2016 Muscat Saering

Dirler-Cadé is launching a new wine, a 100% Riesling Crémant, following on the heels of the 2015 that was made with a blend of grapes. Jean Dirler told me he found 2016 a challenging year, as there was a ton of rain that fell until mid-June (according to him, about 650 millimeters in the area around Bergholz where his winery is located), then nothing more, such that drought in July and August became a big problem. Dirler believes that those vignerons who did not work their soils suffered the effects of drought even more. For the first time in the history of the estate, Dirler-Cadé was forced to start picking some grapes in August; previously the earliest harvests had taken place in years like 2003 and 2009 when they began picking grapes only in early September. The estate chose not to make any Pinot Noir in 2016 because the vines were hit by mildew; they opted to make more Crémant Rosé instead. (Production of Gewürztraminer also dropped slightly because lower-lying vineyards around the town of Bergholz were hit by hail.) Last but not least, Dirler also increased his plantings last year, laying down small plots of massal selections of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir. During my latest visit at the estate, I was happy to meet 18-year-old Luc Dirler, the oldest of the family’s three children, who is continuing his winemaking stage in the Loire at the famous Domaine Huet.