Vintage report 2013

The year began far too cold, far too wet, and far too dark. It remained unseasonably cool well into April. As such, the growing season in the vineyards got off to a slow start. Everything was considerably later than usual, and compared with the long-term average, blossoming was also somewhat delayed. In the weeks thereafter, growth virtually exploded. Basically, there was no springtime this year. The water-soaked ground and rising temperatures stepped up the pace of growth enormously. Summer was brief but intense, including tropical daytime temperatures and even a few tropical nights. Yet by early September, it was clear that this was not enough to compensate for the slow start earlier in the year, particularly compared with the situation a year ago. The fact that September was cooler and rainier than usual did not help. Then came October, with dramatic results: one of the rainiest months of the year. In just one month, there was more than a quarter of the average annual amount of precipitation, rather than the hoped-for "golden October." Such a vast quantity of rain at that point in time was completely undesirable.

At Weingut Balthasar Ress, the Riesling harvest began on 15 October, later than ever in this young century. Low must weights, high acidity, and underdeveloped aromas precluded an earlier start. As such, we continued to consistently pursue our quest for quality and only began harvesting when the grapes actually tasted good. We're pleased with the quality of our crop. The need to deacidify was minimal, and with very few exceptions, no musts were chaptalized. This absolute determination, this quest for natural, aromatic wines was "rewarded" with one of the smallest harvests in the history of the estate: barely 51 hl/ha. Quite a challenge. However, the fermenting musts and young wines we've sampled thus far immediately confirm that this was the right path to follow. The intensity of the aromas and flavors is already fantastic. As such, we remain optimistic that the quality of vintage 2013 will not fall short of that of previous years.