The first tastings of the 2025 vintage have largely confirmed my high expectations. The Burgundy varieties Auxerrois, pinot blanc, pinot gris and Chardonnay appear to be among the winners, as does gewürztraminer, of which I have already discovered some highly aromatic crus.
However, I am pleasantly surprised by a variety that has a poor reputation among many consumers and languishes under the radar of the restaurant trade: the Rivaner. When I tasted my first sip of a 2025 Rivaner it was a revelation. Wine consultant Jean Cao, who had been monitoring hundreds of crus for months, confirmed this variety is among the vintage’s winners.
Blind tasting in Remich: astonished testers
As I had long intended to invite my tasting committee to the Remich Wine Institute to examine the Rivaner more closely, the 2025 vintage came at just the right time. So at the end of April, two different committees were each served seven different Rivaners in a blind tasting.
Not all 14 samples managed to impress the tasting committee at the Remich Wine Institute, but on the whole, the 2025 Rivaners are simply a delight. © Photo credit: Claude François
To cut a long story short: the tasters were quite enthusiastic and rated the 14 Rivaners higher overall than the 18 Auxerrois from the 2025 vintage.
These Rivaners were a great deal of fun. Some had a strong muscat note, others were characterised by a Sauvignon note, mainly derived from a special fermentation yeast. Others offered aromas of red fruits alongside the typical apple note. The most interesting crus combine these flavours and come across as complex, yet remain light.
A variety with potential, but with an image problem
This early-ripening variety was developed in 1882 by vine researcher Hermann Müller from Switzerland. In Luxembourg, the name Rivaner became established later.
Alongside Elbling, Rivaner was once the leading grape variety on the Luxembourg Moselle, until varieties such as pinot gris gained increasing prominence from the 1970s. In 1980, Rivaner still accounted for 46% of the vineyard area; by 2005, this had fallen to just 30%, and today it is less than 20%.
A Rivaner is a rather light wine with a lower alcohol content, making it excellent for food pairing. It tastes particularly good with salads, vegetarian dishes and cheese. © Photo credit: Claude François
Müller-Thurgau remains a significant grape variety, but it has a massive image problem. Unfortunately, the name Rivaner is synonymous with cheap, mass-produced wine lacking heart and soul. This poor reputation dates back to earlier times when the variety was produced in vast quantities with extremely high yields.
Now however, many winegrowers tend to their Rivaner with the same care as other grape varieties. Müller-Thurgau is the ideal variety for table and aperitif wines: it tastes aromatic and slightly spicy. It is not particularly high in acidity and contains less alcohol than Burgundy varieties.
Quite popular: Rivaner in the spotlight of a recent study
In fact, the grape variety perfectly suits the tastes of a broad and, above all, young audience. The ‘FabstWines Luxembourg Tasting Study 2025’ reveals that Rivaner is particularly popular among wine consumers aged 30 to 49 – coming in third after the study’s winner, Gewürztraminer, and runner-up, Riesling. The 40 to 49-year-olds actually rated the variety highest.
The tasting committee’s favourites
The following eight Rivaners (out of 14 samples) were highlighted by the tasting committee during the tasting at the Remich Viticulture Institute (in brackets: residual sugar in grams per litre, alcohol content and price per 75 cl bottle):
These five crus were rated by the tasting committees as the best of 14 Rivaners from the 2025 vintage. © Photo credit: Claude François
– Schlink domaine viticole, Machtum: Rivaner Côtes de Machtum 2025 (5 g/l; 11% vol.; €5.30).
– Domaine Leuck-Thull, Ehnen: Rivaner Côtes de Ehnen 2025 (9 g/l, 11.5% vol., €5.50).
– Caves St. Remy Desom, Remich: Rivaner Côtes de Remich 2025 (11.9 g/l; 11.7% vol.; €5.30).
– Domaine L&R Kox, Remich: Rivaner “Domaine du Tageblatt” 2025 (5 g/l, 11.5% vol. 12.50 €).
– Caves Bernard-Massard, Grevenmacher: Rivaner 2025 (8 g/l, 12.1% vol., 5.99 €).
– Domaines Vinsmoselle: Rivaner Côtes de Grevenmacher 2025 (9 g/l, 11% vol., €6.50).
– Domaine Schram, Bech-Kleinmacher: Rivaner Côtes de Wellenstein 2025 (12 g/l, 12% vol. €6.00).
– Caves St. Martin, Remich: Rivaner Côtes de Remich 2025 (8 g/l, 12% vol., €5.47).
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