I was otherwise engaged a week last Friday when Solent Cellar in Lymington had a German tasting in the shop. We had been invited to go out sailing on The Solent, over to the Isle of Wight. We came back on a stiff breeze in racing mode, very exciting, and too good to miss. However, I did get the chance to taste some of the wines, five of them, which had been pumped as air-free as they can be, on the following morning.

As I mentioned in my last article, the tasting really did highlight the diversity now on offer from Germany. Only one bottle here at all resembled an older perception of the off-dry white. None were made from Müller-Thurgau, although you will know I can find a lot to enjoy in those, if made by a young natural wine winzer(in). I tasted a Chardonnay from Rheinhessen, a dry Silvaner from Franken, an exquisite Sekt from Rheinhessen, a Mosel Feinherb, and finally a Mosel “Pinot Noir”.

Chardonnay “R” Steingrube 2023, Weingut Seehof (Rheinhessen)

In my last article (Holiday Wines, 24/7) I included the Weisser Burgunder which Florian Fauth makes at this Westhofen estate. I also mentioned that Florian is Klaus Peter Keller’s brother-in-law. That wine came from the famous Morstein site. This Chardonnay is from Steingrube. It sits between Morstein and Kirchspiel, but is merely classified as “excellent” rather than “exceptional” in Hugh Johnson’s vineyard classification. No matter.

Chardonnay in Germany? Have you been picking up on the buzz? Most German Chardonnay, or at least the ones which are getting people talking, are a bit more elegant than this, but here we have something which is fantastic value. It has broad Chardonnay fruit and 13% abv. The bouquet is creamily toasty with vanilla, but there’s nice citrus acidity too. Now, it tastes a little voluptuous, even sensual. It will settle down with a little age but doesn’t need a lot. With food it is very tasty indeed (I’ve drunk it before). £25.

Silvaner Eschendorfer Lump 2023, Horst Sauer (Franken)

Sauer used to be most famous for scintillating sweet wines from this most famous Franken “Erste Lage” site, but his dry wines are surely among the very best expressions of dry Silvaner anywhere. Horst was joined by his daughter, Sandra, in 2004 and she is now looking after their 37 ha of vineyards. The Lump is a steep, south-facing slope on limestone. Around 10% of the fruit sees a two-week maceration in stainless steel, and ageing is on the fine lees for five months.

Vibrant is how to describe this. Peachy stone fruit is held together by a steely backbone with great acid balance. It’s a wine for scallops. It has the zippiness of youth (despite 13% abv), which I like. You could age it, but I love acids, and anyway, it’s not too expensive. It is now back up on the shop’s web site for £26.

It comes in the region’s traditional bocksbeutel. Many growers in Franken have moved to Burgundy-style bottles. Personally, I like the tradition of the bocksbeutel (which can be translated as book-bag or goat’s scrotum, depending on the author). It’s usually a pain to cellar, with a shape wholly unfit for any wine rack, but this dry wine is sealed with a screwcap, so it just stands on the floor in a safe corner of the wine room.

Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2021, Lena Singer-Fischer (Rheinhessen)

I’d never heard of Sekthaus Singer-Fischer before, but I have now. The winery is at Ingelheim, on the Rhine, between Bingen and Wiesbaden. This is a bottle-fermented blend of Chardonnay (80%) with Weissburgunder, dosed at 2g/l. It’s one of 3,738 bottles which began its second fermentation in August 2022 and was disgorged January 2025.

This is pretty much a “natural” Sekt which shows a lovely balance between lively freshness and a bit of depth in the fruit. Drink or keep as you wish, but right here I’ve found another excellent sparkling wine from Germany that is just half the price of a good entry-level Grower cuvée from Champagne. £32. You may come across this wine under the label “Lena Macht Sekt”, which reminds me of Max Baumann’s “Max Sein Wein” label. A little German helps.

Im Pfarrgarten Feinherb 2024, AJ Adam (Mosel)

Andreas Adam is based in Dhron, the river of the same name sitting in a valley which is a west-flowing tributary of the Mosel, northeast of Trier. The next well-known wine town down the river is Piesport. The Hoffberg sits above Dhron as its best known site, and Im Pfarrgarten is part of that hill. Andreas works with his wife, Barbara, who like Andreas is a Geisenheim graduate. They use low intervention methods, including indigenous yeasts (despite what they were taught at Geisenheim). Andreas began making wine in 2000, age 21, scooping up abandoned sites over the years. Now, in his forties, he is at the top of his game.

This Feinherb exhibits all the off-dry seductiveness of the style without losing acid freshness. Classic green apple crispness, some lime zest and grapefruit play on a tightrope with the sugar and 10% alcohol. Although it will mature a little, I like this style fresh and thrilling. It is a style AJ does so well. Just £20. Solent Cellar does have Adam’s Dhroner Hoffberg Kabinett 2021 from the Grosser Ring Auction for £50 if you want to see what Andreas can really do with Riesling. I am yet to ascend that mountain.

Pinot Noir Vom Schiefer 2023, Weingut Daniel Fries (Mosel)

It used to be blandly stated that the wider Mosel (including Saar and Ruwer) wasn’t much of a source for Spätburgunder, but a long time ago, those who began to enjoy the likes of Maximin Grüuhaus’ red knew different (not to mention the smashable reds from other varieties made by Rudolf and Rita Trossen at Kinheim). This is a new producer for me, but that may just be because the estate is based at Winningen. We are in the lower reaches of the Mosel here, as the river approaches Koblenz and the Rhine.

These vineyards have really seen a revival of interest, and at Winningen, of course, the vineyards of Heymann-Löwenstein stand as a beacon to younger and adventurous winemakers. But aside from that famous estate, there are new growers to explore. Daniel Fries certainly appears to be achieving a fine reputation among the newer growers of the Terrassenmosel, as this stretch of the river is known, although his family have been growing grapes here for generations.

The aforementioned Heymann-Löwenstein are famous for their wines off the slate (schiefer) soils here, wine names like “Schiefterrasen” and “Vom Blauer Schiefer” giving the game away, but Pinot Noir off slate can be both exciting, and a very German expression of the variety. It helps that summers here are noticeably warmer than they once were, aiding dependable ripeness.

Again, we have a spontaneously-fermented wine made in open-top vats, hand punching-down, malolactic and then sixteen months ageing in used barriques. Bottled without fining/filtration. It’s silky with strawberry fruit, but black tea notes hug some texture beneath. Good acids, grippy, a wine that maybe needs a year of two to settle but with food you can drink it now. Cool-climate but it has ripeness. I was impressed. £25.

In summary, I’d be happy to buy all of these wines. In fact, among the wines I purchased from Solent Cellar following my visit I included the Seehof Chardonnay, the Horst Sauer and the Sekt. I’d have been happy to buy the other two as well, but you know me and my need for variety.