German transport hub of Frankfurt via Wiesbaden or Mainz, the wine region of Nahe doesn’t get all the praise it deserves exactly because it’s smaller in size and is home to a somewhat confusing multitude of grapes varieties and wines. Making sense of a “typical Nahe wine” is not easy. Nor it is necessary, I say.

The Nahe’s wine world is a tight-knit community: everyone’s everybody’s childhood friend, everyone’s father is every-other-one’s father best friend, every winemaker has a couple’a’kids of 8 and 13 years old. It gets pretty easy to spot-on depict the average wine family of a new wine generation—don’t be deceived by the fact they’re still sitting on their father’s lap with a glass of juice and nagging for their iPad; in a couple of years they’ll be striding among the vineyards, checking potential alcohol in grapes and lecturing you on how the slate color difference reflects on their favorite Riesling. I found modesty, enthusiasm and a lot of passion speaking to Nahe wine producers, both VDP and non-VDP members.

Now, imagine a wine region stuffed in between Mosel to the west, Rheingau to the north and Rheinhessen to the east with incredibly versatile terrain and a bunch of great winemakers. It’d be great if each wine region had a signature grape (or just a few of them). We could relax then and play the terroir game all day long. Not so with Nahe. While our old bud—Riesling—is considered the grape of focus, many others are scattered across the hills; Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Dornfelder and Spätburgunder as well. They sit on a variety of soils: slate, volcanic, porphyry, melaphyr, quartzite and sandstone to name a few.

The most instagrammable part of Nahe (we used to call it “dramatic”) is probably its scenery and, consequently, the wines made from those scenic vineyards. Spread over steep hills and forced into unbelievable narrow slopes by the cliffs, they make an impression. Somehow one can tell a great vineyard when one sees it and the VDP classification seems to agree — the steepest slopes, the best exposures are given the best designations for unconventional wines. And unconventional is what we like. Despite that fact part of Nahe winemakers regularly face disastrous influence of nature as it’s the worst time for night/morning frosts with losses up to 100% of the grape buds. There are, of course, ways to fight potential losses (including frost insurance, which only in a small part can protect the winemaker), but winemakers have to be on high alert as anti-frost tech is still not there and the measures that really protect the young leaves and buds, are very expensive.

For those unfamiliar with the VDP, consider its double nature: it’s a prestigious group of around 200 German wineries and, at the same time, it’s the classification of German vineyards, ranking vineyards form good to exceptional in the order of VDP.Gutswein, VDP.Ortswein, VDP.Erste Lage, VDP.Grosse Lage with quality and identity rising from first to last. VDP.Erste Lage is today often presented as “1G” on the label (some call it the “Premier Cru” to remind of Burgundy) and VDP.Grosse Lage is presented with “GG” (Grosses Gewächs, kind of a “Grand Cru”). Each winemaking region will have their own regulations to comply with the VDP classification. These basic things are important to keep in mind.

While VDP vintners are not farming more than 5% of the country’s vineyards, they are what many non-VDP producers are looking up to in terms of quality and recognition. And the region of Nahe is home to only nine VDP members (as of 2024). It doesn’t hurt to list them all: Schlossgut Diel, H. Dönnhoff, Kruger-Rumpf, Emrich-Schönleber, Schäfer-Fröhlich, Dr. Crusius, Joh. Bapt. Schäfer, Gut Hermannsberg and Prinz Salm.

Not only Nahe has a rugged terrain with diverse soils, it’s also split by the rivers Rhine and Nahe (the latter flows into the first near the village of Bingen which provide amazing views all around). For starters, the most prized vineyards carry the “1G” classification (these vineyards are called Erstes Lagen) and the even more astonishing ones have the famous “GG” (Grosses Gewächs) designation. These flashy markers are often embossed on the famous “flute”-shaped bottles, but not always: some wineries save efforts and, perhaps, money.

Many of the Nahe’s vineyards are impressive: whether you spend a night in Gut Hermannsberg overlooking the former copper mine-become-Grosse-Lage-vineyard KupferGrube (literally translates “Copper Mine”) or you stop on the road to check out the smallest Grosse Lage vineyard in Germany, the beautifully terraced Traisener Bastei, a strip of land of 1.44 hectares planted with vines living under huge rocks. Or you pass by a helm of the sunny Goldloch Grosse Lage (documented as “Am Loch” in 1756) with its 10 hectares of beautifully rolling vineyards. The slope inclinations for most prestigious Nahe vineyards are between 30 and 70 degrees, which makes working there a tedious and often dangerous task.

While Nahe hosts many grape varieties, for the VDP members Riesling plantings has to be at least 60%.

It’s good to remember that only one top-quality GG wine per producer is allowed to bear a specific Grosse Lage vineyard name, i.e. one GG vineyard can only give one GG wine. While the “working horses” for most producers would be Gutswein / Ortswein category bottlings, for power, concentration and site expression go straight to 1Gs and GGs. There’s a catch, though, and it’s a biggie: the name of wine producer will come first. One producer will keep you interested through the whole line of wines, the other will be less memorable.

Generalizing is not a good idea when it comes to wine: it invites cliché thinking and leaves no room for surprises. On the other hand, one can almost predict the taste profile of wines that come from the amazing vineyards, especially after you see them—salty, mineral, deep; some lighter, others—more intense. Nahe rieslings, which quite officially define VDP members’ work in the region, can be subtle and easy, but GG bottlings will show substantial salinity, flint and gunpowder character. I haven’t yet decided if the classic riesling petrol note is typical here, but more often than not it will surface (subtle or not) in the local Rieslings. When it comes to other varieties, Weissburgunder and Spätburgunder can show beautifully here and some producers will directly refer to them by their international names of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir.

We are driving along the blossoming Nahe raps fields: half of the region is actually yellow in April. It’s a pleasurable sight. I wonder how it looks from above. So, next time we do a VDP.Helicopter!

Here are some wines to try and recommend:

Gut Hermannsberg

• 7 Terroirs Riesling Dry VDP.Gutswein 2023
  Charmingly reductive Riesling. Gooseberry, flint, mineral texture, elegant body. Interestingly, the grapes are sourced from 7 different Grosse Lage vineyards.
• Rotenberg Riesling GG Dry 2021
  That’s what you expect from a Nahe GG: stunning depth, complexity, citrus and minerality.
• Hermannberg Riesling GG Dry 2017
  Voluminous, deep, precise GG. Wild herbs & lime.

Schlossgut Diel

• Pinot Blanc Réserve 2019
  Made in oxidative style, wide-bodied and lush, smooth, orange, stonefruit. Powerful honey.
• Burg Layer Schlossberg 1G Dry Riesling 2018
  Yellowish stonefruit, some roasted nuts, bright acidity. Great effort.
• Pinot Noir Reserve 2020
  Well-balanced Pinot, some whole clusters add structure, the wine is extremely aromatic with a touch of wood.
• Goldloch Riesling Spatlese 2013
  Deep & juicy wine, this is where peach & apricot go for vacation. Some petrol, too.

Dr. Crusius

• VOM Fels Traisen Riesling Trocken Vdp.Ortswein 2023
  A beautiful off-dry liquid. Did anyone just shoot a XIX century gun? Flinty!
• Mühlberg GG Riesling Trocken 2022
  Textured aromatic depth. Gunpowder sprinkled with gooseberry juice. Gorgeous.
• Kupfergrube GG Riesling Trocken 2022
  Deep, mineral, complex. Outright stunning.

Joh.Bapt.Schäfer

• Pinot Sekt Brut / 92 Monate Hefelager Vdp.Sekt 2015
  The dedication to make this one is phenomenal — 92 months on lees, no wood, 2000 bts per year, 2 grams of residual sugar. Sunlit apple bucket!
• Dorsheim Riesling Trocken Vdp.Ortswein 2022
  Salty & steely, this one has some blackberry overtones. Drinking beautifully.
• Goldloch Riesling GG Vdp.Grosse Lage 2022
  Dry, melony, citrusy Riesling. Easy, charming GG.

Dönnhoff

• Tonshiefer Riesling VDP.Gutswein 2023
  Easy, funny, friendly wine with green acidity of lime zest. Appley & peachy.
• Roxheimer Höllenpfad Riesling 1G 2023
  Very linear wine w/peach, apricot, citrus. A long way ahead for this one.
• Felsenberg Riesling GG 2019
  Call it a Dönhoff style: a very subtle & pale creature, appley, gooseberry, citrusy, crisp. Flowery and very different from mineral & intense petrol Rieslings.

Kruger-Rumpf

• Graunder Burgunder S VDP.Gutswein 2013
  An elegant Pinot Gris. Pear & subtle wood with cool balance for its 11 years.
• Pittersberg GG 2007
  A splendid trip 17 years back the memory lane. Fresh and beautiful, mineral, citric, flowery.
• Munsterer Dautenpflanzer Scheurebe Auslese 1996
  This is why you need to travel to Nahe and visit wine producers: such wines are virtually impossible to get anywhere in the world. This 1996-bottled cross of Riesling and Silvaner is an outstanding, well-balanced, golden, apricot- & peach-inspired drink. Keep for the best moments of life.

Prinz Salm

• Sommerloser Steinrossel Riesling VDP.Erste Lage 2021
  Truly beautiful 1G wine. Gunpowder & citrus. Subtle.
• Johannisberg Riesling GG VDP.Grosse Lage 2021
  A favorite from Salm tasting. No-petrol. Structured & salty. Crunchy!
• Kirchberg Riesling GG VDP.Grosse Lage 2016
  An exercise in terroir-driven wine drinking. This 8 y.o. wine (as of 2024) has very subtle petrol notes, very mild acidity, but flint & gunpowder are the backbone.
• Scharlachberg Riesling GG VDP.Grosse Lage 2016
  A non-linear wine: deep, subtle, mellow. Food for thought.

Emrich-Schönleber

Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling R GG 2016
Unpronounceable by non-German mortals like me. Drinking lemon. Green apple, jasmine, long finish.

Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Auslese 2003
Big wine in a little bottle. Precious wine with expected and desired peach & apricot. Honeysuckle forever.

Schäfer-Fröhlich

Vulkangestein Riesling GG 2023
It’s, of course, a barrel sample, but an interesting experience tasting such young GGs. Intense, salty, very vinous.

Kupfergrube Riesling GG 2023
Another barrel sample, this time from the “copper mine” vineyard Kupfergrube. Salty, herbal, mint notes are dominating, with time this will develop into a beauty.