1998
VINTAGE
REPORTS

Vintage report by importer Terry Theise

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region

Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium

Heddesdorff, Freiherr von

Heribert Kerpen

Kesselstatt, Reichsgraf von

S.A. Prüm

Schloss Saarstein

Schleinitz, Freiherr von

Selbach-Oster

Pfalz region

Dr. Bürklin-Wolf

Kurt Darting

Fitz-Ritter

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region

Konrad Hähn of Weingut Freiherr von Schleinitz reports:

The year 1998 was the warmest year since temperatures are recorded. The warm April and May caused an early blooming which was helpful for a long riping time. Summer was hot and fall wet and a bit dissapointing in temperature. Alltogether the 1998 harvest was better than expected. The mustweights in the top sites were slightly higher than 1997. The amount harvested was also bigger which caused in some places a rather middle quality. The wet weather conditions didn´t allow to select Beerenauslese, because botrytis affected berries couldn´t dry enough. The early frost was a big chance for Eiswein which was harvested in bigger quantities than in other vintages. The 1998 vintage is another great vintage in the row of the exellent vintages in the nineties.

Mrs. Reh-Gartner of Weingut Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, Trier reports the beginning of the harvest October 22, 1998 going through November 13, 1998.

In spring the bud burst was very good and regular. However the process of the blossoming was already quite different among Moselle, Saar and Ruwer. Saar and Ruwer showed a very good blossoming, but on the Moselle it was already quite irregular.

The summer, with its long dry periods had the biggest influence on the harvest. On the skeleton-rich and dry soils of the middle Moselle it ripened well, but the berries stayed extremely small. On the Saar and Ruwer the water supply was much better, so that the grapes became bigger.

Early autumn we got a lot of rain and had to wait before we started harvesting until October 22nd in oder to get higher ripeness levels. We harvested extremely selective and cost-intensice, as we picked only during the few dry periods. In all vineyards where we had done the "green harvest" and pruned very little (our top sites), we harvested dense Kabinett and good Spätlese wines, which will be short in supply of the 1998 vintage.

We were very happy though, that we could harvest excellent Eiswein on November 21st in Piesport, Kasel and in the Scharzhof with Oechsele degrees between 150 and 170. It might be the best Eiswein made within the last 20 years.

The average yield was 75 hl/ha (50 hl/ha in the Mosel Valley, 85 hl/ha in Saar and Ruwer Valley). We harvested 70.5% Qualitywine, 7.5% Kabinett, 15.4% Spätlese and 6.6% Auslese and above.
Enjoy what you can get of this wonderful vintage; another one in the brilliant row of 90's vintages.

Martin Kerpen of Weingut Heribert Kerpen reports:

The 98 vintage turned out better than I expected. Despite the bad wheather during the harvest, we were abele to achieve high ripeness levels all the way to good Auslese. A special treat for us was the fact that we were able to harvest Eiswein very early. The must weight on that was even 160° Oechsle.

The amount of crop in general was very low, which lead to extracts that are very high providing a lot of body and richness to the wines. The acidity levels ranging from 8.0 to 9.0 grams per liter provide longevity to the wines, while the high ripeness will make the friends of our dry wines very happy, as the wines show a very nice balance between fruit and acidity. Another wonderful vintage.

Raimund Prüm of Weingut S.A. Prüm also reports a great vintage. The 98 harvest in the terraces of the estate started on October 23 and lasted until November 21. The results were very impressive. The average yield was only 64 hl/ha and represents a small to medium harvest. Based on the small amount of crop, the quality / quantity ratio resulted in certainly above average wines.

The lighter Kabinett and Spätlese wines have been declassified, resulting in almost 50% estate Riesling wines this vintage. The wines show a great potential as good "very dry" and "dry" wines. Great wines are to be expected from the top vineyard sites of "Wehlener Sonnenuhr" and "Graacher Himmelreich" as well as "Bernkasteler Graben". It again prouves that they are the "premier cru" sites and of outstanding quality.

This vintage provided us not only with juicy, ripe Kabinett wines and luscious Spätlese, but also, after rigid hand selection some very fine Auslese from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr. The later will again be released as "Edition Sonnenuhr" in a special bottle. Multiple selection and careful handling resutled in even several gold-cap Auslese from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr and the Graacher Himmelreich.

A highlight of any vintage is the night, when it is cold enough that the juice in the grapes freezes and EISWEIN of angelic structure can be made. In 1998 a unique thing happened. Never before, we had an EISWEIN-night that was the last night of the harvest at the same time. We even harvested two wonderful EISWEIN lots, both out of the Graacher Himmelreich vineyard.

During January and the following spring the wines will finish fermenting in the new, modern cellar and will then age in our old wooden casks until bottling. The first barrel samples were very promising and lead me to believe that the 1998 quality is going to be the best we had in the decade.

The wines will be released and publically tasted for the first time at the grand 98 vintage tasting during the "Days of open cellars" May 13. - 16, 1999.

The average yield was 70 hl/ha and the Riesling was all of Kabinett Quality and above. All quality-wines (QbA) in 1997 are declassified Kabinett wines. Through extensive selection while harvesting we were able to even produce a Long-Gold-Cap Auslese and a Beerenauslese. Despite the small quantity we are excited about the quality and the fine fruit aromas in the young wines which display a fine balanced acidity.

Andreas von Canal of Weingut Freiherr von Heddesdorf
describes the 1998 vintage as follows:

The blooming was very early. It started in late May and within just 14 days in early June everything was through. It went very well. During the summer we had warm, partly hot climate. In August we had temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius (above 85 degrees Fahrenheit). Despite the sunburn on the grapes notices in other areas, we had no such problems. We had sufficient rain and therefore a good water supply for the vines. The grapes reached a good to exvellent ripeness level and the harvest begun somewhat late on October 15th. The leaves on the vines stayed green until that time, so assimilation continued into the fall. The harvest itself was difficult due to frequent rain holding up the harvesting. The crop was healthy and the ripeness of the grapes especially on the top vineyard sites was very high. We had levels of 85 to 105 degrees Oechsle. This makes for very ripe and soft acidity levels with an ideal ratio between wine and apple acidity. Also the extract levels were very high. With the 98 vintage we have another ripe and strong vintage with juicy, fullbodied wines. Another pleasing vintage for the connoisseur.

VINTAGE 1998 at Friedrich - Wilhelm - Gymnasium, Trier

Saar Valley vineyards: good quantity , quality in the upper Qualitätswein and Kabinett level, Top EISWEIN from healthy grapes November 21st , 1998 at 46 Brix and 18,8g/l acidity. Mosel Valley: low-average quantity, quality better than expected with 75% prädikat wines between 18 - 25 Brix and 9,5 - 11,5g/l acidity.

At present, the vintage is exhibiting a clean definite character with surpising depths. The range of estate bottlings will include mature rich Qualitätswein, elegant Kabinett and late harvest Spätlese, classic noble Auslese with finesse and rich Eiswein from the Saar valley Falkenstein vineyards.

The 1998 vintage receives unexpected good grades at the estate. After a normal bud break at the end of April, early flowering in mid June, record temperatures in early August which caused heavy damage due to sunburn of the grapes in the best vineyards of the Moseland, the picking crew saved the crop and secured unexpected high qualities during an unusually wet and cool harvest period, which started late October 19th and was concluded November 21st , 1998. This years Eiswein harvest yielded 46 Brix, which is the estates highest must weight since 1976.

Preliminary figures of the estate`s Riesling harvest are 53% Qualitätswein, 22% Kabinett, 16% Spätlese, 8% Auslese und 1% Eiswein - far above average for the region. However, noble sweet wines above the Auslese level remain limited to EISWEIN. Yield was about 70 hl/ha (4,5 tons/acre), with slightly above normal levels in the Saar vineyards. The mid Mosel fell short, with low crops especially in the Bernkastel, Graach and Zeltingen villages with only about 50 hl hl/ha (3 tons/acre) but high sugar levels up to 25 Brix. Acidity levels ranged from 8-12 grams per liter. This means the best conditions for a wide range of dry, medium dry and fruity-classic Riesling wines.

First impressions of the young 1998 wines show still retained fruit, lively acidity, character, good, partly dense structure and finish. The vintage seems not to be as fruity as the 1997, the mature acidity is more pronounced and adds liveliness to the surprising fullbodied vintage. The outlook is promising. The vintage fits nicely with marketing needs, ending the shortage at the Qualitätswein level and also providing a nice selection of upper quality Prädikatswein from Kabinett to Auslese.

Good things take their time. More information and first samples will be available in the spring of 1999. In the meantime the 1997 vintage has come along nicely. Along with the now mature previous vintages there are many excellent choices to suit almost any need.

Helmut R. Kranich
Estate Director

VINTAGE 1998 at Schloss Saarstein, Serrig/Saar

The almost uninterrupted rain during the harvesting month of October destroyed our hope for another outstanding vintage. We harvested mainly quality wine (QbA), which we appreciated, since the 97 vintage was already sold out. Unlike in other years, we bottled the 98 Riesling and the Pinot Blanc already in January to have it available for sale. Despite the small quantities of wines available due to the small harvests over the last years, we will maintain the prices on the same level as last year.

Qualitywines with attribute made up for about 25% of the harvest, mainly Kabinett, just a little bit Spätlese was possible in the best part of the vineyard. Around the 23rd of November, the waiting for frost to make Eiswein was paid off. We havested 3 batches between 110° and 180° Oechsle within 4 days.

The acidity levels in the 98 vintage are very moderate between 7.8 and 8.8 g/l, which makes the still young wines very approchable and pleasant to taste at their early stage. Despite the rain, the crop was very healthy and therefore the wines present themselves as very racy with a fine fruit.

For the first time, we will have an off-dry Riesling QbA in the 98 vintage, which is going to be for exporting only. We are excited about this new release.

Christian Ebert
Schloss Saarstein

VINTAGE 1998 at Selbach-Oster, Zeltingen

At Weingut Selbach-Oster, the big news is the addition of a big chunk of prime vineyard in the heart of the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr earlier this year. Together with an addition in the Bernkasteler Badstube, this brings us up to 10.5 hectares ( 27 acres ). In order to get those choice parts of the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, we had to trade in some of our holdings in the neighboring Wehlener Sonnenuhr but it was an exchange of good for the better !

The year 1998 kept us very busy, thanks to loyal customers and a seemingly constant increase in demand for top quality Riesling. After a long series of fine vintages since 1988, we had to remember that this streak of luck can't be taken for granted but secretely hoped for another fine vintage. The news is certainly out - 1998 is another, though not "great ", certainly good to very good vintage. The first months of the year passed and spring arrived without a flooding Mosel visiting the house or the cellars at Uferallee 23 in Zeltingen.

The growth patterns in 1998 were certainly erratic. The growing season started very early from budbreak to flowering and we entered summer with an advantage of a good two weeks over 1997. The summer itself brought a weird mix of very cool days and phases of extreme heat, causing severe drought stress for the vines on our rocky slopes. Since we are not allowed to irrigate, we were extremely worried by mid-August and sincerely hoped for the badly needed rain....
...And rain came in September, first in small showers and highly welcome but then it established itself as a regular "guest ". Nevertheless, the vineyards looked great in September and still enjoyed an advantage over the preceding, excellent vintages.
Then, from mid-September to early November, we experienced the most nervewrecking time in a good number of years. Instead of the normally stable, quiet late summer weather, a series of reverse weatherfronts, coming back from across the Atlantic ocean from the hurricanes that devastated parts of the Carribean and Central America, brought rainfront after rainfront and our hopes as well as nerves dwindled. We pushed back the start of the harvest twice, then finally began on October 20th with a preselection in young vineyards. It was a stop-and-go harvest, sitting out wet days and rushing to pick when it was dry. The Mosel, which hadn't flooded in the winter or spring, swelled over its banks and flooded our cellars as well as the main street, Uferallee, in Zeltingen. For a day and a half one could run a boat in front of our house and the cellar could not be entered. Per many years' routine, our crew secured the barrels and tanks with fermenting juice and we evacuated the few lots that hadn't started to ferment yet. No damage was done to the juice resp. fermenting wine but we lost two entire days to evacuating and securing things and cleaning up afterwards. Such is life on a river.....

The big surprise, however, were the grapes: Healthy, thickskinned and with firm pulp they had obviously withstood the perils of rain, helped by an intact foliage which shielded the clusters. We looked at sugar and acidity in disbelief during the first couple of days and then realized that 1998 may be the vintage that justifies the dominance of Riesling in the Mosel valley.

There was almost no QbA, very little Kabinett, a great number of Spätlese and also some Auslese and even a bit of Beerenauslese made. Noble botrytis, however, was extremely scarce.
Then, in the early morning of November 21 and 22, we were blessed with two excellent Eisweins, picked under ideal circumstances in perfect condition, " comme il faut ", as our neighbours a little further West would say !
After four years where we´ve lost nearly everything ( no Eiswein made from '95 & '97 and tiny amounts bottled from '94 and '96 ), 1998 certainly is a full success and we look forward to 1998 Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Eiswein and 1998 Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Eiswein.

While some of the '98s are still fermenting, it is very difficult to taste, judge and then compare the first young '98 Rieslings to any of the older vintages. We will have to be patient a few more weeks and take another look in February but we are obviuosly pleased with the results of the Riesling vintage 1998 in our part of the wine country.

For now, we would like to close and to send you our best wishes for the year 1999.

Yours truly,
Weingut Selbach-Oster
Johannes Selbach
January 9th, 1999

Pfalz region

VINTAGE 1998 at Weingut Kurt Darting, Bad Dürkheim

The year started well for us. The weather was normal for all of spring. The summer provided very hot days and a lot of sunshine. We waited on rain for weeks leading to "sunburn" on the grapes, which we had not had in years. In September, the time when we have the famous "Wurstmarkt", our annual wine festival, rain came and it came to stay. Even through October we had many rainy days and very little sunshine.

It was surprising, that we harvested good quality despite of the bad weather which dominated the time before and during the harvest. We contribute the high quality to the fact that we would only harvest on dry days. Often we only harvested during the afternoons to give the grapes time to dry off. Selective picking and extensice sorting even allowed us to make a Trockenbeerenauslese this year. Another highlight of the harvest was that we were able to harvest Eiswein. The frost came unusually early so we already picked the Eiswein during November.

The new wines present themselves very good in their young stage. Acidity is a little higher than it was in 1997, which will lead to somewhat more effervescent wines with a delightful balance between acidity and residual sugar, especially with the off-dry and sweeter style wines. Another good vintage.

Anette Bippus-Darting
Weingut Kurt Darting

HARVEST REPORT 1998 from Fitz-Ritter, Bad Dürkheim

The wine year 1998 got off to an excellent start, without late frost and with an early bloom, both of which are crucial prerequisites for a good vintage. However, a weather change for the worse during the bloom left the Riesling with some unpollinated berries, already an omen for a smaller harvest. Turbulent conditions followed , including extremes of severe rainfall, drought and record-setting heat which brought sunburn damage to the grapes for the first time since 1947. During three crucial days in August the temperatures rose to 106° F. (40°C.), yet in the long run, it was this same sun and heat which gave the 1998 harvest its great strength. The harvest could begin at the end of September with the grapes already well developed, however the onset of incessant rainfall necessitated that everything be brought in as quickly as possible during the few dry days which remained.

1998 was a very good Riesling vintage. On it average it produced smaller yields per acre but the resulting wines have turned out to be very aromatic and clean with delicate fruit and an ideal acidic structure. More than 90% of the Fitz-Ritter 1998 harvest is graded quality wines (with Prädikat). The top Rieslings for this year is a BA with 140° Oechsle and 8 g/l acidity and an ice wine which was harvested on the ideally early date of November 22, 1998 at a temperature of 15° F. (minus 9° C.) It was registered at 153° Oechsle with an acidic level of 13.5 g/l.

In most German wine-growing regions, large quantities of wine were harvested, however, due to the estate's practice of restrictive pruning, Fitz-Ritter remained below its 10-year average, thus achieving highest qualities with the Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. A definite positive impact on the harvest was the use of the estate's new pneumatic press. The fine and sensitive whole cluster pressing which is possible with this press has proved to be most beneficial to overall quality.

Alice Fitz

1998 HARVEST REPORT from Dr. Bürklin-Wolf

Slogan: Extravaganza for dry Riesling
Start of Harvest: September 23 1998
End of Harvest: November 6, 1998

Weather:
Springtime was very warm and the blooming went very well at the beginning of June (June 5-10, 1998). Temperatures and rain during Juli were normal, while in August temperatures went up high above 40 °C and it was very dry causing some sunburn on the grapes. After September 15 heavy rains dominated (150 mm until Oct. 30, 1998) and made the harvest rather difficult. Extensive sorting was necessary to maintain highest quality.

Average yield:
56 hl/ha while Riesling was only: 40 hl/ha. This shows that the 98 harvest was extremly small.


Quality in 1998:
The overall quality in 1998 is much higher than it was in 1997. A top vintage, like never before. The grapes had achieved enormous ripeness which shows in the high pH-value (3,4) and the high amount of wine acidity of 70 %. All Grand Cru and Premier Cru wines have achieved a natural alcohol of 13 % vol.

Grand Cru vineyard yields of 1997 and 1998 in comparison (bottles made)
Vineyard	1997	1998
Kirchenstück Forst	4.800	1.400
Jesuitengarten Forst	4.000	1.600
Ungeheuer Forst	6.900	3.300
Pechstein Forst	9.700	3.300
Pechstein 'R' Forst	N/A	2.800
Gaisböhl Ruppertsberg	15.500	15.000
Gaisböhl 'R' Ruppertsberg	3.500	N/A
Hohenmorgen Deidesheim (new)	N/A	1.400
Sum:	44.400	28.800
new Grand Cru plantings in 1998 in the "Kalkofen" vineyard, 9ha (16 acres)

Premier Cru vineyard yields of 1997 and 1998 in comparison (bottles made)
Vineyard	1997	1998
Wachenheimer Gerümpel	20.000	22.000
Wachenheimer Rechbächel	7.500	15.000
Wachenheimer Goldbächel	7.500	8.000
Wachenheimer Böhlig	20.000	15.000
Ruppertsberger Hoheburg (new)	N/A	7.500
Sum:	55.000	67.500

Village level Riesling: 150.000 liters harvested

Estate Riesling: 95.000 liters harvested.
With respect to Riesling, only QmP was harvested. The minimum must weight was 80° Oechsle and the maximum was 108° Ochsle. No noble sweet dessertwines from Riesling were made in 1998.


Non-Riesling / Pinot (Burgunder)
The early rain in September did not allow us to harvest outstanding Pinot in comparison to 1997. The alcohol levels of the pinots range from 12,5 % vol. bis 13,0 %vol.

Scheurebe
great BA was harvested at 164°Oechsle and 12,8 gr. acidity. The amount was just 200 bottles while the quality was comparable to 1988.

STAR OF THE VINTAGE
Muskateller TBA was harvested with 202°Oechsle and 15 gr. acidity. Just 60 bottles were made, but the quality was outstanding, even better than the 1992 TBA.

Contact me for any questions or the availability of the wines of these fine estates.

Thomas, the Cork-Dork