The annual spring pilgrimage to the German Wine Country was charged with unusually high anticipation due to the rave press reviews and all the talk of 2001’s “goldener Oktober”. The good news is that this time, at least, the rumors were pretty accurate. It’s a wonderful vintage!


The hallmarks are virtually perfect ripeness and no rot. There is very little in the Spätlesen with what appeared to be about 15–20% in the late harvest wines. It is a great year for the Goldkap Auslesen, Beeren, and Trockenbeerenauslesen. I was surprised to see numerous Eisweins made. With the exception of a few, the Eisweins are not classic as many have botrytis and lack the rapier-like acidity of years such as 1996 and 1998. Nevertheless, they are wonderfully delicious Auslese GoldKap or Beerenauslese weight wines.


Another very positive characteristic of 2001 is the perfect balance between ripe fruit and acidity. This happily appears to be the case throughout the various regions. 2000 was very low in productions of Spätlesen while 2001 yielded ample amounts of both Kabinett and Spätlese wines by comparison although yields were considerably less than in 1999 and 1997. Is it another ’71, ’83, or ’90? That’s really difficult to say at this stage of their infancy.


Some wines we tasted had been bottled over a month while others awaited their packaging and were tasted as tank samples. The yearly visit to Germany for the wine auctions in a few months will give a much more consistent impression as all wines will have been bottled by that time. For further details, please give us a call at 415-398-3838. 2001 is a vintage not to missed.