year

The season started well enough. Bud break was fairly early, we were spared by the spring frosts and May and June were hot and dry. The wines flowered 2 to 3 weeks earlier than normal and everything seemed set for another great vintage.

July however was the coldest on record and the wettest for the last 20 years or vice versa. The growth of the wines and the development of the grapes all but stopped and only the diseases thrived. August was fine but not hot enough to stop the development of the infections and we had to continue spraying our vineyards until August 20th. September also was warm and wet and when the grapes started to ripen Botrytis appeared almost immediately.

In October the predictions were for a copious harvest of average quality. We started harvesting on October 16 and rapidly picked our lesser vineyards that are destined for our „Scharzhof“ Qualitätswein. Here the yields were still quite good, averaging 55 hl/ha. The weather was fine and the grapes started to dry up and when we started picking in Wiltinger braune Kupp and Scharzhofberg on the 23rd the ripeness levels had gone up but the quantity was down dramatically. About half was Kabinett, one third Spätlese and the rest Auslese but we only harvested 29 hl/ha in the braune Kupp and 22 hl/ha in the Scharzhofberg.

Until November 1st, selective picking was rewarded and we were able to make a Trockenbeerenauslese from Scharzhofberg that might rival its counterpart from 1999. 

While 2000 is certainly not going to be another 1999, the wines show good concentration of fruit and a fine acidity balance. 

2001 might go down in history as a year of extreme contrasts. The winter was mild and wet with everything pointing toward yet another very early bud-break. April however was quite wintry with a sharp frost on God Friday that wiped out all the flowers on the fruit trees and good quantities of snow over the Easter Holidays. The vineyards fortunately were not affected.
May and June were fine and warm and the wines quickly recovered the time lost in April. The flowering was on time if not a bit early and finished quickly and regularly. July and August too were fine and hot with well-distributed rain and by the end of August the grapes were in magnificent shape.
September was untimely cold and very rainy and only the cold prevented the widespread inset of grey rot. At the end of September another 2000 vintage with all its problems was the most likely scenario. October however was the exact opposite and under sunny skies the insetting Botrytis developed into noble rot. We started harvesting on October 15th and from the beginning set out to pick these grapes separately. For a record breaking 3 weeks the weather remained exceptionally fine and by early November we were picking Trockenbeerenauslese in the Scharzhofberg. By November 10th we were almost finished when torrential rain set in and on November 13th we brought in the last grapes.

The average yield was very low, not exceeding 30 hl/ha for the second year in a row. The quality however is very good and first tastings show the wines to have a good concentration and a firm mineral core.

Because the harvest took us so long there is a wide difference between grapes from early harvest and those from late harvest. While at the beginning the acidity, levels soared making us wonder if we should not wait a bit longer, in the end they had come down so low that we were happy to have the early grapes to assure balanced wines.

This means that we will do more blending than usually and less single barrels and it means that we will have very little Spätlese because most of our Spätlese grapes fall into this later category and will probably be blended into the Kabinett for balance.

While 2001 will not be another 1997 or 1999, it is certainly on a par with 1995 and the wines might even show very similar characteristics to that vintage

The year 2002 started very cold but the second half of January was warm and rainy and winter was already over by than. April was rather cool but very sunny and fortunately we were spared spring frost. Bud break was slightly early and the weather during the month of May was erratic but, on the whole, good. June brought great heat and an early, quick and even flowering. By the end of June, the vineyards had an advance of 2 – 3 weeks on the long-term average.

July and August were not really summer-like, it was warm and we had frequent showers but we were unscathed by the catastrophes that ravaged other parts of Germany and Europe. The vineyards strived despite of a high pressure of Mildew and Powdery Mildew, but the humid conditions forced us to spray 5 to 6 times, depending on plot, rootstock and trellising system. In the old vineyards we had to plough until the end of August to keep the weeds down.

From early September it became clear that the summer-rainfall had not been excessive. When the rain stopped, the soil dried up quickly and by the end of the month the water table in our pond was dropping: A sign of drought. By than the ripeness level of the grapes was comparable to that of great vintages like 1999 or 1997 and we were hoping for a truly great year. 

October brought rain. Around mid October the grapes that had been exceptionally healthy began do develop Botrytis. We started harvesting on the 21st after a dry and sunny weekend by picking the Botrytised grapes in all our vineyards that are grafted on American rootstock. The first Fuders were surprisingly good, considering that they came not from our best plots. Throughout the week however the quality dropped with more and more rain. Over the weekend a windstorm did significant damage not so much to the quality as we feared but by knocking the botrytised grapes off the vines. I reckon that we lost 10 – 15% of our harvest during these two days.

The following week was drier and the quality of the harvest improved until Friday. November 1st is a religious holiday and normally we do not work but on that day we brought in the grapes from our best vineyards. During the next night, 40 mm of rain fell and unlike the previous rainfall, did do damage to the grapes because there was no wind to blow the water off. Improvement was not in sight and we brought in the rest of our crop quickly. By November 7th, all but the Eiswein grapes were gathered and it took until December 11th until sufficiently cold weather allowed us the harvest of what should become a very nice Eiswein.

The quality of the harvest is very high. The grapes were very ripe, not just physiologically but especially aromatically. At the same time the acidity level was fairly low. Because of the weather pattern there are no big differences between our top vineyards and our more modest plots and it was all but impossible to select late harvest wines: While the average must weights are significantly higher than last year and well in the legal  Auslese bracket we were with great effort only able to make on small barrel of Auslese Goldkapsel. 

Looking at my father’s old records I find striking similarities with the fine 1964 vintage and I hope that the wines will develop similarly:  First tastings show balanced wines with very good concentration of fruit over a mineral core. 

With the exception of a short very wet spell around New Year, the winter of 2002/3 was rather dry and warmer than average. The vegetation started very early and frost around the 10th of April already did some damage to the vineyards at the bottom of the Scharzhofberg hill. After that however it was warmer and drier than average until the end of September.

The vines first thrived under warm and dry conditions and it was difficult to keep up with the growth, as during May and June we had to do the work that is normally done in 3 month’ time. The flowering came extremely early and by the end of June the vegetation had an advance of about 3 weeks over normal years.

In July the growth slowed as water became scarce but the vineyards remained in great shape. I found the first signs of veraison in July, a date comparable only to years like 1947, 1959 or 1976.   In August the temperatures soared to 40°C for several days. The combination of lack of water and excessive heat caused sunburn to the grapes, especially in the steeper vineyards with shallow soils. In our vineyards the damage ranged from 10 – 30%. Sometimes whole clusters were burnt but mostly only the part of the grape directly exposed to the sun. Luckily the excessive temperatures dropped to more normal levels after the 10th August and the grapes ripened quickly. In September the sugar levels were higher than in any previous vintage. On September 22nd we had 30 mm of rain and from that point, the sugar levels rose only slowly. 

The rain however brought the onset of Botrytis and our harvest began on September 29th with the making of a Trockenbeerenauslese. This was not only the earliest harvest date ever at Scharzhof but the must also had the highest sugar concentration ever achieved in our estate. During the first week of October we had some rain but from October 13th the weather was beautiful: sunny skies and a strong easterly wind dried the grapes and from October 16th we were back to picking Trockenbeerenauslese. Under the prevailing cool and dry conditions, the Botrytis did not spread and while few berries were affected, the noble rot was extremely well defined and of superb quality. 

I had been doubtful about the early harvest but after the 20th October the grapes showed definite signs of over ripeness and the acidity was lower than usually.  Fortunately it did not drop further during our harvest. The proportion of tartaric acid was very high and when the weather forecast announced frost for the weekend of the 26th October we hurried in fear of it further reducing acidity levels by precipitating tartrate in the berries. We brought the last grapes in on 27th October, again a record-breaking early date. 

The yields were very low. No vineyard surpassed 40 hl/ha and in some instances we only had 20 hl/ha, averaging less than 30 hl/ha. The high ripeness levels will once again demonstrate the ineffectiveness of wine classification by sugar levels: According to the wine law our entire harvest would fall into the Auslese or higher categories. As is our standard, the ripe grapes from Wiltinger braune Kupp and Scharzhofberg will produce Kabinett while the overripe grapes will be Spätlese. Judging by the aspect of the grapes at harvest we reckon that the ratio might be 2/3 to 1/3. There will be little Auslese as there was little noble rot and there will be very little “Scharzhof Riesling” as we will probably have to rely on the grapes from Saarburg and Wawern only. 

My father’s records show a great similarity to the 1959 vintage, both years being extremely ripe, with low acidity levels and without much Botrytis. In both years it was possible to produce superlative Trockenbeerenauslese from raisin like, shrivelled berries. The first casks to finish their fermentation show aromas of an ethereal quality that again remind us of the 59’s.Overall this looks like a great vintage but the proof will be in the wines.

The winter 2003/2004 was mild and wet. Especially during the month of January there was more than the average amount of rainfall. It resulted in flooding on the rivers but was not enough to offset the 2003 drought. Consequently, during the whole growing season of 2004, water was in short supply and even after heavy only touched the surface and did not reach the deeper layers of the soil.

The spring was warm and the vines developed well and the first vines flowered early in June. Then it turned cold however, and flowering only finished around the end of the month. July too, was not very warm and intermittent rain caused high pressure of Mildew and Powdery Mildew, and black rot, a fungus that had not threatened the German vineyards before. Our vineyards escaped the diseases but the humid conditions forced us to spray 5 to 6 times, depending on plot, rootstock and trellising system. 

In August it was warm and humid and September was much warmer than the average, too. The vineyards strived but so did weeds and we had to hand-weed our old vineyards to prevent the ripening grapes from hanging in the weeds.

In October weather conditions were ideal and the sugar levels soared. We only started harvesting on the 25th because due to the late ripening the acidity levels remained quite high. During the first week we the grapes had very high must weights but also high acidity. There was very little Botrytis but what there was, was of good quality and we even were able to select a small quantity of Trockenbeerenauslese. The first week of November was rainy and unusually warm. While the total quantity of the rain was not enough to dilute the grapes, it created ideal conditions for the development of Botrytis. 

The following week was drier and the quality of the harvest improved, especially towards the weekend. By this time however, the acidity levels were down and although it was again possible with extremely careful selection to harvest small quantities of “nobly rotten” berries, their quality was well below that of the first week’s selections. We finished the harvest on the 16th November.
 
We believe that 2004 is a vintage of very high quality. The average must weight is well into the Auslese bracket and moreover, the sugar levels were good even in our lesser vineyards. The first tastings show wines of great depth, with highly concentrated aromas and flavors and beautifully integrated acidity. The wines appear to have a very classic Saar-character and and ageing potential 
 

The summer of 2005 was not spectacular. The year had started cool and fairly dry and flowering began late but under ideal conditions was finished very rapidly. July was quite dry but whenever the vineards began to show signs of hydric stress, there was a bit of rain. August was cool but September was quite sunny and warm allowing the sugar levels to quickly raise. Heavy rain around September 10th and the following warm and humid climate created ideal conditions for Botrytis and for a rapid spreading of „noble rot “. At the beginning of October, there was more rain that had us worried about the fate of the harvest. Fortunately, it remained dry after October 3rd and we started picking on the 4th.

The weather was stable, sunny and warm. The sugar levels were high but so were the acidities as it had to be expected after the cool weather in August. The quantity was small and became smaller every day as water evaporated from the „noble rot“-affected grapes. We used greatest care in the selection of the botrytised berries, trying for Trockenbeerenauslese until the 20th October. During the following days, there were intermittent showers and it was no longer possible to select those extremely concentrated wines.

We finished the 2005 harvest on October 26th.

What is exceptional about 2005 is not just the high sugar level of the wines which is higher than in any other vintage. The cool August has preserved acidity to match the sweetness and low yields of only 15 hl/ha and a comparatively stress-free growing season have added minerality and extract to the wines, assuring their balance. There are parallels with the 1976 vintage but ultimately 2005 might prove to be on another level.
 

In 2006 the vegetation phase was characterised by extremes. A record-breaking hot July was followed by a cool and wet August. The grapes that had remained very small up to that point, suddenly grew considerably due to ample rainfall. In September on the other hand the weather turned warm and dry, the grapes matured very well and because the enlarged grapes developed pressure within, it resulted in the first botrytis infections. By the end of the month the maturity of the grapes had almost reached the level of 2005, which is why we were expecting another great vintage.

On the 30th of September however, an enormous thunderstorm destroyed some of the vineyards along the Saar-river, particularly in Saarburg, Ockfen, Ayl and Oberemmel. The braune Kupp vineyard in Wiltingen was spared but the normally better protected Scharzhofberg was badly hit by the hail. The following two days saw one hundred millimetres of rainfall, and in the warm and wet conditions botrytis spread like wild fire. Panic-stricken, many vintners rushed to bring in their grapes.

After a few dry days, we started harvesting on the 9th of October and finished it in beautiful weather on the 23rd of October after working non-stop for 15 days. At the beginning, the must weights and the yield were good but under the blue sky, the water in the grapes evaporated quickly. While the sugar content in the gapes rose, the yields dropped continuously: The sections that were picked last only produced 5 hl/ha!

As in 2005, 2006 was characterised by noble rot and extremely low yields. Since, however, the wines did not have the same concentration as in 2005, 2006 is more similar to 1999 or even 1949. We were able to harvest beautiful Spätlese and Auslese grapes but as we were forced to pick them extremely quickly, we could only produce a few vats of Auslese Goldkapsel wines and a very small quantity of Trockenbeerenauslese.
 

The summer of 2007 was remarkable only for abundant rainfall. By the end of September, we had already received what amounts to the average of a whole year. May, June and July were warm, creating ideal conditions for mildew. On top, there was hail, both in the Scharzhofberg where it came early and did relatively small damage and in Wiltinger braune Kupp where it hit the developing grapes after flowering and where the damage was considerable. Here not only the quantity was reduced but the vines were under shock for some time and even after recovering could never quite catch up the delay in ripening.

Such a combination of adverse influences should be enough to destroy all hopes for a great vintage but in 2007 two extraordinary months changed everything: April was about 5°C warmer than average and not a single drop of rain fell during the whole month. Since the winter had been very mild, bud break came very early and by the end of April, the vegetation had an advance of almost one month compared to normal years.  Over the course of the summer, some of this advance was lost but still harvest was early and we started picking on the first of October. 

At that time, we were prepared for a copious harvest of Qualitätswein and Kabinett with a little bit of Spätlese from the best vineyards. After all the rain we were surprised by the excellent health of the grapes.  Then came the second dry month of this year: From October 1st to 29th, there was no rain. At the beginning we were still expecting a quick harvest because we did not trust the weather and after the wet summer were afraid of more rain and the ensuing rot. It became soon apparent however, that the weather was stable, allowing us to slow down for more careful selections.  By the end of the first week of picking, some noble rot began to develop. It was not wide spread as in 2006 but apparent in small batches throughout the better vineyards. 

The fine weather let the grapes ripen further and the effect of the noble rot added concentration and when we came to harvest the finer vineyard sites, we were convinced that the grapes were of Spätlese ripeness. By that time, we had also intensified our efforts at selective picking and for 10 days we picked Trockenbeerenauslese – small quantities only, but of very fine quality. We harvested the last grapes on October 29th and on that day, it began to rain. In only 3 days enough rain fell to make up for the dry 28 days. 

Overall, the harvest was smaller than we had initially thought. The average yield across all our vineyards and quality levels is of only 35 hl/ha. While for us this is more than 2005 and 2006 combined it is considerably less than the average yield in Germany where 2007 has produced a big crop.  Where the vintage generally seems to be considered as being well above average but maybe not great, we are much more enthusiastic and believe that 2007 is both great and has yielded wines of classical proportions. The cool August has preserved acidity and October has provided the sugar.  It is certainly not another 2005 but, other than that we have to look at the greatest classical years like 1971 or 1997 if we want to compare.

After a very mild winter, the vegetation started early once again. A beautiful May gave a head start to the vineyards and flowering was early and regular. The summer was less than spectacular but on the whole, warm with sufficient and well spread rainfall. Some thunderstorms brought local hail and erosion but the damage was limited and by the end of August the grapes looked very promising. A cold and wet September all but ruined the positive outlook and by the time we started picking on October 13th, we were not at all optimistic about the quality but to our surprise the sugar levels were a bit higher than expected. During the first week of the harvest the acidity was extremely high. The second week was better and the sunny weather even allowed the selection of small quantities of Auslese and, potentially Auslese Goldkapsel. Some rain at the end of October closed this window for the harvest of noble rot but it brought down the acidity and the following dry and mild weather allowed for a smooth finish of the harvest. The last grapes came in on November 7th. 
We have only very small quantities of Spätlese and Auslese, and so 2008 can never qualify as a great vintage but we have flavorful Kabinett with concentrated fruit and racy acidity and the Qualitätswein is aromatic and lively. Therefore in a very classical sense, 2008 looks to be a very typical Saar vintage.
 

The winter 2008/2009 was very cold and dry. After a mild December, temperatures dropped sharply in January: on the morning of January 7th, the thermometer showed -16° C. It stayed cold through February and even March was not very spring-like. In April however, the weather became fine, warm and sunny. Very quickly now we saw bud break and the young shoots grew fast. By the end of the month a serious delay turned into a handsome advance.  May, though not as spectacular as April was still very warm and towards the end of the month, we found the first flowers. The first part of June was cooler and the flowering lingered especially in the higher and flatter vineyard sites until the 20th. All the time it remained dry and by the beginning of July the water deficit was becoming critical. From the end of June until mid August a lot of rain fell and although it came as a relief to the thirsty wines it also brought a huge pressure of powdery mildew. From July 1st to 9th, not a single day was without precipitation and with the prevailing high temperatures careful spraying was of the essence. In August the pressure eased and after August 15th, barely any rain fell. September too, was warm and dry, allowing the grapes that had withstood the mildew attack to ripen beautifully in perfect health.

Harvest began on October 12th. Because of the drawn out flowering the cooler vineyard sites showed varied ripeness levels and while the sugar concentration was generally high, the acidity was breathtaking. We harvested grapes for our “Scharzhof” in the Rosenberg vineyard. On the morning of October 15th, the temperature dropped to -5°C and the frost killed the leaves in all our vineyards with the only exception of the low-lying parcels in Wiltinger braune Kupp that were protected by the Saar river. While it virtually stopped the photosynthesis the frost also lowered the acidity a bit and it released aromas in the grapes. It remained cold for a week, allowing us to harvest without pressure and to select small quantities of excellent noble rot affected berries.  Overall, the percentage of botrytised grapes was very small and the fruit harvested beside the Auslese was spotlessly clean. After October 24th the percentage of botrytised grapes increased significantly and until the end of the month together with more Auslese, most of our Spätlese was brought in. On the 2nd November it started to rain and after the 4th, we had considerable losses since the frost had damaged the stems and grapes started to fall to the ground. After a few rain-breaks we finished our harvest on November 7th.  The average yield was around 32 hl/ha but since we have replanted a parcel in the Scharzhofberg, the crop is slightly smaller than in 2008 or 2007.

The overall quality of the wines is very high. Because there was little Noble Rot, there will be plenty of Kabinett but we have good quantities of very fine Spätlese, too. We have made classic Auslese, albeit not in very great quantities and we have been able to select Trockenbeerenauslese in quantities not seen since the 2005 vintage. There will even be a small lot of Trockenbeerenauslese to be sold outside of our annual auction. If we look for a comparable vintage, we find that there are many similarities between 2009 and 2007. Both years enjoyed a very long growing season with moderately warm summers and with sufficient rainfall at the right moments and both years are characterized by high ripeness paired with high acidity and a relative lack of Botrytis. The first tastings show wines that may even have a more brilliant acidity than their 2007 counterparts. Alltogether 2009 looks like a great classic vintage that might develop to compare favorably to such stellar years as 2007, 1990 and 1971.
 

The winter 2009/2010 was very cold and long. The temperatures did not drop to the same extremes as in the previous year but there was no sign of spring until April. April was warm, sunny and dry and finally the vineyards came to live. May however was very cold and wet and the first 2 weeks of June were not much better. The flowering started but because of the adverse conditions it was quite drawn out and irregular. The cooler vineyards had not started flowering at all and it was questionable whether we would have a June flowering, always considered important for timely ripening of the grapes. The weather turned however, and the last decade was hot and dry. The cooler vineyard sites that had not started flowering at that point, enjoyed perfect conditions and finished in record time, well before the end of the month. July was very hot and sunny and by early August the development of the grapes was at the level of 2009. Before we could get our hopes up, the weather turned again and August and September brought considerable rainfall and especially September was very cold. The rain was followed by Botrytis, that with better weather in October spread rapidly.

Everything was set for a late start of the harvest, not before October 18th but under blue skies and a strong easterly wind the Botrytis developed into picture book Noble Rot.  We decided to bring forward our harvest and to try for Auslese or even Beerenauslese and started picking on the 14th.The must weights were very high from the beginning but so were the acidity levels. Warm temperatures in August and September are essential to bring the acidity down and because of the cool conditions during that time, the acidity levels remained very high and then, were further concentrated by the effect of the Noble Rot. We also saw the effect of the poor flowering on our yields. With the exception of Oberemmeler Rosenberg and the Eastern part of the Scharzhofberg that had benefited from late and quick flowering, the yields everywhere were dramatically low.  The effect of concentration from the Botrytis further reduced the quantity. We finished picking on October 30th and lost a few more grapes in a vain attempt to make Eiswein. We had serious frost by the end of November but since we had not wrapped our grapes in plastic sheets, they were all gone by then.

In the history of our estate, we have not seen a year like 2010: The average must weight is second only to 2005 and the average yield is only 18 hl/ha across the estate, suggesting very high extract levels and considerable concentration. At the same time the acidity is higher than 2005 at levels normally associated with outright unripe years. We are confident however, that the wines will have enough power for the high wire act of supporting the acidity and that 2010 will be a great vintage with almost unlimited aging potential and razor-sharp definition.

The 2020 vintage at Weingut Egon Müller-Scharzhof

Once again, there was no real winter. In October 2019, during harvest, it had rained considerably after a long drought and November and December were wet as well, but rather mild. January was largely dry, only towards the end of the month significant precipitation fell but then it rained continuously, until March. It remained very warm and from mid-March the sun shone almost continuously.
The vegetation started very early, the first flowers on Riesling vines could be found on May 12th. Then a brief cold snap slowed down nature: On May 12th there was light frost after rain, but it caused only very limited damage in our vineyards. However, the flowering dragged on and was not completely finished until June 15. 
On June 5th, the first heavy rain fell after a prolonged dry period and we had to start spraying. Overall, it was sunny and warm, but there were occasional thunderstorms, which totaled an above-average 75 mm by the end of the month. We had only sprayed sulfur and copper and so a second treatment was necessary on June 15th. The rain stopped at the end of June and July was hot and dry. From July 10th to 13th, we sprayed for the third and last time.
During the spring, Europe was in lockdown because of the Corona pandemic. Our spring-team could not arrive from Poland and we were concerned about being able to carry out the necessary work on time. In summer the situation normalized and the warm and sunny weather did the rest. July and August were hot and dry, but there was no extreme heat. Only around August, 10th there were a few really hot days and in places sunburn on the grapes.
The grapes developed magnificently and one could expect a large harvest. Due to the hygiene requirements in the wake of the pandemic, we had to plan for a relatively small picking team and, expecting a long harvest, we decided to start early. In the week before the planned start, the weather forecast deteriorated considerably and instead of picking on September 21st as planned, we began on the 20th. The grapes were ripe but not overripe and completely healthy. The announced rain didn't come at first and for a week we picked Kabinett-grade grapes in ideal weather.
It began to rain on September 27th, and for us a poker game started. We wanted to wait for noble rot, but beautiful, almost summery days alternated with rainy days. Botrytis came but the grapes never dried properly and slowly the acid levels began to drop. We paused several times in the hope of better weather, then picked again for a few days and finally, on October 21st, we finished.
Hoping for early frost, we had left a few grapes hanging. The frost did not come, but after the wet October the weather improved in November. Finally, the botrytised grapes dried in and since a storm was forecasted for the next week, we harvested the last grapes on November 14th, finally at Auslese-level ripeness.
I can’t think of a comparable vintage. Perhaps, certain parallels can be drawn with 2016: the flawless, healthy, ripe grapes at the beginning of the harvest, the poker game around noble rot and finally the capitulation to nature. Even if, without Noble Rot we do not reach the peaks attained in the last 3 years, Scharzhof should turn out very fine and one can certainly expect excellent, mineral Kabinett and classically proportioned Spätlese wines.
 

Winter once again was mild with plenty of rain in December, January and February. It wasn't enough however, to balance the water deficit from the previous string of hot and dry years. February began cold with some snow but quickly it became very warm with temperatures reaching 18°C. Concerned by the ever earlier start of vegetation in recent years, we pushed through with the winter work, but the beautiful weather did not last long. From March through May it was colder than average. From May 14 to 26 it was rainy but otherwise quite dry.

June was beautiful without extreme heat. Flowering began late, but proceeded quickly. Due to the dry conditions, we only started spraying on 22 June when flowering was almost finished.

 On July 14, heavy rain, mainly over the Eifel, caused unprecedented flooding. It was worst on the Ahr but Kyll and Sauer also rose very quickly to never seen highs with great damage. The Saar, on the other hand, which rises in the Vosges, was hardly affected.

The persistent humidity caused enormous Downy Mildew pressure. We sprayed systemically on July 16 and 17 and, after further heavy rains, on the 27th/28th. This treatment, the 4th, which was supposed to be the last, came a day late and there were infections on the grapes. We estimate the loss at about 20% and we had to treat the most heavily affected vineyards a fifth time.

August was very cool and humid, the young leaves continued to be infected by Mildew and verraison didn’t begin until the middle of the month. As the grapes softened, it became apparent that there were unusually big differences in ripeness even in adjacent plots, which appeared to be due to the mode of cultivation of the vineyards and the level of yield.

September was warm, dry and sunny. October was also nice and mostly warm.

We started the harvest on October 11th, 3 weeks later than 2020. (In the 80s, that would have been considered early.) At the beginning of October it had rained a bit and the previously very healthy grapes began to rot. The sugar levels were consistently pleasing, acidity was after the cold August very high and the grapes were particularly aromatic.

About half of our harvesting team were first-timers. Since there was not much noble rot overall, it turned out to be very difficult to train the new pickers. Therefore, we formed a selection team, with the most experienced pickers harvesting the Botrytis grapes while the main crew picked the remaining grapes behind them.

We finished the harvest on October 28th. The average yield is 30 hl/ha, the sugar levels are higher than in 2020 but do not reach the level of 2019, and the acidity gives the wines an almost electrical tension, which, in combination  with the brilliant flavors, gives reason to hope for a very special vintage.

Again, the winter was very mild. October, November and December were rather dry, January and February wet. From March onwards it was very dry. After the warm winter, March and April were average but in May it became warm and the vineyards grew well. In sheltered places, flowering began on May 14 and by June 10 all vineyards had finished flowering. The fruit set was very good, with three grapes on most shoots and sometimes even four.

Because of the dry conditions, we only had to spray twice, on May 24th and June 2nd. Copper and sulfur were sufficient.

In July it rained only 2 mm and the lack of water became evident everywhere. The development of the grapes slowed down, the foliage of the trees began to yellow. The vineyard work was unproblematic due to the drought. After the experience of 2020 and, given the large fruit set for the first time since 1993, we decided to crop-thin: In the “breiter Weinberg”-vineyard we split the grapes and on 1/3 of our vineyard surface we cut away the third and fourth grape.

It was not extremely hot, only in August there was a longer heat wave with temperatures up to 37°C. Thunderstorms on 5th, 15th and 31st August with locally very different amounts of precipitation just about carried the vineyards in the Scharzhofberg through summer

September started warm and with heavy thunderstorms. In the Wiltinger braune Kupp vineyard there was considerable erosion several times.

From mid-September it became much cooler. The harvest began, very early, on the 19th and as we had suspected, due to the large quantity as in 2020, the must weights were not as high as one would have expected after this summer. The grapes were, on the whole, very healthy and we would have liked to wait a little longer, but the acidity levels were a bit low and it was to be feared that they would continue to drop during the harvest.

Old, vigorous plants had coped particularly well with the drought, while the young vineyards planted in 2015 or later suffered. The best qualities were found where we had thinned out and in the plots that bore few grapes by themselves.

After the rainfall at the end of August and beginning of September, botrytis spread and after harvesting grapes for the "Scharzhof" for 3 days, we began to select Noble-Rot affected grapes. If it had remained dry, we might have been able to harvest similar qualities as in 2018, but on the 27th 12 mm of rain fell and on 1st and 2nd October another 30 mm. On October 6th the actual harvest was finished, but, since the long-range weather-forecast was promising, we left 1 1/2 ha in Scharzhofberg. However, the outlook quickly deteriorated and from October 10.-13. we had a small team of specialists pick the Botrytis grapes, yielding a small cask of potential Gold-cap quality.

October was the warmest since 2001 and that begs the question whether better quality would have been possible with later harvest. However, it wasn’t only warm and sunny, with more than 100 mm of rain it was also quite wet. The warm and humid conditions let the grapes rot fast but they never really dried. It would seem that our harvesting decision was not too far off.

The vintage is unsurprisingly similar to 2020 and 2018. The yield was smaller with an average of 40 hl/ha and therefore we believe that the wines will be better than in 2020, but we have not reached the peaks of 2018. Contrary to initial expectations, the acidity levels remained stable until the end and thus the wines are likely to be racier than both 2020s or 2018s.

The winter was again very mild. The abundant rain in September and October had ended the drought and there was also above-average rain in November, December and especially in January. February was very warm and dry, but March and April again brought plenty of rain and April was also quite cool with some frost days, and the vegetation, which had started very early, was slowed down. May, June and July were warm, without extremely high temperatures and very dry. The vines thrived magnificently. Rarely have we seen such large leaves and branches. Flowering started rather late compared to the last years, but proceeded very quickly and was finished around 18 June.

Crop protection was unproblematic due to the dry conditions and by mid-July we thought the season would be marked by drought and heat like 2022. We cut off the third bunch on each shoot in all vineyards for fear that the yields might be too high should the dry conditions prevail.

On 18 and 19 July the nights were very cold. We had sprayed for the last time on the 4th, until then only ecologically, and as we knew that the vineyards were now without protection we controlled very closely. Fortunately, we were able to see and control the Oidium infection immediately.

However, this was followed by very unsettled weather that lasted until the end of August. From 24 July to 31 August, about 250 mm of rain fell. During that period, we sprayed three times, as many times as in the whole season until then and now with systemic products. The situation seemed under control and the last spray was only applied to the vineyards that are normally harvested late, as we expected an early harvest. However, the wet August slowed down the ripening and by the beginning of September we anticipated the harvest to start in early October. The vineyards that had not been sprayed late were now showing significant Mildew damage.

September was very warm, sunny and dry. The must weights shot up, but where the foliage was damaged by Mildew, the sugar increase was clearly lower. The grapes were unusually aromatic and the acids high. The persistent humidity had also favoured Botrytis and from mid-September there was an opportunity to select noble rotten grapes. We began our harvest on the 20th and quickly realised that although there were quite a lot of dry berries, their pressing yield was rather small, as the botrytis infection had come at a very early stage and a high concentration factor was needed to achieve the desired must weights.

In the course of the harvest, the yields, which had initially been around 50 hl/ha, declined. The decline accelerated in the 3rd week, but now with significantly higher must weights.

The last grapes were harvested on 10 October. On average, the yield was 28 hl/ha, the must weights are on par with 2021, albeit with greater variance upwards and downwards, the acids are even higher and particularly in the Botrytis wines, breath taking. Initial tastings suggest that the unusually pronounced aromatics of the grapes will be reflected in the wine and we hope for a very exciting vintage.

The 2024 season began, like previous years, with a mild winter. Following a rainy second half of 2023, January and February brought abundant precipitation, which replenished soil reserves effectively. The temperatures remained warm, and vegetation began to develop early, possibly marking the earliest start of vegetation to date.

In April, however, the weather changed drastically. It turned cool and unsettled, and on April 23, a late frost struck, bringing temperatures down to -2°C with fog, causing extensive damage. No vineyard was spared; even the braune Kupp-usually frost-protected due to its proximity to the river-was severely affected.

Warm and wet weather in May, June, and July promoted downy mildew, and infection pressure remained high well into August. We applied systemic treatments from the start, yet ended up needing 11 treatments in total, often working weekends and even multiple Sundays. It has been said that frost-damaged vines are particularly prone to infection, and this year may support that theory: the only other year we’ve had to spray nearly as much was 1997, when vineyards also suffered severe frost in April.

September was relatively cool and intermittently rainy, and despite the smaller yields, sugar levels increased slowly. While early September offered hope for a harvest start within the month, we ultimately had to delay and planned to begin on October 7. The first days of October were beautiful—foggy in the mornings but dry. However, the remnants of Hurricane Milton swept through in the week of the 6th, and since must weights remained unsatisfactory and acids were high, we postponed the harvest to the 14th, despite our foreign workers already having arrived. Heavy rain followed for two days, but the weekend stayed dry.

On the first day of harvesting, we picked 2 ½ hectares, but quality remained below expectations. The forecast was favorable, so we decided to wait another week. Unfortunately, the weather was not as good as predicted, and botrytis began to spread, turning the wait into a serious test of nerves.

Eventually, the dry weather did arrive, and when we started harvesting in earnest on October 21, we were rewarded for our patience. Botrytis transformed into noble rot, and must weights increased rapidly. In a normal year, this would have likely allowed for substantial quantities of great Trockenbeerenauslesen, but given the smaller yield, we needed to focus. We produced Auslese and Goldkapsel Auslese in useful quantities; however, all other wines - from “Scharzhof” to Kabinett and Spätlese - are available only in very limited amounts. Overall, we harvested 7 ½ Fuder, or approximately 450 liters per hectare.

Acidity levels remained high throughout, the concentration is considerable, and given the wet summer and the limited yield, the extract values should also be excellent. We anticipate a vintage that will be at least very good, potentially even outstanding.