“This year’s list of Top 100 Wines of the World reflects the best wines we tasted in 2022”, says renowned Californian wine expert James Suckling. Ten wines out of this exquisite selection were grown, produced and bottled in Germany.

Monika and Gunter Künstler (pictured) achieved the best score for Germany (2nd/99pt) in this tasting, with a Riesling from their Rheingau site “Hölle”. The German Wine Institute sums up all ten awardees (full tasting notes via JamesSuckling.com) as follows:

2021 RIESLING, HÖLLE GG, KÜNSTLER, RHEINGAU, score: 99 points (2nd/Top100 list)
What a breathtakingly beautiful nose of apricot this amazing dry Riesling has! Staggering power and intensity, yet it remains so bright and invigorating as it charges off across your palate like a rocket heading for the outer solar system. From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

2021 RIESLING, NIEDERHÄUSER HERMANNSHÖHLE SPÄTLESE, DÖNNHOFF, NAHE, score: 99 (15th/Top100 list)
This shimmers like gold, and the succulence of this wine makes it extremely hard not to swallow, then to immediately reach for the bottle. Very dense and complex, with a level of energy that makes you wonder where it comes from and how this could be possible. Super-long finish that’s so intense and delicate. From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification. Drink or hold.

2021 RIESLING, MORSTEIN GG, WITTMANN, RHEINHESSEN, score: 98 (66th/Top100 list)
As deep and dense as it is subtle and mysterious, this very youthful 2021 GG is like a great ocean liner just setting off on a journey across the North Atlantic. And under the keel lie several thousand meters of dark water. Astonishing textural complexity and a very compact core. Enormously layered finish that has all the spice and wild herb aromas we expect from this great site. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. Vegan. Drink or hold.

2021 RIESLING, HÖLLE TROCKEN, THÖRLE, RHEINHESSEN, score: 98 (78th/Top100 list)
Welcome to the soul of the apricot! Breath-taking concentration, gigantic salty-minerally intensity and racy brilliance. Medium-bodied with an extremely long, succulent finish, flamboyant, expressive and extravagant. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.

2020 RIESLING, BURGBERG GG, SCHLOSSGUT DIEL, NAHE, score: 98 (79th/Top100 list)
What a beauty this 2020 dry Riesling is. Nearly ideal balance of vibrant, crisp pear, yellow apple and ripe lime, together with stacks of fine tannins and elegant mineral acidity. Super-long, pristine wet-stone finish. Drink or hold.

2020 RIESLING, UHLEN ROTH LAY GG, HEYMANN-LÖWENSTEIN, MOSEL, score: 98 (82th/Top100 list)
The tremendously deep nose transports you to a spice market in East Asia. Also delicate notes of tropical fruit. Yet, on the palate this great dry Mosel is very compact and tightly wound. Only medium-bodied, but there’s enormous concentration, married to hauntingly austere beauty. The very finely chiselled and slatey finish extends out towards infinity. From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

2021 RIESLING, SCHLOSSBERG, EVA FRICKE, RHEINGAU, score: 98 (85th/Top100 list)
Incredibly fine white-peach and mirabelle nose with very delicate jasmine and lemon-blossom aromas. Super-vibrant, compact and precise, with tons of lemon-zest freshness. Totally crystalline finish, with so much energy and wet-stone minerality it takes your breath away. Decades of aging potential ahead of it. From organically grown grapes. Vegan. Drink or hold.

2021 RIESLING, HALENBERG GG, EMRICH-SCHÖNLEBER, NAHE, score: 98 (93rd/Top100 list)
The vibrant white-peach, wild-herb and floral bouquet of this stunning GG makes a serious statement. Very compact and concentrated, it’s only just beginning to reveal its abundant treasures. Super-focused and precise, it grows and grows as it shoots over the palate at great speed. Incredible depth of wet-stone minerality at the super-long finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.

2021 RIESLING, FELSENECK GG, SCHÄFER-FRÖHLICH, NAHE, score: 98 (94th/Top100 list)
Gigantic, flinty nose that makes you feel like you are licking the moist underside of a piece of vineyard slate on a hot summer day. Yellow-grapefruit, blood-orange and guava aromas. Enormously concentrated and vibrant, with almost supernatural energy, this dry riesling lifts off and heads straight out of the solar system. At the extremely long finish, the minerality really doesn’t want to stop! From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification. Drinkable now, but best from 2024.

2017 RIESLING, KUPFERGRUBE GG RESERVE, GUT HERMANNSBERG, NAHE, score: 98 (95th/Top100 list)
An avalanche of smoky and stony minerality rolls over you, together with aromas of lemon curd and grilled lemon. Huge structure, but neither massive nor domineering, this has finesse that invites you to sit down and study it, if possible with a partner. Stunning finish, in which a hint grapefruit pith adds an extra burst of energy at the enormously mineral finish. From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification. Drink or hold.