2021 Riesling Kitterlé Grand Cru

Ludivine and Jean Dirler presented their entire 2023 range. The wines are brilliant and alive, possessed of purity and light. Jean Dirler said that 2023 was “very curious” because there were “several periods of heat and drought and several periods of cooler weather, changing all the time.” June proved to be immensely dry. All the grapes harvested in the Heisse Wanne parcel within Grand Cru Kessler, usually vinified and bottled separately, ended up in the estate Riesling. The hottest day in Bergholtz was the July 9, at 38°C, followed by warm days that eventually cooled. Some August nights dipped to a chilly 8°C. Rain arrived in late August, helping all vegetation. Jean Dirler noted that some vines shut down in the June dry period, slowing their ripening, but after the August rains, vines could catch up and potential alcohol levels reached around 13% (rather than the usual 13.5%). Harvest for Pinot Noir started on August 24 in the Bollenberg. More Pinot Noir was harvested on September 7 and 8, with Crémant base having been picked from September 1 onwards, segueing into the main harvest that concluded on October 12. Freshly returned from Jurançon, son Luc Dirler has now joined the team, focusing mostly on viticulture.

Jean Dirler reports that 2021 “started well. But in the first half of the year, we had almost 600mm of rain when the annual average is around 600-700mm for the whole year. It was hard because we have plots with underground aquifers and springs that usually dry out in summer but not in 2021. It was hard to spray at the right moment. We sprayed nine times, which is a lot for us – but some colleagues sprayed 14 to 15 times. We lost 65% of our production. For Riesling, we still had a good crop. We just lost a third, but we lost almost 90% of the Pinots – Blanc, Gris and Noir. No Muscat was made in 2021, and only one Pinot Gris.” Notwithstanding these difficulties, the 2021 Rieslings I tasted were thrilling and luminous. About 2022, Dirler says that there were three periods with temperatures reaching around 37 degrees Celsius. A thunderstorm on 26 August brought much-needed rain.” He says that they had less dry stress in 2022 than in 2023 and notes that vine age was crucial, with young vines suffering more. More rain came at the end of September, posting some disease pressure but only for entry-level Gewurztraminer. Harvest started on 4 September and finished on 12 October – and Dirler is happy with both quantity and quality.