Liebfraumilch Rheinhessen Qualitätswein

Liebfraumilch Rheinhessen Qualitätswein

By torsten on Thursday, 11/06/2009

So here we are. The infamous, dreaded Liebfraumilch. One day it had to happen. And that day is now. In the really olden days, Liebfraumilch (beloved Lady's milk) was a label for low yield, high quality wines from the city of Worms (Rheinhessen). It was a highly sought after example of German wine making.

Now it can be put on pretty much any vaguely sweet wine from the Rheinhessen area of Germany that is made from grape varieties such as Riesling or, mostly, Müller-Thurgau. Sweet, cheap (£2.82 in this instance) and not very cheerful, these wines do now represent German wine in the UK - at least for a majority of customers. So it seemed the logical choice to turn to Liebfraumilch for the first wine in what may become a regular Wine Rambler category: supermarket wine.

The label says: "Liebfraumilch Rheinhessen Qualitätswein". No producer, no vineyard, not even a vintage. The label also informs us that this wine should be drunk within six months of purchase. This is a lie, as is Sainsburys bold statement: "We're sure you'll love this product."

This wine should not be drunk at all.

Unwind the cup and you get a nose of yeast and sweet, cheap alcohol. In the mouth there is some more yeast and sweetness and a bitter, alcoholic taste. Apart from this: nothing else. If you were a braindead zombie, this would be your wine. Or if you wanted to become one. To quote the movie 300: "This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this."

Rheinhessen
Germany
Schmitt Söhne
white
half-dry
9%
Sainsburys
sucks
supermarket wine
below £4

Comments

Submitted by torsten Saturday, 13/06/2009

I just realised that the quote from 300 was not really appropriate. After all, it was over quickly. After half a glass the wine went down the drain.

Submitted by Julian Saturday, 13/06/2009

Will the London sewage system be able to handle it?

"No, really", said Torsten R., originally from Munich, speaking to reporters outside his partly dismantled flat, "I had no idea of what that stuff could do. Right now, I'm just shaken, and happy my girlfriend and I got out in time..."

Submitted by torsten Wednesday, 01/07/2009

With half the city being dug up (replacement of old water mains) and five plumbing emergencies in the last year, this seems like an awfully realistic scenario...

Submitted by Jo Tuesday, 22/02/2011

I really don't care what your opinion is of Liebfraumilch.....I love it and drink it all the time. Just think...if we all liked and drank the same thing life would be very dull, a bit like your column.

Submitted by torsten Tuesday, 22/02/2011

As you find this posting very dull and don't care about my opinion about Liebfraumilch I am not entirely sure whether you will care for anything else I have to say (nor do I exactly understand why you commented - if you would have found my provocative post offensive I'd have understood!), but I will try it nonetheless.

There will always be divergent opinions on wine or other aspects of life, and to a certain extent it would, as you say, be a little dull if there was nothing to argue about. So if you enjoy the Liebfraumilch that's good for you and neither do I want to argue about it nor make you dislike it. What I would say though is that if you like Liebfraumilch there are many exciting wines out there, from Germany and other places, that have similarities in style yet offer more on quality. You will have to pay a little bit more, but I would encourage you to try them. If you got your Liebfraumilch from Sainsburys the basic Dr. Loosen Riesling for about 6.50 would be one of those.

Submitted by torsten Tuesday, 20/12/2016

William - most likely it isn't even drinkable any more, I am afraid. Only very few quality wines survive 40 years, and from the information provided it seems to me this one wasn't exactly a premium product even in the day.

Submitted by Brenda Viers Wednesday, 29/06/2016

WEINGROSSKELLEREIEN WALLDORF & CO BINGEN/RHEIN A. P. Nr. 434231501879 - product of GERMANY - white wine - Imported by Monarch wine co. inc. Brooklyn NY 11232 Permit N.Y. 1-205 Can someone explain this bottle of wine I found in a house that a 89 year old man was taken out of and put in a nursing home? He can not any longer speak and his wife has already passed and there is no children or relatives to contact. Is this bottle of wine worth anything? Or should I use it as a door stopper...?

Submitted by torsten Saturday, 02/07/2016

Only a tiny proportion of wines get better with age. Even fewer improve over ten years or more. For a wine to still be great after 40 years it has to be stored very well - which I comment on in this case - and it has to have huge potential - which I don't think your wine ever had. To be honest, I'd be surprised if it is even still drinkable at this stage. Sorry!

Submitted by Barbara New Sunday, 02/08/2020

Hi I have an old bottle of langenbach liebfraumilch monopole
I've had this 10 years but my aunt has had way longer
Can you tell me about this wine

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