A Star Is Born: Schäfer-Fröhlich 2021s

We completely understand if you don’t follow the German wine market. The press coverage is largely relegated to subscription publications, the wines are hard to find on this side of the pond, and Riesling just doesn’t get the attention that it deserves overall. Fortunately, we keep tabs on it for you! As we’ve been saying lately, this category is due for its moment in the sun, and signs are starting to show the light beginning to brighten considerably. Klaus-Peter Keller and Egon Müller have led this charge, regularly gracing auction catalogs. With the spotlight turning to Germany as a result, we’ve got our money on one producer in particular ready to skyrocket to similar superstardom: Schäfer-Fröhlich.

Tim Fröhlich took charge of the family estate in 1995, at only 21 years old, and has since worked tirelessly to make the absolute best Rieslings he can every vintage. That work paid off beautifully with the 2021s, producing arguably his greatest set of wines to date. The pinnacle of that lineup is the Felseneck GG, which earned a staggering perfect score from Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. This is a stunning achievement for any wine, but especially so for a dry Riesling; to date, the only other one to receive 100 points from The Wine Advocate was Keller’s G-Max… at $1,500 market price.

There could well be another pair of Fröhlich wines in this lineup with perfect scores in their futures. First is the 99-point Stromberg GG, on its own a remarkable achievement in dry Riesling winemaking. The other is a selection of the oldest vines in the Felseneck plot, exclusively offered through a special German wine auction. Rated 99+ points, think of it as the Felseneck GG on steroids. Incredibly rare, we have only 6 bottles of this unbelievable cuvée available today—so absolutely do not hesitate to snag some if it piques your interest!