2024 Germany & Mosel Riesling Vintage

On the Saar, rain hardly stopped all winter, from October 2023 onward, and a warm, moist spring brought an early budburst there. On the Mosel, a warm March led to budburst later that month. Frost struck shortly after bud break in April: two cold April nights of devastating frost on the Saar and, on the Mosel, a dramatic drop in temperatures in late April when shoots were already 10 to 15 centimeters long. Much rain fell from spring to autumn, flowering suffered and dragged on, and fungal diseases such as Peronospora and Oidium spread in spring and summer. Widespread hail in May added to the losses, hitting Graach and Bernkastel and reducing yields at Joh. Jos. Prum and Willi Schaefer, and May also brought immense rain and a risk of flooding. "During flowering, it was cooler and unstable, so flowering was extended," Christoph Schaefer of Weingut Willi Schaefer said. Summer had dry periods, yet the Rieslings showed no dry stress, and the season was longer and cooler than is now usual. The frost delayed the vines in many sites, so the harvest ran over about two months: the first Federweisser grapes came in at the end of August, and the Riesling harvest began between the last week of September and mid-October, depending on region and frost damage. Many Terrassenmosel estates had finished by mid-October just as Saar and Ruwer growers were starting their Riesling. The crop is estimated at about 510,000 hectoliters, 30 percent below the ten-year average and the smallest in 50 years.

• Wet winter and early budburst on the Saar; frost shortly after bud break in April
• Much rain from spring to autumn, a drawn-out flowering, Peronospora and Oidium
• Widespread hail in May, including Graach and Bernkastel
• Harvest over about two months; Riesling from the last week of September to mid-October

Losses were largest on the Saar and Ruwer and around Trier, where frost wiped out the whole crop in some sites or left growers only a fraction of the usual amount. The frost also hit many vineyards along the whole Mosel hard, above all in side valleys such as the Lieser. On the Saar, fruit losses ran 70 to 100 percent at Van Volxem, 80 percent at Florian Lauer, 70 percent at Von Hovel and Von Othegraven and 85 percent at Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken, including parts of the Saarburger Rausch, while sites in Wawern and Saarburg were less affected. Much of the Saar wine Vinous reviewed came from second shoots that developed in some sites around four weeks after the frost. The Ruwer was hardest hit: at Maximin Gruenhaus the entire Gruenberg slope froze, and Maximin von Schubert said, "In the end, we could harvest around one-fifth of what we normally pick." On the Mosel itself, only cooler corners and lateral valleys were affected; the Wehlener Klosterberg was 90 percent frozen, while most others escaped or had only marginal damage.

• Saar, Ruwer and the Trier area: some sites lost the entire crop
• Side valleys such as the Lieser hit hard; up to 50 percent losses in parts of some vineyards from the Upper Mosel to the Terrassenmosel
• Saar losses of 70 to 100 percent at Van Volxem and 85 percent at Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken
• A tasting request at Egon Muller was not accommodated "due to homeopathic amounts harvested in 2024."

Riesling must weights were mostly between 70 and 80 degrees Oechsle, with values of 90 degrees rarely reported. The bulk of the crop is expected to be Qualitatswein, Kabinett and Spatlese, with Auslese and high-quality dry wines such as Grosse Gewachse possible with hand harvesting and berry selection in the classic steep sites. "The quality is good, it is a Kabinett and Spatlese year," Henning Seibert, chair of Moselwein e.V., said (translated). Early-ripening varieties such as Muller-Thurgau and the Burgundian varieties coped less well with the wet weather, while Riesling and Elbling proved more resistant. Riesling could still benefit from mild days and cool nights at the end of September and in October. Vinous heard "It was the perfect Kabinett vintage" time and again from producers. Autumn was not dry enough to warrant good botrytis, resulting in some Auslesen but few BAs or TBAs. At Weingut Fritz Haag, Oliver Haag made at least two passes through every site and picked the Grosse Lagen four times, and Willi Schaefer made nothing above Spatlese.

• Riesling mostly 70 to 80 degrees Oechsle; 90 degrees rarely reported
• Bulk of the crop expected to be Qualitatswein, Kabinett and Spatlese; Auslese and top dry wines possible with selection in steep sites
• Autumn not dry enough for good botrytis: some Auslesen, few BAs or TBAs
• Riesling and Elbling more resistant than Muller-Thurgau and the Burgundian varieties

The grapes were golden-yellow and healthy with fine fruit aromas, a basis for fine, aromatic wines with moderate alcohol, and Moselwein e.V. said producers agree 2024 is a classic Mosel vintage. Stefanie Vornhecke of Senheim called it "a vintage for lighter, typically Mosel wines" (translated). Vinous found sprightly, sleek, concentrated Rieslings with exquisite verve and full aromatic development. In the Mosel, alcohol is moderate throughout, and acids and extract swallow sweetness, so that "20 grams per liter of residual sugar comes across like 10." Vinous called the Kabinetts simply wonderful and the Spatlesen dreamy, and in its Saar report said the Kabinett and Spatlesen will be long-lived. "It was not an easy year," Erni Loosen of Dr. Loosen said. "There was rain, dryness, and even though it was a warm vintage, ripeness was not a given."

• A classic Mosel vintage with a basis for fine, aromatic wines with moderate alcohol
• In the Mosel, 20 grams per liter of residual sugar comes across like 10