Wines of Origin full of Character
Following a disastrous frost in 2016, April 2017 made us vintners shiver again. Yet our vineyards managed to escape a critical frost night by a hairsbreadth. The growing season was characterized by extended dry periods, which our vines survived unscathed due to rainfall just in time. Since we abstained from irrigation from the very beginning, our vines were used to dry phases from youth on. They developed deep root systems that provide an important quality feature to our slate slopes. By end of August, ripeness was already quite advanced, and we started our pre-harvest on September 10th. This was extremely important for the continued ripening process, particularly in the light of several showers that happened in September. The cold weather after the rainfall phases limited the impact of botrytis, and we were able to hold off harvesting for quite a long time, especially on the lean slate soils. We thus had the possibility to pick perfectly ripe grapes with complex aromas and gorgeous acidity until October 26th. First barrel tastings are highly promising. Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling certainly rank among the year’s biggest winners. But the vintage also bodes well for Gelber Muskateller and Burgundy grapes.
The 2016 vintage made us humble. So we are all the more happy with the results of 2017, which makes up 80% of a normal harvest in terms of quantity.