St. Urbans-Hof 2014 Vintage Report

Vintage 2014
A Year To Learn A Lot From
The Winter 2013/2014 has been quite mild for our standards here in
the Mosel. We didn’t have any real winter frosts, which is unusual. It
seems to be an evidence for Global Warming, that we were’t able to
make any Eiswein again, 4 years in a row. Temperatures stayed most
days above freezing. This definitely influenced the flora and fauna in
the region. The survival rate for insects and spores is higher under
such conditions, which impacts the pressure of insect and fungus
presence during the following growing season.
Spring was warm with an early butt break at the beginning of April.
We had two slight spring frost nights on April 17th and May 4th
which didn’t cause any damage, because the temperatures were just
slightly below freezing. There was one scary day, when hail occurred
on Easter Monday, April 21st. This hail was very regional and
affected only small parts of Wiltingen and Wawern, both in the Saar
Valley. We got only touched by it on the edge of a parcel in
Wiltingen.
Flowering started early at the beginning of June. The weather
conditions during flowering were dry and warm, really superb. The
flowering could proceed undisturbed and perfectly well until the
middle of June over a duration of 14 days. The status at that point
showed an advanced development of over 14 days, compared to a
normal year. Flowering in the Mosel usually doesn’t start before June
20th. After this perfect flowering the vines were caring a lot of fruit.
Everything looked like it’s going to be a high yielding Vintage. We
started to cut out fruit.
In the middle of July we got lots of rain. Besides the strong rainfall we
also had several heavy thunderstorms, but thank God no hail. In July
and August we were measuring in Trier 240 Liters of rain square
meter and in Bernkastel even 295 Liters per square meter.
In September the rain finally got less. Trier had only 17,6 Liters and
Bernkastel 26 Liters during this month. In terms of temperature, the
conditions were changing frequently. Some days were ideal with
sunny days and cool nights, but we had also warm nights in between
and the usual humidity from the Mosel river.
The rainy weather in August and the constantly changing conditions in
September had a strong impact on the beginning of harvest and it’s
course. After such a great start in Spring and good yield expectations
(which was what we were hoping for after a small yielding 2013
Vintage), we had to watch the grapes getting more and more botrytis
affected and rotten. That happened very quickly. Many winemakers
and growers started to pick in panic right away. There was a lot of bad
news reaching us from the southern regions like Pfalz, Rheinhessen
and Baden, where a certain Asian fly had become a problem. It’s
called the Japanese Cherry Vinegar Fly (Drosophila Suzukii). This is
not the regular fruit fly, we know here (Drosophila Melanogasta), this
is a new one that might have gotten to cooler regions because of
global warming and the warm winter we had. This fruit fly eats into
the berry's skin and lays its eggs into it. As a result, the grapes get
destroyed and eaten up from the inside. The grapes develop vinegar
flavors. The fly affects mostly red wine grapes. Riesling doesn’t get
affected as easily, also because of the thicker berry skins. Still the bad
news from the south made a lot of winemakers deciding to start
picking early, also because you could see the grapes starting to get a
certain brownish color and some early botrytis. It was not a kind of
sour rot like in 2000. It was more of a fast maturation of the skins
combined with a fast botrytis affection.
I decided to first do a pre-selection of the grapes, as we usually do.
We cut out all the grapes we didn’t consider as good enough and
waited a few days. On October 5th we started to pick the first grapes
for the Estate Riesling QbA. There were strong variation of the health
status of grapes, not just from vineyard parcel to vineyard parcel, but
even on each vine. I’m glad that my team did a good treatment of the
vines and a detailed and proper canopy management though out the
growing season.
We didn’t have much in October and temperatures were constantly at
around 12° Celsius. Now it was all about selection and pre harvesting.
We went though the vineyards up to 7 times. Sometimes we picked
the most healthy grapes first, sometimes we cut out rotten ones. I have
never done so much selection work in the vineyard before. We even
had people at the harvest bins selecting the grapes before they were
transported to the winery. The intense selection caused quite a
difference of the yields we picked in the different parcels. We picked
everything from 2000 Liter per Hectare to 8000 Liters per Hectare. I
must say, that those winemakers who stayed cool, who were patient
and willing to wait, were able to bring in really great grapes and will
make fantastic wines this year. If you took high risks and if you were
not afraid of loosing a certain amount of crop you could pick healthy
and aromatic grapes for super juicy QbA and Kabinett. Those who
waited until later in October could pick grapes at high must weights
and Brix levels up to Beerenauslese. We finished picking on Octobe
We decided to give the grapes less skin contact than in other years,
because of the thin and partially deteriorated berry skins. We also
pressed fairly quickly, but with low pressures. The pre clearing by
sedimentation went well. There were no high levels of solids, which
was what we hoped for. The Spontaneous Fermentation started
quickly and continued smoothly. So far, for the wines that have
already finished fermentation, we decided also to rack the wines
immediately after the end of fermentation and to rather leave the
wines on the fine lees at cool temperatures for now. The Acidity is
normal at around 8-10 g/Liter tartaric. No tartrates have fallen out yet,
so the acidity still might go down a little. We picked many different
wines from 70 Degrees Oechsle (18 Brix), beautiful QbA and
Kabinett, full-bodied and juicy Spätlese, spicy and viscous Auslese up
to a Beerenauslese in the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Vineyard at 140
Oechsle (35 Brix). The wines of the higher predicate levels like
Spätlese and Auslese will be quite opulent. The QbA and Kabinett
wines will be nicely elegant and fruity. The wines will be ready to
drink much earlier than the 2013 wines. I’m happy with the Vintage
because we could harvest sufficient quantities and we got almost all
levels of predicate wines. Also the wines are easy to drink with no
extremes or unbalanced edges. It appears to me as if the Saar has an
advantage to the Mosel this year.
The 2014 Wines
2014 URBAN Riesling QbA - Nik Weis Selection
Harvested from the beginning to midd of October • QbA • alc by
volume 9.5 % • RS 30.0 g/l • Acidity 7.9 g/l
St.Urbans-Hof Estate Winery’s Vineyard holdings stretch out over 80
acres if land. It is not my intention to grow the vineyard surface too
much, because it is important tome to be able to oversee all the
vineyards and different parcels. I alway want to be able to focus on my
Estate Wines and not overgrow the winer< to an extend where I loose
focus on always working on improving the quality of the wines year
after year. Still I want to be able to make enough wine available to the
market, that we can supply the demand. In 2006 I decided to start the
URBAN Riesling project. I didn’t want to make wine that is just a line
extension. Didn’t want this to be a wine that I buy somewhere in bulk
and bottle it under my name. Especially because my name is written
on the label as „Nik Weis Selection“ I want this wine to be of very
good quality. Reliable year after year. I want this wine to be a good
ambassador for the Mosel. This wine is more than just a Riesling. It’s
a Mosel! sometimes I think I should have called this wine „URBAN
Mosel“. In order to make this project successful, I went to the town of
Mehring, my wife’s home town. In this town, just 10 minutes drive up
the Mosel from St.Urbans-Hof, my father-in-law has his Estate
growing Riesling vines. Mehring has been traditionally a town where
not many winemakers marketed their wines in the bottle on a high
level, even though the vineyards surrounding this town are excellent.
Many growers produce grapes and bulk wines for the Mosel coop or
for corporate wineries. The vineyards there are facing South/
Southwest and have a wonderful, highly decomposed blue slate soil.
Some of them are not even extremely steep, so the vineyards can be
worked with a tractor, which keeps the product costs lower. I started to
work with my father in law, some of his colleagues and a partner, who
has a modern winemaking facility. He makes the wines after my
guidance, just the way, I would make them at my own winery. This
way, I can assure top quality winemaking without loosing focus on my
Estate wine Production at Weingut St.Urbans-Hof.
The URBAN Riesling is a classic Mosel QbA with stone fruit, apple
and lemon flavor in the nose, paired with smoky suggestions. It has
the typical elegance and a light body, with a juicy fruit and this silky,
salty mineral finish. it is a wine that offers around drinking
opportunities as a long drink as well as with all kinds of food.
Specially spicy Asian food.
2014 St.URBANS-HOF Estate Riesling QbA „From Old Vines“
Vineyards located in Leiwen on 130m • 11ha • Plant density 5000
vines/ha • Age of vines: 4-60 yrs • Training system: Pendelbogen –
arched cane wire training as well as in Wiltingen on 150m • 6ha •
perfect south-facing exposition • plant density: 4500 vines/ha • age of
vines up to 110 years • arched cane training with vines attached to
individual stakes • harvested from the beginning to midd of October •
QbA • alc by volume 9.5 % • RS 36.0 g/l • Acidity 8.7 g/l
This is my „Pan Moselanian“ Wine. The grapes come from Leiwen in
the Mosel as well as from Wiltingen in the Saar. It embodies both the
elegance of the Saar and the baroque fruit of the Mosel. St.Urbans-Hof
has vineyard property in the Mosel as well as in the Saar. That’s why
the St.Urbans-Hof Estate Riesling is really the perfect representative
of the winery. In both vineyard plots, we have very old vines. In
Leiwen, the vines have been planted by my Grand Father Nicolaus
Weis in 1947. He planted them right around the winery buildings,
which makes it literally an Estate Riesling. The Vineyard in Wilting
was planted in 1905 by the Huesgen Family, a wine merchants dynasty
from Traben-Trarbach.
The vineyards both see inter-row sowings of herbs and grasses, but
only in every second row, as the soil consists of red slate and is more
water permeable. With the inter-row sowing we diminish the amount
of water in the soil and increase the activity of micro-organisms and
heighten biodiversity, and, in doing so, increase competition with
harmful bacteria. The herbs and grasses produce roots that penetrate
the soil and create air pockets as well as “capillaries”, or tiny
channels, in which water can sink into the soils. Our goal is to create a
dense network of these water channels in an effort to feed the vine
roots with as much minerals as possible. Minerals are absorbed by
water and only in this form the vine can uptake these. The grasses and
herbs create a myriad of these water channels and reach nutrition and
mineral reserves, which in this way are made available to the roots of
the vines.
Those grapes for the Estate Riesling that come from our vineyards
near the winery in Leiwen grow at an altitude of 130m. The plots are
situated on a low slope, which, millions of years ago, was once part of
the Mosel riverbed. In the course of time the river deposited sand, clay
and gravel on a hard, impenetrable layer of slate. This guarantees a
continuous supply of water to the vines. At the same time the soils are
never waterlogged due to the gradient of the slopes allowing for
excess water to run off. Potential fungal outbreak is kept at a
minimum by inter-row sowing of herbs and grasses, which creates
competition for available humidity with the vines and therefore also
prevents that the berries become too big due to soaking up too much
water.
The grapes are harvested manually and on arrival in the cellar are not
destemmed, but only lightly crushed. No sulphur is added at this stage
as we want the wine to be fermented by natural yeast only. The grapes
are led into a pneumatic press where we kept them to macerate for a
brief period before pressing. Free run and press juice were fermented
together prior to an overnight settling of the must. The classic Mosel
style is typified by high acidity matched by natural residual sugar, and
we decide when to stop the fermentation purely on the basis of tasting
the wine. The wine remained on the fine lees until 5 to give it more
mouthfeel and enhanced complexity.
WILTINGEN
Vineyards located in Wiltingen on 150m • 3ha • perfect south-facing
exposition • plant density: 4500 vines/ha • age of vines up to 110 years
• Arched cane training with vines attached to individual stakes
The Wiltinger Schlangengraben vineyard is located in the heart of
Germany’s Saar Valley. It has a perfect south exposure, creating a
particularly warm and dry microclimate. The red slate soil in this
vineyard has a high iron content, which gives the resulting wines their
fine herbal and spicy character. It is a picturesque vineyard site from
which one has a beautiful view over the entire valley. The word
“Schlangengraben” means Snakepit, and although there neither snakes
nor pits to be found in this vineyard there is a little trench bordering
this vineyard. There are also numerous little lizards running over the
hot slate stones. Vines and reptiles have one thing in common: they
love a warm and humid environment. This is what the climate in
Weingut St.Urbans-Hof’s 9 hectare parcel is like. The site is entirely
exposed towards the South and the soil is well supplied with water.
Even after several weeks of drought little sources appear at the foot of
the slope, which is why even under the driest conditions the vines
never suffer from lack of water. The red slate soil in this vineyard has
a high iron content, which gives the resulting wines their fine herbal
and spicy character.
2014 WILTINGER Alte Reben QbA
Harvested on October 15th • QbA • alc by volume 10.5 % • RS 12 g/l •
Acidity 9.1 g/l
We consider the Wiltingen Alte Reben to be stylistically like a
Kabinett: light, refreshing and focused and never heavy. On the basis
of our experience with the vineyards and the terroirs, every year we
plan in advance what styles we would like to produce from the
individual vineyards, but it is only at the moment when the fruit
actually arrives in the cellar that we decide on the type of vinification,
and the length of time of the prefermentation maceration of the grapes,
the actual pressure during pressing, the clarification time and, later, the
length of the period on the fine lees. Everything else we leave up to
nature.
The vinification for the Wiltingen Alte Reben is not drastically
different from the other wines we produced in 2014. The grapes were
hand harvested, and the whole bunches were left in the press for 2
HRS before we pressed them. We fermented the must in stainless steel
but without temperature control. We believe that the availability of
technical temperature control results in creating an unwanted distance
between the winemaker and the wine because technology seduces you
to think that everything is, literally, “under control”.
The alcoholic fermentation for the Alte Reben took about 5 weeks to
complete, and on the basis of the impressions we had of the vintage,
we racked the wine off the gross lees pretty much immediately
afterwards. We had the feeling that the wines would become too soft if
we would leave them too long on the lees. And as we wanted to bring
out the minerality of the vineyard as much as we could, we decided
for a fairly short period of ageing on the fine lees to keep as much of
the acidity as we could.
SCHODENER SAARFEILSER MARIENBERG
Schodener Saarfeilser Marienberg vineyard • 140 m • 3.2ha • vines
planted between 1963-1964 • plant density: 6500 vines/ha • vines are
trained on single stakes
The Saarfeilser Marienberg has a very unique soil composition
consisting of sand, slate and gravel. The top of the vineyard is quite
flat and soils here are more sandy compared to the steep slope, which
consists of slate. The Saarfeilser Marienberg is also much warmer than
Wiltingen due to the steepness of the slope and the influence of the
nearby river Saar, while the old vines produce little but very
concentrated grapes.
The Saarfeilser is located in a former riverbed of the Saar, with soils
consisting of dark slate and pebbles. Schoden is a small village near
Ockfen. Althoug The Saarfeilser is not as wellknown as Ockfener
Bockstein, in the 19th century its wines used to be more highly
regarded than the Saar vineyard sites of Ockfen, Kanzem and
Oberemmel. In 2014 we picked the grapes in the Saarfeilser vineyard
during the last week of October, which was very late. We had to do a
lot of selection and went through the vineyard 4 times. The result is a
highly concentrated Spätlese.
2014 SAARFEILSER Spätlese
• Harvested on October 25th • Spätlese • alcohol by volume 9.0 % •
RS 60g/l • Acidity 8.9 g/l
The grapes for the Saarfeilser were picked late. The result is a true
Spätlese with lots of tropical flavors. It was fermented in a 3 year old
Fuder barrel and even after racking we put it into another Fuder barrel
again to give it a long period of ageing on the fine lees for 4 month.
Stylistically, the Saarfeilser wines are fruit driven and normally
fermented off dry, while the 2014 shows a captivating slate and peach
nose. It has the intensity a Spätlese should have, but at the same time
it is fluid, with mouthwatering succulence. A very classic Mosel
Spätlese.
OCKFENER BOCKSTEIN
Ockfener Bockstein vineyard • 156m • SW exposition • 5ha • age of
vines: 40-60 years • plant density: 6200 vines/ha • vines are trained on
single stakes •
Ockfen is an ancient wine town located in one of the Saar River’s
tributaries. Its fame is based on the outstanding Bockstein vineyard,
which is located on a steep, south-facing slope. The soil consists of
hard, gravelly slate with quartz enclosures, with a very fine, powdery
surface, which is easily absorbed by the vines’ roots. This results in
wines with a great mineral impact. The top of the hill is densely
covered with forests, which collects the rain and retains the moisture,
which permeates slowly the vineyard soil, preventing water stress of
the vines in even the driest of seasons. The Bockstein is considered on
of the very best Vineyards of the Mosel Wine Region, not just of the
Saar. St.Urbans-Hof today is the major holder of vineyard land in the
original Bockstein part.
2014 BOCKSTEIN Kabinett
• Middle of October • Prädikat: Kabinett • alcohol by volume 8.5 % •
RS 50 g/l • Acidity 9.1 g/l
The various Prädikat levels of this wine are entirely determined by the
individual plots within the vineyard. The grapes for this Kabinett were
harvested on end of October to beginning of November. Fermentation
took place in stainless steel and normally takes longer than that of the
higher Prädikat wines. This is because we aim at a lower total residual
sweetness, and a fine bitter note. Fermentation was halted at 8.5% vol.
but we already began to monitor the wine’s progress by tasting
regularly as soon as it reached 7.5% vol. The wine was racked off the
gross lees and aged on the fine lees.
2014 BOCKSTEIN Spätlese
• Third week of October • Prädikat: Spätlese • alcohol by volume 8.5
%• RS 76 g/l • Acidity 8.5 g/l
This is a textbook Saar Spätlese. It has a lightweight frame, loaded
with all kinds of flavors. Besides a wide array of fruit notes, it also has
some herbal and floral touch to it, like nettles and elderflower. It is not
the kind of Spätlese that lingers on and on and lays have in your
mouth, this is like silk tissue that intrigues with it’s lightness and
elegance.
2014 BOCKSTEIN Auslese
• Harvested during the last week of October • Prädikat: Auslese •
alcohol by volume 9.5 % • RS 85.5 g/l • Acidity 9,1 g/l
Just like the Bockstein Spätlese, this wine has the pure Saar elegance.
There is a touch of base notes from the botrytis, but not a lot. Even at
this young age the wine is quaffable and refreshing. It has the floral,
smoky and lemony notes that every Bockstein Wein has in a most
complex way.
2014 BOCKSTEIN Auslese Goldkapsel
• Harvested during the last week of October • Prädikat: Auslese
Goldkapsel • alcohol by volume 8.0 % • RS 100 g/l • Acidity 10.5 g/l
Harvested during the last week of October at the same time like the
Beerenauslese. We made a full 1.000 Liter Fuder barrel of this wine,
which shows how much potential of botrytis affected grapes there
was. It is an essence of Bockstein, loaded with peach, apricot, lime,
lemon and floral notes.
2014 BOCKSTEIN Beerenauslese
• Harvested during the last week of October • Prädikat: Auslese •
alcohol by volume 8.0 % • RS 164 g/l • Acidity 11.8 g/l
Harvested during last week of October. Picked berry by berry from the
grapes on the vine. 150 degrees Oechsle. Very clean and proper
botrytis. A nice gem of the Vintage. There is not much more to say
about this wine.
LEIWENER LAURENTIUSLAY
Leiwener Laurentiuslay vineyard • 126 m• 1.2ha • age of vines: 60
years • vines are trained on single stakes • plant density: 7000 vines/ha
• Southwest exposition • harvest date 21 October
Leiwener Laurentiuslay is an unusual vineyard site in the sense that its
steep slope, consisting of decomposed slate, works like a satellite dish
catching as much energy from the sun as possible. After a warm
summer day the dark slate soil keeps on radiating the heat during the
night and in doing so speeds up grape ripening. The microclimate in
this vineyard is such that temperature-wise it is similar to that of the
northern Rhone. Because of the elevated temperature the grapes
always reach high sugar contents and therefore are perfect for making
a dryer style of wine.
Plant density within the Laurentiuslay varies between 6500 and
10,000 vines per ha, which normally produces a good yield of high
quality grapes worthy of the vineyard’s great growth status.
2014 LAURENTIUSLAY QbA
• Harvested during second week of October • QbA • alcohol by
volume 11.0 % • RS 26 g/l • Acidity 8.95 g/l
We also made a Grosses Gewächs in Laurentiuslay in 2014, which
will be shown and released after the 1st of September 2015. Every
year we decide to stop the fermentation in one of our barrels to make a
not entirely dry version of Laurentiuslay, because we love it this way.
This wine was fermented in a 4 year old Fuder cask and kept on the
fine lees until May 2015.
PIESPORTER GOLDTRÖPFCHEN
Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard • 120 m • 2.3ha • age of vines
between 30 and 90 years • vines are trained on single stakes, partly on
their own rootstocks •
Throughout history, Piesport always had a reputation of possessing
some of the best sites of the entire Mosel. The St. Urbans-Hof
vineyards are located in one of the oldest and steepest parts of the
Goldtröpfchen. Here, the soils on the slopes consist of heavy slate,
which heats up during the day and releases this energy throughout the
night. Piesporter Goldtröpfchen has a horseshoe-like shape and the
best part of the vineyard enjoys the warmth of the sun, which is
intensified by the reflection from the river.
One of the finest Crus in the entire Mosel, and we are lucky enough to
have a plot of 2.3ha in the oldest and steepest part, which was never
restructured, unlike the rest of the Goldtröpfchen vineyard. Because of
this, quite a few vines in our plot are very old, up to 90 years, and
especially these old vines are ungrafted and still on their own
rootstocks.
The soils of the steep slope that is Goldtröpfchen consists of heavy,
decomposed, dark slate. The slate heats up during the day and radiates
this heat throughout the night. Piesporter Goldtröpfchen has a
horseshoe like shape and the best part of the vineyard enjoys the
warmth of the sun as well as its reflection from the river’s surface
reflected from the river, thereby doubling its effect.
Both the Kabinett as well as the Spätlese are always from a particular
lieu-dit or plot. In these lieu-dits there are many different
microclimates caused by rocks, stone walls and tiny plateaus all in the
same plot, and which causes for different growing cycles and ripeness
levels.
2014 GOLDTRÖPFCHEN Kabinett
• Harvested during October 10th and 11th • Prädikat: Kabinett •
alcohol by volume 9.5% • RS 40,8 g/l • Acidity 8,1g/l
Both the Kabinett as well as the Spätlese are always from a particular
lieu-dit, or plot. In these lieu-ditz there are many different
microclimates created by rock fragments, stone walls and tiny
plateaus, all in the same plot and which causes for different growing
cycles and ripeness levels. The 2014 Kabinett was picked during the
second week of October. It has some spicy notes which are typical for
this Vintage, paired with the classic stone fruit as well as tropical fruit
character.
2014 GOLDTRÖPFCHEN Spätlese
• Harvested on Ocotber 24th • Prädikat Spätlese• alcohol by volume
9.5% • RS 52 g/l • Acidity 9.1 g/l
This is what a Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese should be ll about:
Black currant Cassis, cooky dow, fresh baked pastry, Apricot and
smoky elements. ll this in a wine the is juicy and makes fun to drink at
any stage of it’s development. It has both a full body and a great deal
of elegance. the grapes were physiologically highly ripened, with
almost no botrytis. We put a lot of selection work into it. Many of the
vines on which the grapes for this Spätlese grew on are still ungrafted
and very old. Maybe that’s one of the myths of this wine.
2014 GOLDTRÖPFCHEN Auslese
• Harvested on November 25th • Prädikat Auslese• alcohol by volume
9.0% • RS 86.7 g/l • Acidity 9.1 g/l
In the case of this Auslese the wine was fermented in a small stainless
steel vessel due to the very small amounts of grapes we were able to
harvest for this style. It has still quite some organic, sulphury
fermentation flavors, which will disappear after a few more month in
the bottle. The wine has a strong Charakter and will need a long time
in the bottle to get it’s perfect balance.