2017 Riesling Rüdesheimer Bischofsberg Spätlese trocken

“Volatility and spoilage were major concerns in 2017,” reports Johannes Gross, “for which reason you had to harvest both rapidly and selectively.” That naturally requires highly-skilled hand-picking; but, unlike at the vast majority of Rheingau estates, that condition is a given at Weingut Goldatzel. “Anyway,” notes Gross senior (“Gerd”), “I would destroy many of my old vineyards if I tried driving a machine harvester into them.” “We began with Riesling on September 15 or 16,” relates the younger Gross, “and finished-up on the last day of that month.” While the Gross vineyards were spared frost damage, Hasensprung suffered under the August 1 hail, while Hölle and Goldatzel were hailed-on just over a month later. Still, crop losses here were slight compared to vintage norms. Gross attributes 2017s relatively elevated acid levels to their having been locked-in by the chill that descended in late summer. “September is decisive,” he asserts, “and you can already tell that 2017 shows a cool-vintage character.” Well, at some addresses it does! Gross senior, who continues to play a major role in his estate’s viticulture, is anxious to emphasize the qualitative role of composing and strategic greening between the rows, and these are just the sorts of factors that can be decisive in a vintage featuring both mid-summer drought and potentially inopportune late-summer rain. Even so, he worries about the long-term effects of so many hot, dry summers as have been experienced during the past two decades and are apt to become more frequent in future. “Our restraint when it comes to canopy management,” notes Gross senior, “is also critical to quality” – and that’s another area in which skilled hands are indispensable.

In April, 2018, this estate benefited from some of the extensive swaps that have recently taken place with Schloss Johannisberg and Mumm (as discussed in my current coverage of those estates). This involved losing some acreage in the Hölle while gaining parcels in the Goldatzel and Rüdesheimer Bischofsberg. (The latter had recently been cared for by Theresa Breuer under a contract with Mumm. Gross has kept it no secret that he covets vines in the Mittelhölle; but sadly, that is now unlikely to ever come about. I inexplicably missed-out on tasting a 2017 Johannisberger Hölle Riesling Spätlese feinherb as well as the estate’s generic bottling “Wie im Flüge.” For considerable background on this estate, see the introductions to my previous report on it, which were focused on wines of the 2015 and 2016 vintages. All quotes attributed to “Gross” in my tasting notes, unless otherwise mentioned, refer to Johannes Gros.)