2013 German Vintage Report

Cellars International, Inc.
Purveyors of Fine Wine
2013 German Vintage Report
Cellars International • 800-596-9463 (WINE)
[email protected] • www.rudiwiest.com
2013 German Vintage Report - Page 2
2013 Overview
Gunderloch, the Nackenheimer Rothenberg vineyard
2013
The Vintage 2013 was one of the more
challenging cool weather German vintages
in recent memory; for many it was a weather roller coaster. After a series of warm vintages, ’13 was marked by cooler
temperatures, late rain, and was, as Johannes Hasselbach
stated, “2013 was a fight! Where 2012 was an easy vintage
where we harvested in t-shirts, 2013 was a real test!” That
said, the wines are characterized by lower alcohol, racy acid,
filigreed fruit, and higher than normal levels of sugar free
extract (SFE). 2013 was a vintage where proper vineyard
management and winemaking where essential to making
great wines.
The Spring: We remember during our visit to Germany
in early May of 2013 that the vines showed little growth or
leaf set. This was a result of the cold spring. In general these
conditions were true throughout Germany. The cold weather
continued through late May and into early June resulting in
a delayed and uneven flowering. On average flowering was
delayed 2-3 weeks for many of our producers. As a result
of the drawn out flowering, only some flowers pollinated.
At Weingut Paul Fürst (Franken), Pinot Noir suffered from
poor flowering due to the cold weather, but warmer summer
temperatures allowed the grapes to catch up physiologically.
While other regions continued to struggle with cooler
temperatures even after flowering (Mosel), the Franken and
Nahe regions benefited from slightly warmer temperatures.
The Summer: It wasn’t until July that the vines were finally
blessed with sunshine and warmer weather. July and August
were relatively uneventful and the vines played catch up
during this period. By late September however another
omnipresent factor for the 2013 vintage became evident,
the Riesling grapes had unusually thin skins. Of course thin
skins are less of an issue in dry vintages, but there was a lot
of rain in September and October of 2013. The primary and
overriding fear: botrytis. The thin-skinned Riesling grapes
were extremely susceptible splitting; allowing botrytis to
form and spread through the vineyards. At Gunderloch, the
decision was made to improve airflow in their vineyards with
leaf plucking. They removed any botrytized fruit, and dropped
almost one third of the clusters to help the vines concentrate
their power on the remaining healthy berries. Tim Fröhlich at
Schäfer-Fröhlich made a similar point when he discussed his
harvest, stating that Schäfer-Fröhlich invested 50% more time
in the vineyards from late August through September than
in any previous vintage. 2013 proved to be a very expensive
vintage for many producers who were forced to devote a
vast amount of time caring for the vineyards during this very
challenging vintage.
The Harvest: The 2013 harvest was swift. Estates did not have
time to make several passes through the vineyards. With the
mid October rains, the vines filled the grapes with sugar free
extracts (SFE). These heightened SFE levels would prove to
Rudi Wiest Selections - 800-596-9463 (WINE) • www.rudiwiest.com • 2013 German Vintage Report
2013 German Vintage Report - Page 3
be a boon to the wines final structure – and proved a pity for
those who picked too early. The increased SFE levels were
good, but the rain also caused some berries to split and leak
juice. Any tear in the delicate surface can prove a breeding
ground for botrytis. This was the situation everyone was
working diligently to avoid but Mother Nature deals her cards,
and you have to play the hand you’re dealt. These conditions
made for difficult decisions and there wasn’t much time to
react. We were told the same story over and over again - when
the fruit changed, it changed suddenly. There were instances
where the grapes literally went from golden in color (ripe); to
violet in color (over ripe) in 24 hours, and then in 48 hours
some of the fruit began to drop onto the ground. While this
experience varied from region to region, it seems fair to say by
mid to late October; almost everyone was dealing with this
issue. In essence, once the fruit began to turn, growers had no
choice but to bring it in. Two things became important during
this period 1) They needed to pick quickly, and carefully 2)
That estates directed all of their resources into the vineyard to
select grapes. Oliver Müller, Wagner Stempel (Rheinhessen)
said “2013 is a vintage where you selected the grapes, you
didn’t pick them.” Hard core German wine fans know that
it’s not uncommon for German estates to make four – six or
more passes (over a period of weeks) in their vineyards to
select grapes. In 2013 many growers had only enough time
for one or two selections in their vineyards. At some estates,
such as Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz (Pfalz), Hansjörg
Rebholz reported that they were not able to select fruit fast
enough from the great Kastanienbusch vineyard in order to
make Grosses Gewächs in 2013. As a result, the fruit from this
vineyard, affected by botrytis, became too ripe and will be
bottled as Spätlese and Auslese. While general yields among
RWS estates ranged from 10% - 75% less than normal, as an
average, estates in our portfolio selected 30% less fruit than a
typical vintage.
Summary: While we are very happy to share that many of
the wines from top estates in 2013 are impressive, the big
challenge is the limited quantity. There simply isn’t much wine
– and we expect our allocations will sell out quickly. Perhaps
the most dramatic example of the limited nature of 2013 is at
Zilliken (Saar). With a June hailstorm affecting some of the
blossoms at Zilliken, the estate was able to select very little
fruit beyond Kabinett. With so little Spätlese and Auslese fruit,
when it came time to bottle, the higher must weights selected
were declassified into the Saarburger Rausch Kabinett. While
the highest Prädikat at Zilliken in ‘13 is “just” a Kabinett,
we can tell you it’s one amazing bottle of Riesling, with the
highest SFE numbers of a Kabinett ever produced by Zilliken.
While 2013 was challenge, here’s the wonderful thing, the
wines are generally spectacular. Low yields and great acidity
works with superb SFE levels. In fact, most of the 2013 wines
we tasted are more filigreed, elegant, and terroir driven than
many vintages in recent memory. Many of our winemakers
say 2013 vastly exceed their expectations. We were stunned by
the finished wines, and think you will be too, the wines show
incredibly well – they are bright, clean, and juicy. However,
quantities are so small we encourage you to act quickly if
you’re interested.
Rebholz, Hansjörg and Birgit Rebholz
Rudi Wiest Selections - 800-596-9463 (WINE) • www.rudiwiest.com • 2013 German Vintage Report