2018 Riesling Krettnacher Euchariusberg Auslese

Erich and Johannes Weber began harvesting their 2018s on September 14 and finished on October 9. “We managed to pick grapes in the mid-80s [Oechsle],” reported Johannes Weber, “but if we had waited another week to begin, it would have been impossible to harvest any Kabinett. Our biggest concern, though,” he added, “was acid retention.” And early picking was by no means the sole measure undertaken toward that end. The musts that became Hofgut Falkenstein’s 2018s represented grapes pressed at less than half the pressure that had been exerted in 2017, with the juice that flowed after that being pumped off for bulk sale.

A vivid impression of how large crops were in 2018 can be gleaned from some observations about practices at Hofgut Falkenstein and some statistics. This is an estate known for its low-yielding old vines, utilizes no fertilizers other than occasionally cow dung, and prunes its vines exclusively to a single short “flat” cane (as opposed to the double, arched canes that are virtually an industry standard, especially on the Mosel). In typical years, only musts from a few less-favored or young vines parcels get sold-off (to a co-op), and vines in those parcels are not pruned or otherwise treated any differently. (Higher yields are indubitably one common means of lowering must weights; but the Webers’ Kabinett-yielding parcels are pruned and cropped the same as their others.) Factoring in recently acquired parcels, there were 28 fuders of Hofgut Falkenstein Riesling from 2018, the largest volume ever; yet, surfeit of fruit, together with the aforementioned pressing regimen, resulted in 30 fuders’ worth of Riesling raw material being sold off in bulk! And despite this year’s early harvest dates and relatively high yields, the average must weight was still above normal. Probably in part for that reason – but also due to a cold winter and to musts deprived of yeast nutrients thanks to the late summer drought – fermentations were slower than usual, many lasting into the spring. But when they were finished, the results certainly demonstrated successful acid-retention. This acidity, taken together with a vintage-typical paucity of potassium, resulted in some wines harboring a pH as low as 2.6, a level I am not aware of having been reached in 2018 at any other German Riesling address. And although that might look like a recipe for sour Rieslings, these are anything but!

Despite my long-standing association with this estate (thirty years ago, I became the first merchant to purchase their wines for resale) I’m afraid that I do not get to taste quite their complete range, which given one per fuder, would this year have meant 28 different Rieslings! There are eight different 2018s fitting the description “Niedermenniger Herrenberg Spätlese feinherb” alone – of which I tasted “only” five. Other wines not tasted include a third Herrenberg Kabinett trocken; a second Herrenberg Kabinett feinherb that was sold entirely to private customers, as was this year’s Oberemmeler Karlsberg Kabinett; an Altenberg Kabinett feinherb, a third Euchariusberg Kabinett; and a third Euchariusberg Spätlese.

Because of the prevalent usage of parcel nicknames when marketing and discussing wines of Hofgut Falkenstein, I frequently mention these in the texts of my tasting notes. Interestingly, for ease of re-identification, beginning with vintage 2019, the estate will indicate those names on the labels of certain wines. And incidentally, although the total volume of wine retained for bottling will probably never significantly exceed that of 2018, future vintages will be informed by yet further small parcels, since a couple more stands of old vines in the Zuckerberg sector of Herrenberg and a second plot in the Ober Schäfershaus were acquired in early 2019. (For a great deal of historical and methodological background on this estate with its many highly distinctive practices, as well as on the Konzer Tälchen sector of the Saar in which all of its vineyards are located, consult the introductions to my four previous reports on their wines.)