2023 Germany & Mosel Riesling Vintage

January averaged 5.6 degrees C at Winningen, clearly warmer than the long-term mean, and bud break there came on 25 April. May and June were mostly dry and warm, which helped the vines grow, and flowering began around 8 June, a little later than 2022 but still well ahead of the long-term mean. The dry, hot June then brought drought stress, above all to younger vineyards, and July added problems with sunburn. The weather turned at the end of July, when abundant rain fell in the Mosel too and filled the grapes suddenly. In Erden, August was very rainy, as in 2010, followed by comparatively hot temperatures in September. Very warm September nights brought hardly any cooling, so ripening was at times extremely fast. At Weingut Dr. Hermann in Erden the Riesling harvest began on September 20, with east winds and no more rain. Thorough selection left the Mosel crop smaller than first forecast, at an expected 710,000 hl of must, slightly below average, of which 650,000 hl white, and Mosel yields were four percent lower than the ten-year average.

Henning Seibert, chair of Moselwein e.V., told the DWI (translated) that a gain of one degree Oechsle a day is normal, "now we had some days when it went up 3 to 4 degrees Oechsle a day, we had never had that." More than 50 percent of the Mosel's grapes were harvested in the Spatlese range, and for Riesling the onset of noble rot offered the chance to make top noble-sweet wines. At Dr. Hermann the development of botrytis was rapid, yet must weights were often very high with comparatively little botrytis. On the first day of the estate's Riesling harvest, September 20, it picked TBA in the Wehlener Sonnenuhr at 217 degrees Oechsle. Its Kinheimer Hubertuslay Eiswein was picked on January 9 at -8.5 degrees C and 160 degrees Oechsle.

• More than 50 percent of Mosel grapes were picked in the Spatlese range
• On some days must weights gained 3 to 4 degrees Oechsle, against a normal one degree a day
• Dr. Hermann made 6 Kabinett, 10 Auslese, 4 TBA and 1 Eiswein in 2023
• Dr. Hermann's TBAs from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Erdener Pralat and Urziger Wurzgarten came from fully botrytized fruit at 200 to 220 degrees Oechsle

2023 goes down as one of the years with the fastest harvest in German history. Extreme drought gave way to weeks of heavy rain and then an extremely warm late summer, and most varieties ripened almost at the same time. With September temperatures of up to 30 degrees, growers picked in the cool night and morning hours. Powdery mildew pressure was exceptionally high, though growers ultimately got a good grip on it. The main challenge was bringing in healthy grapes: heavy selection in the vineyard reduced volumes but secured good quality. The national crop is put at about 8.8 million hl of must, three percent below 2022's 9.1 million hl, though the DWI places it at the level of the long-term mean. Regions differed: the Nahe came in about eight percent above its long-term mean, while in Rheinhessen strict selection cut some yields by up to 50 percent and hail hit the Wonnegau.

• National crop about 8.8 million hl, three percent below 2022's 9.1 million hl
• Exceptionally high powdery mildew pressure, which growers got a good grip on
• Harvest over in Rheinhessen, Pfalz and Baden by the end of September; in many Rheingau places it was done by mid-October, earlier than ever
• The Rheingau had over 200 liters of rain in July and August; Rheingau wine-growing president Peter Seyffardt called Riesling clearly the winner of the year

The DWI called the first 2023 young wines across Germany very fruit-forward, pleasantly slender and with a fine fruit acidity, and counted Riesling and Silvaner among the winners of the vintage, along with international red varieties and the new fungus-resistant varieties. In the Mosel, Seibert said the year proved Riesling copes very well with extremes, and expected fruit-forward Riesling with an ideal balance of acidity and sweetness. The Burgundy and red varieties had a harder year there and needed still more selection. Mosel Fine Wines found that the vintage worked fully in favor of Dr. Hermann's fruity, sweet and noble-sweet style; the estate's most concentrated wines have very high acidity, from grapes picked at the beginning and middle of the harvest.

• Young wines: very fruit-forward, pleasantly slender, with a fine fruit acidity (Germany-wide)
• Henning Seibert told the DWI, translated: "2023 was a year for the Mosel"
• In the Mosel, Burgundy and red varieties had a harder year and needed still more selection
• Christian Hermann: "2023 was a big, big challenge." The harvest's many selections raised production costs at Dr. Hermann by at least 30 percent