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Leonard Kreusch, Beerenauslese 2014

White (sweet)Germany2014

By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-12-15 · Published 2026-09-14 · Updated 2026-09-14

In one paragraphLeonard Kreusch's Beerenauslese is a botrytis-affected sweet white from Leonard Kreusch, a large German export négociant (founded 1897, with a US export company set up in 1950) based in the Rheinhessen line. The grape is Huxelrebe, not Riesling, listed on Vivino at 9.5% alcohol. Beerenauslese (BA) is a rung on Germany's Prädikatswein ladder that requires berries picked individually, overripe and often botrytis-affected, meeting a minimum must-weight threshold. The Vivino average across the whole label is 4.1 (50 ratings); the 2014 vintage on its own has only 7 ratings, too few for Vivino to publish a separate average. No critic score is confirmed. Expect a dense dessert style of gasoline, honey, peach and lychee. Price: not listed on Wine-Searcher (no average as of Sept 2026).

Leonard Kreusch, Beerenauslese 2014 bottle — my own photo, 2019.12 — Photo: Daniel Min, 2019.12 (Vivino log)

4.5

Father's rating / 5 ★★★★½

4.1

Vivino 2014 vintage average (50 ratings)

No critic score found

No Wine-Searcher average listed (checked Sept 2026)

World average price (Wine-Searcher)

At a glance

Producer

Leonard Kreusch

Region

Germany · Rheinhessen

Grapes

Huxelrebe

Alcohol

9.5%

Style

Not confirmed (no Vivino style category)

Drinking window (Vivino)

2018–2034

Food pairing

World average price

No Wine-Searcher average listed (checked Sept 2026)

In one line

4.5/5 — higher than Vivino's 4.1 average · I drank this label twice, two different vintages, and gave both 4.5 stars.

No confirmed reviews for the 2014/2015 vintages. Wine Enthusiast reviewed the 2018 vintage of the same label (a different year), but that score doesn't apply here.

Market note: Price confirmation pending (not listed on Wine-Searcher (no average as of Sept 2026)). The 2014 vintage has only 7 Vivino ratings, too small a sample for Vivino to publish an average (the figures above are for the whole label, 50 ratings). Leonard Kreusch began in 1897 on the Mosel and set up a US export company in 1950; it's now a fourth-generation family-run German export house.

Father's note — Daniel Min

Original author of the notes

2019-12-15 4.5 ★★★★½

“Beautiful gold. Perfect desert wine for me like light beverage. Gasoline, honey, good acidity close to your eyes, peach, fruity.”

Min Haru Aspiring sommelier Level 1 · Cork

Stone fruitEarthCitrusA memory from December, at twenty-one

What I learned today: one familiar smell is not a grape's name tag.

Master Seo calls polishing glasses his meditation. Before opening, he holds one empty glass, eyes half closed, and turns it slowly. Today I did it beside him. He looked at my glass and said, "Half." He meant polish all the way to the bottom inside.

The first wine went into that polished glass. Gold. Honey, peach, and unmistakable gasoline. Minjae held his nose, then immediately acted like he knew. Gasoline means riesling, he said; he'd seen it in a video.

In the gasoline smell I looked for a date first. Mid-December when I was twenty-one, a window cold as ice, the kitchen hung with year-end decorations. Father handed me a small glass and said, "Drink it with your eyes open." The acid was so sharp my eyes really stung. I don't know the bottle's name.

The notebook had that feeling exactly: "good acidity close to your eyes." Father drank this label twice and gave it the same stars both times.

Then Master Seo's twist. This bottle wasn't riesling. What I learned today: one familiar smell is not a grape's name tag.

While Minjae pinches his nose and shouts 'gasoline', Haru holds the golden glass to her nose, searching for a date.

What this wine is

Leonard Kreusch was founded in 1897 by 27-year-old Leonard Kreusch on the Mosel. After Prohibition ended, the family focused on the US export market, setting up Leonard Kreusch, Inc. in New Jersey in 1950 as sole importer and distributor, and running headquarters since 1949 out of a former sparkling-wine facility in Trier on the Mosel. Now in its fourth generation, it has grown into a large export brand covering not just the Mosel but Rheinhessen and other German and European regions.

Beerenauslese (BA) sits on Germany's Prädikatswein ladder above Auslese and below Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). It requires individually picked, overripe, often botrytis-affected berries that clear a minimum must-weight (Öchsle) threshold. This bottle's grape is Huxelrebe — a crossing of Gutedel and Courtillier Musqué bred by Georg Scheu in 1927, prized in Germany for accumulating sugar quickly and taking botrytis well, which makes it a common choice for Auslese- and BA-level sweet wines. It is not Riesling.

Haru — Before opening, Haru copies Master Seo, who polishes an empty glass with his eyes half closed. — **Haru** Before opening, Haru copies Master Seo, who polishes an empty glass with his eyes half closed.

What the world says

Across the whole label, Vivino carries 50 ratings averaging 4.1. The 2014 vintage alone has only 7 ratings — too small a sample for Vivino to show a separate average (that handful splits 1 at 3 stars, 4 at 4 stars, 2 at 5 stars). No critic score is confirmed. The flavor keywords are mostly stone fruit — peach, apple, apricot (25 mentions) — and a honey-led earth group (19, including one mention of petroleum), with some lychee-driven tropical notes (6).

One review stands out: "I thought it was Riesling, but Hook Celeb!?" — a startled note from someone who, like me, assumed Riesling. 'Gasoline' is usually associated with TDN (1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene), the compound behind aged Riesling's signature petrol note — but since this wine is Huxelrebe, that specific association doesn't strictly hold. Similar aroma precursors can occur in other varieties too, so the exact chemistry behind the gasoline note here isn't something I can state with certainty.

How I drank it

I've had this label twice.

November 22, 2019, 2015 vintage, 4.5 stars: "Gasoline, fruity, honey, lychee, ripe peach, golden color." The same day I logged Avignonesi 50 & 50 at 4.0 and San Leonardo at 3.0 — both also in this magazine.

December 15, 2019, 2014 vintage, 4.5 stars: "Beautiful gold. Perfect desert wine for me like light beverage. Gasoline, honey, good acidity close to your eyes, peach, fruity."

Different vintages, same 4.5 score, and the same core keywords — gasoline, honey, peach, gold — repeating almost word for word. That reads less like coincidence and more like a genuinely consistent house style. Vivino's suggested drinking window for this wine is 2018–2034, so both tastings fell near the start of the window.

Where this wine shows up

From this magazine Six dessert wines compared — from d'Yquem to Tokaji · 2026.09

From Sauternes botrytis wines to a Canadian icewine and a Hungarian Tokaji, six dessert wines noted on this magazine compared by my score, Vivino average and Wine-Searcher world average — plus a plain look at what makes botrytis wine, icewine and Moscato sweet in different ways.

Vivino community data

2014 vintage rating distribution (50 ratings, average 4.1)

5★		2 (29%)
4★		4 (57%)
3★		1 (14%)
2★		0 (0%)
1★		0 (0%)

Most-mentioned aromas

Family	Mentions	Top keywords
Stone fruit	25	peach 9 · apple 7 · apricot 5 · nectarine 2 · melon 1
Earth	19	honey 14 · ginger 2 · beeswax 1 · petroleum 1 · wax 1
Citrus	11	lemon 4 · marmalade 2 · orange 2 · citrus 1 · grapefruit 1
Tropical fruit	6	lychee 4 · pineapple 1 · tropical 1

Structure:

Average by vintage (all vintages: 50 ratings, average 4.1)

Vintage	Average	Ratings

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Frequently asked questions

What kind of wine is Leonard Kreusch's Beerenauslese?

A botrytis-affected sweet white from Leonard Kreusch, a large German export house based in the Rheinhessen line. The grape is Huxelrebe, not Riesling, at 9.5% alcohol. Expect gasoline, honey, peach and lychee; Vivino's whole-label average is 4.1 (50 ratings).

How much does it cost?

Price confirmation pending (not listed on Wine-Searcher (no average as of Sept 2026)).

What food pairs with it?

No food pairing data is listed on Vivino. Beerenauslese-level sweet wines are typically served with blue cheese or fruit-based desserts.

What does the Beerenauslese (BA) designation mean?

It's a rung on Germany's Prädikatswein ladder, above Auslese and below Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). It requires individually picked, overripe, often botrytis-affected berries that clear a minimum must-weight threshold — low-yield, intensely sweet dessert wine.

Links & sources

View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher

Leonard Kreusch, Beerenauslese 2014

At a glance

In one line

Father's note — Daniel Min

What this wine is

What the world says

How I drank it

Where this wine shows up

Vivino community data

2014 vintage rating distribution (50 ratings, average 4.1)

Most-mentioned aromas

Average by vintage (all vintages: 50 ratings, average 4.1)

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Six dessert wines compared — from d'Yquem to Tokaji