The 2007 vintage – patience was rewarded Following on a mild winter practically devoid of snowfall, spring started with exceptionally mild temperatures and adequate precipitation. In April, nature virtually exploded into life. At temperatures more reminiscent of early summer, we noted budbreak on the shoots in our top-rated Dorsheimer und Burg Layen sites around the 10th of April, that was two to three weeks ahead of the normal timing! Not a single millimetre of rainfall was recorded for the whole of April, making this both the driest and warmest April in the past 200 years. It rained at last in the second week of May, and temperatures cooled noticeably. This was followed by a warm front that encouraged the earliest onset of flowering for decades, beginning on the 21st of May, and completed in most of our vineyards by the 9th of June. The weather cooled off significantly at the end of May, combined with plentiful rainfall that was very positive for the growth of the vines. As of the middle of July we experienced a stable period of fine weather, with brilliant blue skies and temperatures in excess of 30° Celsius. In August, lovely warm days were interspersed repeatedly with cool, wet days. The grapes were in an excellent, healthy condition, however the gap of early development, that earlier on had been estimated at two to three weeks, now narrowed to only around 8 days ahead of schedule in September. Initial trial pickings confirmed that the sugar content had already increased significantly at this stage, but the acids were also still quite high, and the grapes were by no means physiologically ripe yet. It was thus advisable in this vintage not to rely too heavily on the must weight in determining the picking date! As is usual at the Schlossgut Diel estate, the harvest began with the Pinot varieties, and this portion of the harvest was concluded by the 6th of October. In terms of quality one can summarise it all by simply calling it an unqualified great success, both with regard to the white and the red Pinot varieties. For the first time, the red grapes were de-stemmed by hand, followed by fermentation in an open oak vat. This very gentle method of processing the grapes had a very positive effect on the development of delicate, elegant fruit aromas and gentle, soft tannins. The main Riesling harvest began in earnest on the 4th of October in the most beautiful autumn weather conditions imaginable, and continued for a total of 19 days. The restful pace allowed us to bring in fully ripe grapes with rich, full aromas. As a result of the excellent health of the grapes, the bulk of the harvest was clearly destined for the production of high-quality dry wines. In addition elegant and racy Spätlese and Auslese wines characterise the profile of this exceptional vintage. Our cellarmaster Christoph Friedrichs was able to crown his tenth vintage at the Schlossgut Diel estate with a magnificent Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese from the Goldloch site. Overall, the 2007 harvest volume was a little greater than that of the previous two vintages, which had yielded unusually small volumes, so that this vintage has in part compensated us for the scarce yields of the previous vintages.
The 2006 vintage – a nerve-wracking autumn! After a cool winter, with minus temperatures lasting into March, there followed a warm spring with above-average temperatures. Budding on the Riesling vines began as early as late April. June and July featured warm to hot summer temperatures with very little rain. The vines in the best vineyard sites began flowering just in time for the football world championship in Germany. Flowering was very even, with no problems, and just a few isolated cases of failed flower-setting. The Nahe region recorded 30 per cent more sunshine hours than on average, whereas rainfall at 12 millimetres for the month was just a fifth of the long-term average. The dry, hot weather caused plant growth to slow down and growers were tempted to make comparisons with the 2003 and 2005 vintages. The weather pattern changed noticeably towards the end of July. August was significantly cooler than usual, and rainfall was twice the average amount. September showed a changeable fac; there were warm, sunny days in the first half of the month, followed by a period of heavy rainfall at the end of the month. Rainfall in the period 30th September to 3rd October totalled 100 millimetres, close to record levels. While the white and red Pinot varieties, which are often though to be particularly sensitive, survived this wet period virtually unharmed, Riesling was more significantly affected. In some sections of the vineyards the berries burst open as a result of the excessive moisture. The uneven ripening of the grapes presented a very special challenge. One could find ripe and unripe grapes, also increasingly rotten grapes, all on a single vine. In many years it is possible to harvest a whole parcel or section of vineyard together, but all hopes of that had to be abandoned. The harvesting plan drawn up in mid-September had to be consigned to the wastepaper basket. In this situation it became imperative to have an efficient and highly motivated harvesting team. Another positive factor was that there was, at that stage, not a single drop of rain for several days. Harvesting continued for twelve hours a day on practically all picking days, including Saturdays and Sundays. A job that usually spans four or five weeks was completed in only two weeks in the 2006 vintage. Today we can see that this extraordinary effort has been rewarded with crystal clear, beautifully fruity wines. At the top of the pyramid are some excellent Grosse Gewächse (Grand Crus) as well as delightful Spätlese and Auslese wines. However, this overall positive result in terms of quality comes with a heavy penalty in terms of quantity, with yields in the top Dorsheim vineyard sites rarely exceeding 30 hectolitres per hectare. In summary it can be said that the 2006 vintage may not have fulfilled all the producer’s expectations, as it simply was not possible to produce top-level botrytis wines of Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese level. On the other hand, the fears one could justifiably have in mid-October, based on the rapidly progressing botrytis, were not realised, thankfully. It is only rarely that the work and effort involved in highly selective picking and rapid processing of the grapes has paid richer dividends than in the 2006 vintage. In contrast to the previous vintage, when it was possible to harvest all the grapes in good time in sunny autumn weather, 2006 was a vintage that challenged the ability of the wine producers!
The 2005 vintage – low yields, but outstanding quality 2005 began with temperatures significantly warmer than the long-term average, the only exception being February, which was colder than usual. In contrast to the first three months of the year, which were rather dry, higher rainfall was recorded in April and May. Although the nights were cool, budding began in practically all of our vineyards by the end of April, which is roughly a week earlier than normal. May was also quite cool, which slowed vine development. Extensive rainfall and warm, summery temperatures in early June then jump-started vine growth: in some cases flowering started as early as June 10th. Cooler nights thereafter retarded development by a few days and lowered yields due to damage to the flowers. For the entire Nahe the summer was one of the warmest on record in the past 200 years, leading to vegetative growth being two weeks ahead of average by the end of July. In early August, a few cooler days again slowed further development.
The
harvest of the red varieties began as early as September 20th,
with the grapes displaying deep, strong color as well as wonderful berry
aromas. A few days of cooler, rainier weather were then followed by a
veritable Indian summer that lasted practically throughout the remainder of
the harvest. In fact, there were only two rainy days in the whole of
October! One slightly unsatisfactory element, but practically the only one in this otherwise qualitatively excellent vintage, lies in the very low yields for Riesling. In the finest vineyards of the estate, in particular in the Dorsheim area, yields rarely surpassed 30 hectoliters per hectare. The figures are a little more satisfactory for the white and red Pinot varieties, with yields essentially normal. On the other hand, for the first time after a run of 15 successive vintages, we produced no ice wine.
The
wines of the 2005 vintage are characterised by seductive fruit and an
extremely elegant acidity. In particular, the dry Grand Cru wines show
impressively the unique terroirs of their respective sites: where the
Rieslings from the Pittermännchen vineyard display extremely elegant mineral
notes, derived from its slate soils, the wines from the Goldloch, with its
gravely clay soils, are majestically full-bodied; finally, the Rieslings
from the Burgberg vineyard are particularly elegant, reflecting beautifully
the quartzite soils there. Based on the delicate and perfectly balanced
acidic structure, we predict that the top botrytis dessert wines of the 2005
vintage may well overshadow even legendary vintages such as 1959, 1971, 1976
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Further vintage reports:
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Vintage chart of Schlossgut Diel
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