2006 Germany & Mosel Riesling Vintage

Across Germany, spring flowering came early, followed by a warm June and a hot July, but a cold, wet August slowed ripening and kept acidity high. The generally warm weather, especially in the northerly regions of Nahe, Rheingau and the Mosel, led to earlier and shorter harvest times, punctuated with rainfall. In the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, unsettled weather did not always act in the growers' favor, and high humidity led to early development of the grapes and forced an early harvest. A normal growing season came to an abrupt halt when rain played havoc with ripe grapes at the end of September. Botrytis spread like wildfire and estates rushed to bring in their grapes, though the pattern was not uniform: cooler parts of the region, in particular parts of the Saar, were less affected. Handpicking was once again essential on the Mosel's steep slopes to ensure high quality grapes. Nationally, the German harvest was rarely completed as quickly, and the rain caused the onset of rot, so growers had to pick selectively and the yield was smaller than originally predicted. The Mosel-Saar-Ruwer crop was around 850,000 hectoliters, noticeably lower than 2005, and Germany's around 9 million hectoliters, similar to 2005 and below the five-year average of around 9.7 million.

In the harvest report dated 27 October 2006, picking was particularly accelerated in regions south of the Rheingau because of heavy autumn rainfall. Norbert Weber, President of the German Winegrowers Association, said record must weights of over 200 degrees Oechsle had been achieved, which would mean a large number of Prädikat level wines. In the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, must weights averaged between 90 and 100 degrees Oechsle, with certainly some noble sweet wines to come. In the Rheingau, must weights averaged 90 degrees Oechsle, Auslese and Beerenauslese wines were set to be plentiful, and the harvest ended on 20 October. Franken growers picked immediately after heavy rainfall on 3 October, and the Pfalz harvest was finished in record time. Decanter named Pfalz and Franconia its best appellations.

Mosel Fine Wines' 2016 ten-years-after retrospective re-sampled over 150 wines, often whole collections, from estates including Geltz-Zilliken, Fritz Haag, Schloss Lieser, Egon Müller / Le Gallais, Joh. Jos. Prüm, Willi Schaefer and von Schubert. It called the vintage a resounding success, with a bevy of stunning sweet wines in the making in a style not seen since the epic 1949 vintage. It described complex scents of tropical fruits paired with almond or marzipan, with aromatics leaning more toward pineapple and coconut than the apricot and honey usually found in botrytis wines. It also called the 2005 and 2006 duo already of epic stature for Mosel dessert wines, even if neither was fully ready. At harvest, wines with good mineral character and moderate acidity were anticipated in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. Decanter's Germany-wide verdict was more cautious: a classic vintage for those who waited before picking, while those who did not produced dilute wines, with the advice to drink soon.