What is the greatest, most individual wine growing country in the world? There is only one answer... Germany!

When I was starting my career at Justerini & Brooks, I was weaned on German wines, as unlike other merchants, it was considered part of your education. There the names of Prüm, Haag, Dönnhoff were as important as any Bordeaux First Growth or smart Burgundian. I still look upon them with the same reverence, and we should! A bottle of JJ Prüm sat next to a bottle of Château Lafite in a wine rack may not have the same value, but they are still the best of what they are, and German wines are the finest Riesling in the world. They also give you multiple interpretations, from dry to sweet, and often picked in extreme conditions. There are no other wines growers that understand what a simple grape can achieve. Enjoyed young, Riesling will start crisp and clean and already after 5 years, toasty or honeyed notes surface to the palette.

The wines last and last like no other. In my notes, I recall drinking a 1949 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese JJ Prüm in 2010. The complexity, freshness and youthfulness, were unlike anything I had ever tasted. Therefore, I say throw off your white Burgundy shackles, embrace your inner Victorian, and serve some chilled German Riesling. I would start with a light dry wine, followed by a beautiful semi-sweet Spätlese, and finish with an intense Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). The best Weinguts of Germany offer impeccable wines and have done so for generations!

Our upcoming auction brings exquisite Alte Reben (old vine), Grosse Gewächs (GG) and Goldkapsel Riesling and Auslese from Dönnhoff, Dr Loosen and JJ Prüm.

After all this time, I don't think Dreweatts will change your drinking habits, but if we can offer some advice, take this as an opportunity to drink something truly incredible!