For over five years now, vom Boden has been offering an unparalleled deep dive into one of the most magical and curious facets of German wine culture: the German wine auctions.
These auctions, held once a year in the fall (this year, Friday-Sunday, September 16th-18th), are little understood in the U.S.
While the easy selling line is something like, “This is your chance to buy the greatest and rarest wines of Germany!” – and that line is 100% true – I think it undermines, or at least takes a detour around, the beautiful human tradition of the event. It pushes to the side what’s really important about all this, like selling the Statue of Liberty based on the incredible views of New York City it affords.
The greater, more important truth of these auctions is the acknowledgment of just how complicated terroir is, just how little we really understand and can explain. Some barrels, some vineyards, some parcels are just better than others. These auctions celebrate this. For more on the magic and the history of these auctions, click here.
If you would like to bid, vom Boden will once again be providing complete consulting, bidding and logistics services for clients in the U.S.
PLEASE REACH OUT ASAP FOR A BIDDING SHEET. ALL BIDS MUST BE PLACED BY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH. Email orders@vomboden.com
If you are interested in bidding, we should state this clearly: While there are always some incredibly high prices paid, there are a lot of affordable wines sold at the auction as well.
This isn’t going to be bargain shopping; but you don’t have to wear an ascot to bid either.
We can help you find the deals and give you tips on the growers and the wines – please see below. We’ve had the unique opportunity to taste nearly all of the important auction wines from Egon Müller, Keller, Lauer, Willi Schaefer, J.J. Prüm, Emrich-Schönleber, Schäfer-Fröhlich, Schloss Lieser, von Schubert and many more.
In short: In the U.S. at least, I don’t think there is anyone else in this as deeply as we are.
thoughts on the 2022 auctions
To some extent, the strength of the auction is based on the strength of the preceding vintage. While growers may offer wines from any back vintage (Zilliken, for example, is offering a 1997 BA), normally the major thrust of the event is the preceding vintage. So for the 2022 auctions, the events will be focusing on the 2021 vintage in Germany.
For me, vintage 2021 is perhaps the single most exciting young vintage I’ve tasted in my career. I was too young and inexperienced to recognize the genius of 2004 and 2008; I am not going to make that mistake again.
I write the following sentence as a German wine fanatic and collector and not as an importer: I personally am going very deep in 2021. Maybe such an admission – putting your money where your mouth is, as it were – is meaningful to you personally, maybe it isn’t. I’m just telling you a fact.
Vintage 2021 is one of the first truly cool vintages in about a decade; it is a piquant middle-finger to our age of climate change and ubiquitous ripeness. This vintage is a time machine to a colder time. This vintage is fresh spring peas after a decade or two of foie gras.
So where am I going to focus?
I think there is a good amount of logic to state quite plainly that the Kabinetts of 2021 are perhaps the greatest Kabinetts ever made in the history of this genre – which was, incidentally, created exactly 50 years ago with the 1971 wine law, so that’s a nice coincidence. Before you freak out that I’m hyping something without reason or caution, read the chapter in my 2021 German vintage review, which you can read here. This is a philosophical argument, not one based on any grand tasting or even my limited tastings.
In the Mosel and Nahe auctions there are twenty (!) damn Kabinetts on offer (as opposed to only ten Spätlese and eight Auslesen). This has to be a record? Many of the long-cherished Kabinett offerings are here, from Egon Müller, Willi Schaefer, Florian Lauer, Maximin Grünhaus to Joh. Bapt. Schaefer and Schlossgut Diel in the Nahe.
Yet there are two exciting additions: J.J. Prüm and Keller.
I had dinner with Katharina Prüm in July and tasted through the entire auction line-up; I was thrilled to taste their Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett Auction. It is superb and the first one Katharina Prüm can remember bringing to auction. In other words, this is history in the making.
And while Keller has brought a Kabinett to auction since 2019 (with the 2018 Schubertslay Kabinett), this year, for the first time ever, he is only bringing Kabinetts to the auction. There will be a first-ever six-pack “Grand Cru Kabinett Case” which will include three bottles of Hipping Kabinett, two bottles of the younger-vine Schubertslay Kabinett (the old-vine bottling will be auctioned separately) and one bottle of the Pettenthal Kabinett.
I visited Keller twice this summer, happily and luckily indulging in some perks of the gig. He told me: “A vintage like 2021 we’ll probably only get every 20 years. A more perfect Kabinett vintage I cannot remember.”
You don’t like off-dry wines? Honestly, great. More for me. And if it’s a bit tricky in the Mosel – there are only three dry wines on offer from the 2021 vintage, from Lauer, von Hövel and Milz – the dry wines of the Nahe and Rheinhessen are in better supply. Yes, 2021 is a Kabinett vintage, however – and I say this in all honesty – I think the top dry wines of the vintage will be legends as well. It is not an issue of quality, it is an issue of quantity. There were just very small amounts of great dry wines made, that’s all.
With that as a long introduction, here are some wines that seemed worthy of a bit more discussion.
vom Boden’s top 10 list
To begin, je dèteste these sorts of things: “best of” lists, points, scores – anything that dumbs down something so wildly complex and beautiful, well, it makes me a bit sad. So please consider this more of a list of things I’m thinking in the lead up to the auction. The first person to point out that this “top 10” list includes 11 items gets a gold star.
I’ll try and make some dumb predictions so you can mock me later. That’s really the only point of lists like this.
As per general pricing and interest, I expect bidding – despite the economic uncertainty and semi-bonkers inflation (especially for energy in Europe) – to be fairly strong. I’d calculate a 10% price increase just to track with inflation and then add maybe another 10% because people are finally realizing how good German wines are. That means, in general maybe 10-20% price increases, though I’m looking for some wines to make more forceful jumps. Egon Müller’s Kabinett, for example, I think will break 400 Euros (it hammered at 322 last year). Willi Schaefer too I think will make another big jump: last year the Kabinett hammered at 100 Euros. I could see it pushing very close to and possibly beyond 200 Euros in this vintage. The 100-point Willi Schaefer Spätlese auction this year will most certainly break 200 Euros and it wouldn’t shock me if it breaks the 300-Euro mark.
The historic Prüm auction Kabinett? That’s an interesting one – my best guess is it’ll easily become only the fourth Kabinett auction to hit the 100-Euro mark and could very easily pass the 200 Euro mark.
Anyway, let’s see what happens.
Lots 1 and 2, Mosel GG Auction. Lauer’s 2021 Lambertskirch GG
The Mosel VDP auction will begin, as it did last year, with the “GG” or “Grand Cru dry wine” selections. This part of the auction will be quick: There are only three GGs on offer from the 2021 vintage. Like I said, while there are some truly exceptional dry wines from the Mosel in 2021, it was not the natural calling card of the vintage. You had to work for it and even after all that work, well… you wouldn’t have much quantity to show. The auction this year is a great reflection of this.
That said, one of these dry Rieslings happens to be from our wunderkind Florian Lauer. Last year he brought a GG to the auction for the first time – the 2020 Schonfels which was only available in magnum. This vintage Lauer is showing up with a GG from the Lambertskirch vineyard – in both 750ml and 1.5L format. This is the first-ever dry wine from this vineyard. The Lambertskirch vineyard is a tiny, dramatically-inclined site only a stone’s throw from the Schonfels. Growing up, Florian’s father would always tell him: “The Lambertskirch is one of the best sites out there.” It changed hands a number of times and one owner, alas, grubbed up the vines and planted a small orchard there; this too went fallow. When Florian finally had the chance to buy the site around 2008, he jumped at it. That said, it took a year to clear and it had to be completely replanted. However, Lauer decided to really invest here: The Lambertskirch is planted with 100-year-old selection massale vines taken from five villages in the Mosel: Saarburg, Wiltingen, Piesport, Cochem and Winningen. This is some special genetic material – and honestly from nearly the get-go the wines from here have been electric.
I had no idea Florian was making this wine; when I showed up in March he told me about it and then I got to taste it a few times in July. It is very fine; rigid and dense, but lean; the nose and palate are herbal and mineral, like a fennel salad crushed over slate. It is an exhilarating wine, youthful and serious. It has a good life ahead of it.
Regular bottles are starting at only 45 euros, magnums at 90. Because the vintage has such a “Kabinett” reputation, I think a lot of people will be sleeping on the dry wines – so these might be very reasonable, especially since there are 120 bottles and 120 magnums on offer. All in all, I’d expect these to clock inline with the Schonfels from last year, so expect pricing from 60-80+ Euros on the 750mls to 120-200 Euros on the magnums.
Lots 1-7, Mosel Auction. Egon Müller Kabinett “Alte Reben” Auction 2021
Recommending Egon to a Riesling fan is like recommending a Porsche to someone who wants a fast car: it’s both very correct and very obvious. I know, you do not need me to recommend Egon’s wines, though I’m going to anyway. It’s a focused line-up – only two unique bottlings: The Kabinett “Alte Reben” in regular bottle (900 of them), magnum (only six of them) and three-liter (only three of them) and an Auslese Gold Capsule in just about every format you can think of.
I truly hate to throw fuel on the fire, but I thought the 2021 Kabinett “Alte Reben” was psychotic – just amazing juice. It’ll hammer for over 400 Euro a bottle would be my guess; the Auslese will be close to 2,000 Euro a bottle.
Lots 11-13, Mosel Auction. Peter Lauer 2021 Kabinett and Spätlesen
I’m obviously not a neutral party, but for me Florian Lauer’s Kabinett and Spätlesen are among the very, very best at the auction, period – not even taking price into account. Qualitatively for me they are unquestionably on the same quality level as Egon Müller in the Saar, and as Prüm and Willi Schaefer in the Mosel. And yet, year after year, they trade at somewhere between a 50-90% discount. Why? Honestly I have no idea. I guess because the history isn’t as deep at Lauer? They’ve only been in the VDP since 2012. That said, people are talking and I expect the pricing to keep creeping up, but honestly I don’t think they will explode this year. So, cautiously, I say go big again. We have maybe a 5-year window to buy Lauer at reasonable prices, I hope. So do not miss now.
Lots 31-37, Mosel Auction. Willi Schaefer’s 2021 Domprobst Kabinett
Willi Schaefer is finally on the collector’s radar; this is good for them, they deserve the recognition a thousand times over. It is bad for us, however, because prices are going up, and quickly. But what can you do? They are simply one of the most soulful estates in the Mosel: Beautiful people making beautiful wine in a human scale. Prices for the Schaefer wines have jumped dramatically the last two years; I expect the same to happen again. I predicted last year that their 2020 Kabinett would be only the third Kabinett to hit the 100-Euro mark, along with Egon Müller and Keller, and I was right: The wine hammered at exactly 100 Euros. Given the hype of the vintage for Kabinetts and the rise of Schaefer’s reputation, I could see this wine rising in price 50% or more, to 150 or so Euros or even 200+ on the regular bottle – this even despite the fact they are offering more bottles this year, 900 bottles on the lot this year as opposed to only 600 last year. The 100-point Spätlesen? It’ll certainly break 200 Euros and possibly crack 300.
Lots 49-54, Mosel Auction. J.J. Prüm’s Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett
I like the straightforwardness of most of the lots with this vintage; there aren’t six different types of Auslese, etc. Prüm epitomizes this new simplicity: They are auctioning one Kabinett, one Spätlese and one Auslese from the 2021 vintage, all of them from their holdings in the Wehlener Sonnenuhr. This is an extremely good vintage at Prüm; the wines are taut and linear, they are angelic and ultra-light as you expect, but they have this amazing grip too – a tactile fine-ness. These are superb.
So far as Katharina told me, she can’t remember them auctioning off a Kabinett before – so in a way this is history in the making. I expect bidding here to be strong; I think the Kabinett will easily break the 100-Euro mark and possibly push past 200.
Lot 65, Mosel Auction. Clemens Busch’s 2021 Marienburg Kabinett Fass 2127
Clemens, like Lauer, doesn’t play pricing games at the auction – he’ll be sending 720 bottles of this Kabinett to the auction. This is, perennially, along with Lauer’s Kabinett, one of the steals of the vintage. Yes, it is a more luxurious style than the airier Saar Kabinett of Lauer, but it is stunningly clear and well balanced. Last year it went for 20 Euros! And Clemens continues to get the most extraordinary Fass number award, this year with “Fass 2127.” Last year it was only “Fass 2034” so maybe this wine is 93 Fässer better than the last wine? Again, I don’t see how you don’t bid on this wine.
Lots N11-N13, Nahe Auction. Schäfer-Fröhlich “Final”
Nearly every year, Tim presents a wine one vintage behind what most people are showing. Nearly every year this is the Felseneck Auslese GK in half-bottle format. I am always, always blown away by how clear and forceful this wine is. This is an Auslese that shows terroir, minerality; I strongly recommend the 2020 that will go on auction this year.
However, there’s a new wine making its first appearance at the auction this year as well. Curiously, Tim has been making the bottling for a number of years – since 2018. It’s essentially a cuvée of the best grapes, best parcels from the Felseneck. We’ve spoken about it over the years: What would he call it? What was he going to do with the wine, and when – these sort of pragmatic selling questions. The wine has never been released to the market, as far as I know. Last time we talked about it he was thinking about just waiting and, when ready, offering a six-vintage vertical – 2018 to 2024.
Tim’s father passed away last year and when I saw Tim in March of this year (2022), he had already decided to release the 2021 vintage first. This superb, crystalline study in terroir, is a tribute to his father.
I would expect this to land between 200-400 Euros per bottle.
Lots N14-N16, Nahe Auction. Emrich-Schönleber 2021 “Auf der Lay” GG
For me this is one of the greatest dry wines made in Germany. It has density and palate weight, yet is finessed and compact, tensile, with just layers of a profound minerality. In short, it has everything. In past years, the wine was only offered in magnum and 3.0L format. Beginning with the 2021 auction they began offering 750ml bottles as well. While prices have risen sharply in the past few years (as we said they would, sorry) the wine is still very fairly priced. In 2020 the magnums went for 328 Euros which is not an inexpensive date, though that’s only 164 Euros a bottle, which is not an insanely high tariff given the quality and rarity. Last year pricing jumped to 215 Euros on the 750ml and 550 on the magnums. I don’t expect pricing to go that much higher this year. As with Lauer, I’d say we have maybe a five-year window here before this wine becomes much, much more expensive than it is now. Honestly maybe a shorter window with Emrich-Schönleber.
Lots N26-N28, Nahe Auction. Joh. Bapt. Schäfer 2021 Goldloch Kabinett
There are two options winemakers have when selecting their auction wines: they can try and “show more” or they can try and “show less.” I don’t think there is inherently a right or wrong answer here, though I tend to be less impressed by the “Kabinett” that is really a Spätlese Gold Capsule – this is the “show more” theory in action. A very famous winemaker in the Rheinhessen a few years ago told me last year to try Sebastian Schäfer’s Kabinett, saying it was simple and pure and delicious, and I did. I bought three bottles and I was blown away. This is the “show less” theory in action; it necessitates the winemaker choose the wine that pairs back the terroir only to its most essential, most basic, most crystalline. For 2021, of course, Sebastian Schäfer, the genial yet ambitious winemaker at Joh. Bapt. Schäfer, has done it again. This little Kabinett is superb. It is reductive and “sponti” on opening, but the palate is taut, precise – a finely threaded presentation of herbs, evocative citrus (mandarin orange?) and even darker red tones. Yet the wine remains linear, gripping, driven. This is a genius little bottle of wine, a Kabinett-as-mineral-water, a treatise in refreshment and perfect simplicity and clarity and focus. This is, unquestionably, the first bottle empty at the table.
Unfortunately, because of loud mouths like myself, I think we might see a semi-significant jump in pricing this year. Last year the wine hammered at 31 Euro – I could see it breaking 50 Euro this year. At this price, it’s still a deal.
Lots N29-N31, Nahe Auction. Schlossgut Diel 2021 Burg Layer Kabinett
I’ve always loved this wine and it’s another one of the deals of the Kabinett. The 2021 edition has a reticent nose; mineral and subdued. The nose is very fine with herbal and floral notes – honeysuckle and mineral. On the palate it’s a bit more blunt, broader, green apple, more tart and gripping. Great energy and bounce – just a pleasure to drink. This will be in the 50-Euro neighborhood and watch the large format – last year I bought one of three 3.0Ls for 300 Euros which was a fantastic deal. I drank the wine this summer; it was awesome.
Lots N33-N35, Nahe Auction. Keller Kabinetts 2021
There is nothing the Keller’s don’t consider; their moves are watched by other German growers and by the wine market at large. The fact that they are only bringing Kabinetts to this year’s auction – four different bottlings in all – is something of a watershed moment. It is the culmination of something a lot of people have been talking about for a long time: The Kabinett is one of the most singular and angelic forms of wine on planet earth. It should be honored.
2021 is the coronation of the Kabinett, exactly fifty years after the genre’s creation. That has a nice feel to it.
As KP would say: Nature is the boss. When the vintage is suited for dry wines he’ll make Grand Cru dry wines. When the vintage is better suited for off-dry wines he’ll make Grand Cru off-dry wines. You can call them Kabinetts.
I would imagine, even with the economic wobbles the world is going through, bidding for these wines will be strong. If KP is right and we may not see another vintage like this in 20 years, well, more than a few collectors might be willing to dig a bit deeper into their pockets. I’d guess the Schubertslay Alte Reben Kabinett will break 1,000 Euros a bottle and the six-pack Grand Cru Kabinett cases will hammer around 5,000 Euros. Let’s see!
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