2023 Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Auslese

Dr. Katharina Prüm says she initially found 2023 far more relaxed. The dryness that appeared in summer did not matter as much, as there had been significant moisture throughout the winter. “Great, this is a different basis already,” she recalls thinking. The challenge of the vintage was the harvest because it was rainy and extremely warm. “This meant we really had to step up speed. We finished picking on October 11—we were never done this early before. You had to be quick because the fruit was ripe, otherwise, it would have been either overripe or rotten. We picked nonstop, and more rain was forecast for the 12th of October,” Prüm explains. She also notes that it becomes increasingly difficult to speak of “average” yields as the figures become ever more volatile. While the 2023 yield was higher than either 2021 or 2022, Prüm estimates that sorting out rot cost her a third of the crop. There was not much good botrytis, so the 2023 Auslesen have very little botrytis and are thus exquisitely bright and elegant. The entire collection is a light-footed but intensely aromatic dream.