2001 Germany & Mosel Riesling Vintage

According to Decanter's vintage guide, a cool and humid spring in Germany held back budding, but warm and sunny weather returned at the end of May and flowering was successful in June. Stuart Pigott's 2 October harvest report for Decanter noted slightly delayed flowering, and said that where flowering went through very smoothly, as in Rheinhessen, Pfalz and Wurttemberg, growers had to thin bunches. Decanter's guide calls August exceptionally hot in Germany, while Pigott reported that the Pfalz and Baden had the best summer, with many days above 30 C. Stuart Pigott reported in Decanter that September was cool and damp, and that in spite of this the ripening proceeded rapidly, which growers in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer confirmed. He compared it with 1990, when September also saw mediocre weather but a big leap in ripeness. Decanter's guide says October came in with sunshine and temperatures above 25 C throughout the month, followed in some regions by morning mist in the first two weeks of November that encouraged botrytis. "The last two weeks of good weather really saved us," Ernst Loosen of Dr Loosen in Bernkastel told Pigott for his 24 October report. "If the rains of September had continued any longer then even in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer rot could have been very destructive." On 2 October Pigott wrote that the German harvest was slightly later than in previous years and that almost no Riesling had been picked; by 24 October he expected the Riesling harvest to extend well into November. He reported that yields everywhere looked small to very small, and that in no region did the leading producers expect a big crop.

• Cool, humid spring slowed budding; warm, sunny weather returned at the end of May and flowering succeeded in June (Decanter guide, Germany)
• August exceptionally hot in Germany (Decanter guide); September cool and damp, yet Mosel-Saar-Ruwer growers confirmed rapid ripening (Pigott, Decanter)
• October sunny and above 25 C throughout, then November morning mist in some regions encouraged botrytis (Decanter guide)
• Harvest slightly later than previous years, Riesling picking expected well into November, yields small to very small (Pigott, Decanter)

Decanter's vintage guide says Riesling was supreme in the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, and almost as fine in the Mittelrhein, Nahe, Pfalz and Wurttemberg. Within the sprawling Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, ripeness levels varied considerably, Pigott reported on 2 October: the tributary valleys of the Saar and the Ruwer were behind the Middle Mosel, and Riesling in the Terrace Mosel at Koblenz showed the highest level of ripeness. By 24 October he predicted that Rieslings from the northerly Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and Nahe regions would generally be superior to those from the Rhine regions. Across Germany, he wrote, ripeness levels were generally high but so was acidity, and acidity, not ripeness, was the big issue of the year.

• Decanter guide: Riesling supreme in the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer
• Early October: Saar and Ruwer ripeness behind the Middle Mosel; Terrace Mosel at Koblenz the ripest (Pigott)
• Pigott's 24 October prediction: Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and Nahe Rieslings generally superior to the Rhine regions

Decanter's guide rates Germany 2001 5/5, "A great year: clean, concentrated, structured wines worthy of aging," and marks it Keep. It says the Rheingau suffered from rain, hail and then rot, though some top estates made very fine Rieslings. Pigott reported that rot spread rapidly through Rhine Valley vineyards in the weeks before his 24 October report, making mechanical picking a poor option. To the east, in Franken, Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen, the guide says the September rain made top quality wines very difficult. It also calls 2001 a "dream" year for Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) and one of the finest Spatburgunder vintages in the Ahr, Pfalz and Baden.

• Decanter guide: 5/5, clean, concentrated, structured wines worthy of aging
• Rheingau hit by rain, hail and then rot; some top estates still made very fine Rieslings
• Franken, Saale-Unstrut and Sachsen: September rain made top quality very difficult
• One of the finest Spatburgunder vintages in the Ahr, Pfalz and Baden

Decanter's guide calls 2001 the first vintage of Grosses Gewachs dry Rieslings, and names Mossbacher and Christmann in the Pfalz and Wittmann and Keller in Wonnegau, Rheinhessen, among the growers from the sunny south who excelled. In the Mosel, it says many growers, including J.J. Prum and Reinhold Haart, made superb traditional Spatleses. Karthauserhof in the Ruwer made three amazing Ausleses, and Max Ferd Richter made a Riesling Eiswein that was only the fifth wine of any sort ever rated 100 in Gault Millau's annual guide.

• Mosel: J.J. Prum and Reinhold Haart among many growers making superb traditional Spatleses
• Ruwer: Karthauserhof made three Ausleses the guide calls amazing
• Max Ferd Richter Riesling Eiswein: only the fifth wine of any sort rated 100 in Gault Millau's annual guide
• First Grosses Gewachs vintage: Mossbacher, Christmann, Wittmann and Keller excelled