2018 Germany & Mosel Riesling Vintage

Across Germany, heavy rain in January filled the soil's water reserves, and cold weather in February and March held bud break back until mid-April, after which an unusually stable spell of fine weather lasted until harvest. In the Mosel, a cold and wet winter was followed by an unusually early start to spring, a very early bud break and a record early, mostly even flowering, which came in early June. Vinous calls the wet winter, and the considerable rain right after flowering, the great luck of 2018. The summer proved one of the hottest and driest in living memory, with spells of drought, though some areas were lucky and regularly got some rain. Drought, heat and the fear of hailstorms or heavy rain kept Mosel growers on edge; the Middle Mosel saw some rain and some thunderstorms, but drought was the main topic everywhere. Nationally, it hardly rained from mid-year on, and younger vines suffered from mid-July. Further summer rain was meager and varied greatly from one stretch of the Mosel to the next: by late August, top sites around Traben-Trarbach had seen no rain for six weeks and were visibly suffering, while Erden had enough August rain to speed ripening. By the end of summer, the vines were more than a month ahead of the long-term average. The harvest began in August for early-ripening varieties and in mid-September for Riesling, and most estates started their Riesling harvest by mid-September, another earliest ever. The September rain raised juice yields without causing rot, thanks to cool nights. The weather stayed essentially warm and dry until October, giving growers room to make their selections. Stable October weather led some growers to keep picking through the end of the month or into early November. The Mosel crop was estimated at about one million hectoliters, with roughly a third less the year before.

• Cold, wet winter, very early bud break and a record early flowering
• Hot, dry summer; Traben-Trarbach top sites had no rain for six weeks by late August
• Riesling harvest from mid-September; September rain caused no rot thanks to cool nights
• Mosel crop about one million hectoliters, with roughly a third less the year before

The average Mosel Riesling must weight was 85 degrees Oechsle, in the Spatlese range, with wines ranging from Sekt base wine to Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. Must weights were in most places record-high for the time of year, with genuine Kabinett not especially plentiful and Spatlese and Auslese abundant; desiccation sometimes pushed even healthy grapes into Beerenauslese territory. Botrytis was limited, with a few notable exceptions, though growers harvested quite some shriveled grapes. Drought inhibited botrytis, while the September rain that broke the drought ignited small pockets of rot. Wehlen and Zeltingen, with higher humidity and a little more late summer rain, were primed for the upper Pradikat levels. Vinous singles out the nobly sweet collections of Dr. Hermann, Markus Molitor, Joh. Jos. Prum and Selbach-Oster; Molitor made 16 TBAs. At Maximin Gruenhaus, Dr. Carl von Schubert told the VDP that high-quality botrytis forming at the end of harvest promised perfect Auslesen, Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen, alongside a plentiful crop. In the early morning of 21 January 2019, estates in several Mosel villages picked Eiswein at down to minus 10 degrees C: Carl Loewen's Leiwener Klostergarten gave about 60 liters at 168 degrees Oechsle, Blees-Ferber in Leiwen reached 169 and Ernst Eifel in Trittenheim 170 to 180. Of 33 hectares registered for Eiswein in the Mosel, most was picked in December for Auslese or Beerenauslese after growers gave up hope.

• Mosel Riesling averaged 85 degrees Oechsle, in the Spatlese range
• Little botrytis overall, with notable exceptions; quite some shriveled grapes
• Wehlen and Zeltingen primed for nobly sweet wines
• Mosel Eiswein picked on 21 January 2019 at 168 to 180 degrees Oechsle

The same hot, dry year shaped Germany's other regions, including the Ahr, Franken and the Pfalz. In Rheinhessen, the first grapes picked for new wine reached 90 degrees Oechsle on 6 August, a first for Germany's largest region, after a very early flowering brought on by the warmest April since records began. The Rheingau harvest began four weeks earlier than normal, and its summer, while short of the 2003 peak, beat the records of 1947, 1994 and 1976. The Mittelrhein saw the biggest rise in volume of any region, an estimated 46,000 hectoliters, 64 percent above 2017. The Nahe brought in 440,000 hectoliters, 40 percent above its long-term average, and the Pfalz about 2.5 million, 17 percent above its long-term average. The harvest started historically early, but sunny, stable weather let growers take their time. Eiswein followed between 19 and 22 January in nearly all German regions, with the thermometer down to minus 10 degrees C in many; growers were especially willing to leave grapes hanging because they stayed healthy for so long.

The DWI describes 2018 Mosel wines with rich aroma, a harmonious structure with moderate acidity and elegant, juicy fruit, from healthy grapes that looked picture-perfect at harvest, and quotes Matthias Lay of Punderich: "With the 2018 vintage, the good Lord meant very well by the Mosel growers" (translated). Mosel Fine Wines calls it a vintage of ripe fruit and mild acidity, very easy to enjoy young, with many fruity-styled wines bigger and sweeter than usual and often heavily declassified, and not much light Kabinett. Yet the wines of a few top growers "completely defy the vintage," the outlet says, and the off-dry wines are among the most subtle and refined it has tasted. It gives the Saar and Ruwer a slight edge over the Mosel, though less than usual in a hot vintage, and advises checking the back label before buying any Mosel Riesling above 12.5 percent alcohol. Its verdict: "One needs to be selective." Vinous found most 2018 Mosels easy to approach, with dominant fruit, relatively modest acidity and often caressing textures, and baked flavors like those of 2003 largely absent. Vinous did not expect the 2018s generally to merit the long bottle aging of other recent vintages, outside a few outstanding upper-Pradikat collections, and found Joh. Jos. Prum strong even at Kabinett level thanks to an early start.

• DWI: rich aroma, moderate acidity, elegant, juicy fruit
• Mosel Fine Wines: ripe fruit, mild acidity, easy young; off-dry wines a highlight
• Saar and Ruwer a slight edge, but the grower made all the difference
• Vinous: modest acidity and caressing textures, without the baked flavors of 2003