At Luxembourg's Wine Institute in Remich, wines from the Moselle region are anonymised, poured into neutral bottles, and carefully tasted by a seven-member commission, whose verdict determines whether each cuvée earns the coveted Appellation d'Origine Protégée (AOP) label.
The official tasting commission recently gathered to test dozens of samples.
There, laboratory technician Lynn Gilbertz was analysing different samples, which is the very first step of the AOP certification process. Wines produced within the authorised vineyard perimeter, stretching from Schengen up to Wasserbillig and looping back towards Rosport, are eligible to apply for the AOP label.
According to Paul Thill, head of the AOP service, winegrowers apply through the Guichet.lu portal and must submit three bottles. He explained that one is sent to the laboratory for chemical analysis to verify compliance with required parameters, and if the wine meets those standards, it is then scheduled for a sensory evaluation by the tasting commission. Thill noted that between 98 and 99 percent of Luxembourg wines successfully achieve AOP status each year.
The commission itself is composed of seven members: representatives of the Moselle winegrowers, a private winemaker, a delegate from the wine trade, a hospitality sector (Horesca) member, a state representative, and Thill himself. At the session attended by RTL, the panel had 36 wines to taste.
Before reaching the tasters, however, all bottles are anonymised. Claude Entringer from the certification team explained that wines are poured into neutral bottles carrying only AOP reference codes. This ensures that neither the laboratory nor the tasting panel can identify which producer submitted a given wine, he said.
Entringer and his colleague Rached Ben Nasr were responsible for preparing the trays of samples that day, which included five rounds of wines, six sparkling crémants, and two sweeter varieties.
1,000 to 1,500 wines tasted per year
Every single tank of wine produced in Luxembourg must be tasted under this scheme. Thill emphasised that it is not a random sampling system, the commission ends up tasting between 1,000 and 1,500 wines per year, sometimes as often as three times a week during the season.
The wines are scored on a 20-point scale. A good wine typically receives 14 to 15 points, but to be awarded the AOP label it must reach at least 12 points and be approved by five of the seven tasters. The highest marks of 20 are rarely given.
If a wine does not pass, the door is not closed permanently. Thill explained that fewer than 5 percent of wines are rejected outright, and winemakers are allowed to correct minor flaws, such as volatile acidity, and resubmit their wines for consideration.
No exceptional wine this time
On this occasion, all 36 wines managed to meet the minimum requirements, Thill said. None stood out as exceptional, but none failed either, leaving the commission with what Thill described as an average, workmanlike tasting session.
Although this year's weather conditions were not ideal, Luxembourg's wine experts agree that the 2024 vintage has still delivered solid quality. With many grapes still hanging, there should be no shortage of wine in 2025, even if it is too early to judge the full character of the vintage.
