Germany 2012 - Mosel

Apart from healthy grapes and great quality of wine there were also quite some setbacks and disappointments caused by bad weather, fungus and during the autumn season damages caused by wildboar and birds.

Still in mid-October we could only guess what the quantity and quality of the vintage would be, by now we know:

Top quality, moderate quantity.

After a temperature-wise moderate month of January, February was icy with temperatures as low as -18°C.

March and April were relatively warm with an average temperature of 8-9°C. Up till March it was quite dry which then the rain in April and May balanced out. Bud break occurred mid-April, about a week earlier than in the average of the last 20 years. Due to cool temperatures this took several weeks, with development coming almost to a stand-still with the night-frosts of the 16th and 17th of April.

In the beginning of May temperatures increased so that also the vegetation developed accordingly.

The "Ice-Saints" acted according to their reputation with heavy frosts on May 17th but fortunately our vineyards were spared. From May 20th on warmer weather and rain prevailed.

Similar problems as during bud-break also occurred during flowering, which started in the good sites in the first week of June, but which due to lots of rain and cool temperatures took till June 20th.

The thereby caused "Coulure" already indicated that this year's crop would be rather diminished by nature's selection.

Weather conditions remained unstable, moderately warm and humid, so we already assumed that this year's summer would never come.  This made an intensive plant protection necessary.

Mid-August Summer finally arrived and brought us temperatures of more than 30°C. By the end of September a low pressure system brought rainfalls, furthering the development of the grapes.

We started harvest at the estate on October 8th at summer temperatures, permitting us to pick slowly and selectively, so that our best blocks had the time to fully ripen and develop excellent qualities. The main harvest began on October 15th with pleasant weather conditions. The must weights were between 90 and 100° of Oechsle with moderate acidity values.

Following the initially still pleasant temperatures of 15-20° C the temperature dropped after a rainy day by 20°C. This meant 2 nights of deep frost with -5°C which caused the up till now juicy, green leaves to freeze and shed. From now on no further quality improvement was possible, no leaves no photosynthesis, without photosynthesis no sugar production. Now it was time to pick everything as quickly as possible. This proved difficult as lots of rain-showers forced us to interrupt the picking frequently. Harvest was completed by November 7th.

The harvest was accompanied by a great fear of damages from game and wildboar. Their normal source of nourishment (Acorns and beech mast ) was short in supply this year so that the game raided the vineyards for grapes. On top there were an unusual amount of birds feeding on the grapes so that the growers had a hard time to protect their vineyards.

The 2012 vintage is quality-wise right in line with 2010 and 2011. We were able to achieve the same if not better ripeness levels, with acidity levels being lower than in 2010 but higher than in 2011, giving us a vintage of very typical Mosel - Rieslings.

Quantities were still smaller than previously estimated, due to the cool spring and illnesses caused by fungus in summer a reduction of 10% had been expected.  In total the crop was about 20% short of a normal vintage.

The wines of the 2012 vintage develop by now fabulously in our cellars, showing great density, complexity and extract values with a fine, moderate acidity and a promising structure.

We are looking forward to present you another great vintage.