Germany: Vintage 2005
May 15, 2006

Dade just returned from a three week trip around Germany. Here are his thoughts:


Back in the spring of 1974, I was introduced to my first great Riesling: a 1971 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese from the von Kesselstatt estate on the Mosel. I was astounded by its freshness and fruitiness which reminded me of green apples and narcissus blossoms. It completely changed my outlook on German Riesling: there really was something more compelling than “Liebfraumilch” and “Zeller Schwarzekatze”! Everyone kept telling me that 1971 was a magical and extraordinary vintage that I should not expect to see again for a very long time, if ever.


Wow! Was this uncanny combination of fruit, acidity, concentration and perfect balance with just the right amount of botrytis (not overly influencing the wines until they reached Auslese level) actually such a rare occurrence? Yes.


When the many “Johnny-come-lately” wine critics raved about the 2001s across the board as “another 1971” and in some exaggerated cases “even better”, I knew right away that they were prone to hyperbole and were out of their league when it came to young Rieslings. (Don’t get me wrong – there are some wonderful 2001s even if the majority of them are Mosels as opposed to the many other important growing regions of Germany.) That 1971 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen was admittedly 2½ old when I first tasted it and the many wines from 2005 that I have just tasted were barely six months old, but I can tell you that 2005 is truly as good and quite possibly better than 1971 which is saying volumes. The combination of perfectly ripe grapes without any rot, good or bad, and great acidity produced wines everywhere of absolutely amazing quality. Several producers even went as far as to declare it to be the finest harvest ever at their estates.


Wine after wine just sang: structure, concentration, balance. Even though many had just been bottled and others were tank samples, there was an astounding similarity in their overall makeup – the likes of which I’ve never encountered at this early stage. What looked like an average year weather-wise was saved by not only a phenomenal October (which is precisely what rescued 2001) but also a very warm and dry September. By comparison to more traditional years, Kabinetts are in short supply as the sugar levels rose very rapidly with most being picked between 90° and 95° oechsle. Everyone talked about the incredibly healthy golden yellow, rot free grapes that they had not seen in a long time at that stage of the harvest – imagine two months of virtually uninterrupted perfect climactic conditions! Yes, there was botrytis but it was the early “clean botrytis” which is what German winemakers dream about but rarely see – particularly in such abundance.


Most Spätlesen were made from perfectly ripe unbotrytised grapes and even many Auslesen were similarly produced, depending on the winemaker’s individual preferences. Relatively large amounts of Beeren and Trockenbeerenauslese wines were made and virtually no Eiswein – as it never got cold enough. Those that insisted on making one anyway made an atypical wine more akin to a Beerenauslese.


I compare this vintage in Germany to the great 1961 vintage in Bordeaux where Mother Nature intervened; creating a jewel-like combination of small, tight berries and very low rainfall. In 2005 most estates’ yields were down 25-30% and in some cases, such as the von Schubert estate on the Ruwer, as much as twice that. The cool preceding months meant that “green harvesting” was virtually unnecessary. Again, as in 2001, the clusters were made up of small berries producing little juice. But after two straight months of perfect, warm weather, what little there was created textbook wines that are utterly amazing. You will never see such a consistent vintage throughout the Prädikat levels as well as throughout Germany. They simply must be tasted to be believed.