My Munich based wine friend Florian Hopf (DipWSET / Weinakademiker) recently came to Zurich and hosted a German Chardonnay Masterclass for some fellow Weinakademiker. I must say it went down as one of the best prepared and most informative wine tastings I’ve ever attended. Florian went out of his way to gather an insane number of facts on each wine presented and put them into a 2×2 Matrix comparing clones and vinification method so that it became easy to understand where each wine stands vs. its Burgundy peers. He even brought a pH meter with him to measure the exact pH of each wine served.
Florian Hopf with his meticulously prepared presentation
German Chardonnay – a very dynamic place
Readers will know that Burgundy is the benchmark for Chardonnay. Also, readers know that USA was the first one to catch up (Judgement of Paris) to challenge Burgundy, making wines of similar quality. However, global warming and wine making choices have made it losing ground and US Chardonnays are now rarely seen in serious line-ups, except may be Kistler and Kongsgaard. Too many oaky, alcoholic wines. It speaks to itself that Giaconda from Australia, a flinty, Coche-Dury style wine recently got most attention from collectors for Chardonnay outside of Burgundy after it received 100 points from WA.
What readers will probably not know is that quietly behind the scenes, Germany’s Chardonnay plantings are the fastest growing in the World. They are pulling out Müller-Thurgau and other inferior varietals to make room for the high-end Chardonnay. And, unlike the US, Germany is firmly looking towards Burgundy for stylistic guidance. While Riesling still rules in the Mosel and Nahe, the warmer places in the South are more and more becoming Chardonnay hot spots.
Florian mentioned that with this dynamism it would not be a surprise if Germany in a decade or two will be recognized as the clear number two region for Chardonnay outside of France. After today’s tasting I think he may be right and it saddens me that my own country Switzerland is sitting there in inertia, complacently slogging away with pitiful Chasselas and Müller-Thurgau (euphonically called Riesling-Sylvaner) – and worst of all – claiming that it is top wine. Now that I am back in Switzerland, I have attended many local tastings and, a few Pinots aside, I am always walking away shaking my head…
Every wine served was introduced with all the aobve data and put into Florian’s Clone/Winemaking matrix
The following drivers are shaping the Chardonnay rise in Germany:
- Climate & Ripeness: Warmer vintages due to global warming have made it easier to ripen Chardonnay consistently, particularly in southern regions like Baden and the Pfalz. Sites that once would’ve been too cool for balanced Chardonnay now allow for full phenolic ripeness with good acidity.
- Winemaking Ambition: A new generation of winemakers – many trained in Burgundy or influenced by Burgundian techniques – are using barrel fermentation, lees aging, and minimal intervention approaches. The goal isn’t to copy Burgundy, but to emulate its seriousness: texture, minerality, aging potential, and balance.
- GG Classification: Some top estates (e.g., Künstler, Wittmann, Keller, Franz Keller, Bernhard Huber) are now bottling Chardonnay as Grosses Gewächs (GG), which is a strong signal of seriousness and site expression. These are often from limestone-rich soils, mirroring the terroirs of the Côte de Beaune.
- Use of Burgundy clones vs. German clones: The most serious producers are using Burgundy clones. We saw in the tasting that the German clones from Geisenheim University have a glass ceiling in terms of sophistication.
- Burgundy style wine making: The winemaking technique for top Chardonnay is pretty much the opposite to the one for Riesling. With Riesling you will have longer skin contact during maceration in a reductive environment (steel tank, no oxygen), followed by a cool fermentation, no malolactic conversion and less time on lees. The focus is a bright primary fruit character. With Chardonnay you press the juice away from the skins and introduce oxygen during the barrel fermentation, use a warmer fermentation, followed by malolactic conversion and extended time on lees. You have to apply the second technique to produce a Chardonnay that reaches Burgundy level quality. We saw in our tasting that Germany applies both wine making styles but the Burgundian has become the most commonly applied. As a result, top German Chardonnays tend to balance Burgundian texture with German precision – less opulence than California, more chalky tension and bright acidity.
Tasting Notes
Flight 1 – Calibrating styles: fruity vs. reductive
2023 Krebs-Grode Chardonnay, 89 Points
Clay and loess soils | German clones | 30% new oak | pH 3.7 | 12.5% alc
A charming, fruity Chardonnay with a generous mouthfeel. Notes of citrus, white flowers, and yellow fruit linger on the finish, balanced by a subtle fennel nuance. High pH level for a Chardonnay, but does not feel flabby. Really well made for this price point (9€).
2022 Au Terroir Chardonnay 58°, 91 Points
Loess-clay with calcareous inclusions | 80% German, 20% Burgundy clones | No new oak | pH 3.1 | 12.5% alc
A strikingly reductive, flinty nose with pronounced gunflint character. The body is light and compact, with a sense of precision but also a slightly manufactured edge.
Flight 2 – Richer Styles
2023 Chat Sauvage Chardonnay Clos de Schulz, 86 Points
Loess-clay with quartzite | Burgundy clones | 70% new oak | pH 3.6 | 13.5% alc
Lush and fruit-forward, with aromas of quince, peach, apricot, lychee, and rose. Non-reductive and clearly ripe in style. Borderline exotic – too fruity and broad for my palate.
2022 Ökologisches Weingut Trautwein Chardonnay Grand Fohberg, 89 Points
Calcareous loess over volcanic rock | French clones | 33% new oak | pH 3.1 | 13.5% alc
Sweet grassy notes, popcorn, and citrus on the nose, with generous fruit and body. Shows wood influence but lacks tension. A plush, open-knit Chardonnay that leans toward breadth.
2022 Weingut Münzberg Godramsteiner Stahlbühl Chardonnay, 87 Points
Limestone with clay topsoil | French & German clones | 50% new oak | pH 3.0 | 13.5% alc
Ripe yellow and exotic fruit dominate the nose – pineapple, sweet grass, and oak. Slightly overripe; I find the picking date too late here for ideal freshness.
2022 Richard Östreicher Chardonnay Rossbach, 86 Points
Muschelkalk with sandy clay topsoil | Meursault clones | 15% new oak | pH 3.2 | 13.0% alc. Richard is apparently a bit Coche-Dury fan and persistently chased that estate until he was granted an audience with the Kings of Chardonnay. TN: Clean but neutral aromatics with yellow fruit. Thin and dilute on the palate, though fresh. Well, Coche-Dury magic not (yet) reflected in the glass yet, but let’s hope for the future.
Flight 3 – Rheinhessen / Baden
2022 Weingut Bischel Chardonnay Reserve, 91 Points
Limestone with calcareous marl and loess-clay topsoil | French clones | 30% new oak | pH 3.2 | 13.0% alc
Distinctly reductive and herbal – cumin, fennel, tree bark. Fruit is very restrained. Structured and well-managed, if somewhat idiosyncratic. Reduction dialed in with precision, but a little more fruit could help.
2022 Kühling-Gillot Oppenheim Chardonnay Alte Reben, 94 Points
Calcareous marl with loess topsoil | Meursault clones | 50% new oak | pH 3.3 | 13.0% alc
Expressive, smoky nose with popcorn and herbs. The palate is generous yet balanced, with impressive length and freshness. A standout – Burgundian in poise and polish.
2022 Philipp Kuhn Laumersheimer Kapellenberg Chardonnay Reserve, 91 Points
Limestone with calcareous marl/loess-clay topsoil | Burgundy clones | 40% new oak | pH 3.1 | 13.5% alc
Stinky and reductive to start, evolving with air into a wine with herbal and white pepper notes. Assertively acidic, perhaps overly reductive – but precise and mineral-driven.
2022 Weingut Blankenhorn Schliengener Sonnenstück Chardonnay Großes Gewächs, 94 Points
Calcareous clay and marl | French & German clones | 100% new oak | pH 3.1 | 12.5% alc
Cloudy, unapologetically unfined and unfiltered. Striking reductive aromatics – popcorn, lime, mint, and chalk. Broad and mouth-filling yet balanced. Blind, this could easily pass as a quality Côte de Beaune in the style of Paul Pillot.
2022 Weingut Carsten Saalwächter Chardonnay, 93 Points
Yellow shell limestone (Muschelkalk) | Burgundy clones | 20% new oak | pH 3.0 | 13.0% alc
Discreet nose with intense citrus and gunflint. Structured, taut, and precise. Apparently from a rising star in German Chardonnay – and it shows.
Example of two opposite interpretations of German Chardonnay
Flight 4 – Württemberg
2022 Leon Gold Großheppacher Steingrüble Chardonnay, 88 Points
Siliceous sandstone with sandy clay topsoil | German & French clones | 50% new oak | pH 3.0 | 13.0% alc
High acidity, green apple, grassy, and funky – very “natural wine” in style. Too extreme for my palate; lacks cleanliness and balance.
2022 Weingut Aldinger Untertürkheimer Gips Chardonnay 1G, 87 Points
Gypsum Keuper | Burgundy clones | 30% new oak | pH 3.1 | 12.5% alc
Strongly reductive and citrus-driven, but with limited fruit. Harshly reductive and quite polarizing- tough one even for geeks.
2022 Weingut Dautel Besigheimer Niedernberg Chardonnay, Flawed
Muschelkalk | Burgundy clones | 20% new oak | pH 3.2 | 13.0% alc
Overwhelming notes of rotten eggs, the ugly side of reduction that went astray, harsh acidity, almost no fruit. Sulphur-heavy vinification probaly has backfired here. Not rated.
Flight 5 -Raising the Bar on Finesse
2022 Adams Wein Chardonnay auf dem Haun, 93 Points
Weathered limestone | Burgundy & Alsatian clones | 30% new oak | pH 3.1 | 12.5% alc
Fresh, poised nose with citrus, yellow apple, and sweet grass. Mid-weight, well-detailed, chalky finesse. A very likeable and well-judged expression.
2022 Shelter Winery Chardonnay, 94 Points
Weathered limestone with loess topsoil | Meursault clones | 100% new oak | pH 3.3 | 13.0% alc
Interesting story of this wine, apparently in 2018 they ordered Pinot Clones from Burgundy and received Chardonnay instead. They were so amazed with the quality so they kept it. N114 refers to the specific clone here. Gorgeous nose of yellow fruit, flint, and citrus. Balanced richness and energy. One of the stars of the tasting. Clone N114 delivers the goods. 94-95
2022 Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Chardonnay “R”, 91 Points
Shell limestone (Muschelkalk) with loess-clay | Burgundy & German clones | 33% new oak | pH 3.2 | 13.0% alc
Quince, apple, oak spice. Broad-shouldered and intense, acidity keeps things lively. Made in a dry Riesling-like, non-reductive style- good, but not my favorite expression for Chardonnay.
2022 Rudolf Fürst Chardonnay “R”, 90-91 Points
Shell Limestone (Muschelkalk) | Burgundy clones | 15% new oak | pH 3.0 | 12.5% alc. From a plot that is 100km away from the winery
Gunflint and light reduction, but feels slightly underfruited and green. Clean, but missing some stuffing. A rare underperformance from Fürst.
2022 Ziereisen Chardonnay Jaspis Nägelin, 94 Points
Jura limestone | French clones | 10% new oak | pH 3.1 | 12.5% alc
Gunflint, yuzu, and herbs on a taut, elegant frame. Long, caressing finish. Reminiscent of top Côte de Beaune, Francois Carillon comes to mind, in its refinement and reductive tension. Well done team Ziereisen.
2022 Uli Metzger Chardonnay Abyssus, 89 Points
Limestone rock with loess-clay topsoil | Burgundy clones | 100% new oak | pH 3.0 | 13.0% alc
Heavy reduction, green apple and herbs. Shows promise, but needs more mid-palate fruit to balance the reductive structure.
2022 Weingut Jülg Chardonnay Opus-Oskar, 93 Points
Yellow limestone | Burgundy clones | 80% new oak | pH 2.9 | 12.5% alc
Ripe citrus, elegant texture, and restrained reduction. Walks the line between extravagant fruitiness and structure. A real crowd-pleaser, but with pedigree.
Flight 6 – Flight 6 – German Blue Chips
2022 Knipser Chardonnay “Reserve”, trocken, 93 Points
Limestone with clay/loess topsoil | Burgundy clones | 100% new oak | pH 3.2 | 13.5% alc
Restrained and herbal, with ripe lemon and thyme. Less overtly reductive, but assertive and generous on the palate. Distinctly German in style but impressively composed.
2022 Bernhard Huber Chardonnay Alte Reben, 94 Points
Weathered Muschelkalk with loess | French & German clones | 33% new oak | pH 3.0 | 13.0% alc
Expressive reduction, ripe lemon, popcorn, vanilla, and mint. Excellent depth and drive. Classic PYCM vibes, the Malterdinger Chardonnay fulfills the expectations and was among the top wines of the tasting. 94+
Flight 7 – Flight 7 – Swiss Ringers
2022 La Maison Carrée Chardonnay, 86 Points
White limestone with clay topsoil | Burgundy clones | 15% new oak | pH 3.4 | 13.0% alc
Ringer. Overripe and low in acidity. Apricot, banana, quince, and a Calvados note. Sweet, late-picked style that caters to a palate accustomed to Chasselas. Not my style.
2022 Hansruedi Adank Chardonnay Am Berg, 89 Points
Metamorphic black slate | Burgundy clones | 30% new oak | pH 2.9 | 13.5% alc
Ringer. High-acid, flinty, minty, and funky. Wild natural wine vibes – too much for my palate, but undeniably intense and unique.
2019 Gantenbein Chardonnay, 90 Points
Calcareous slate | Burgundy clones | 65% new oak | pH 3.4 | 14.0% alc (the highest in this tasting)
Ringer. Ripe and oaky – vanilla, coconut, molasses, yellow fruit. Powerful but disjointed. May improve with bottle age, but too much oak and alcohol at present. Hmm, tasting this and Adank made me question whether slate soil terroir (Schiefer) can deliver the same results as limestone for Chardonnay. 89-91
Author: Christian Raubach, WSET III, FWS, WSG Champagne Master
May 2025