Geil Scheurebe Kabinett Bechtheimer

“What the hell is scheurebe?” is the question most people I know would ask about this wine — aside from my wine geek friends. The answer is, it’s a white grape variety from Germany.

According to Wikipedia, scheurebe is a grape variety created by viticulturist Georg Scheu in 1916. It’s a hybrid of riesling and an unknown variety originally created in an attempt to create a heartier variety similar to silvaner. It still shows many of the characteristics of a riesling.

Most people wouldn’t know of scheurebe because there’s not a lot of it grown. It’s primarily produced in Germany and Austria, but is less than 2% of the production in those countries.

It is used most often to produce sweet wines, but this one from Geil I would classify as “off-dry” having just a touch of sweetness.

The producer, Geil, is based in the Rheinhessen region of Germany in the town of Bechtheim, which is about 70km southwest of Frankfurt. Although the wine isn’t labeled as organic, Geil does engage in organic farming practices.

The nose on this wine is absolutely delightful, offering rich floral characteristics, grapefruit, honey, cut grass and apricot aromas. There’s a ton going on in this wine. The palate is slightly sweet and delivers flavors like red delicious apple, apricot, honey and grapefruit. While the acidity is sufficient, a touch more would make it more vibrant. The mouthfeel is nice, with a very slight effervescence. The finish is exceptionally long, with lingering grapefruit and apple flavors.

Wine: Geil Scheurebe Kabinett Bechtheimer
Varieties: Scheurebe
Vintage: 2015
Alcohol: 9.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $15.00
Disclosure: This wine was provided as a media sample.