German Vintages
I can only give a very rough overview, as it emerges
from various sources and my own limited experience. Notice also that the quality
of a vintage is often measured by the amounts of top levels of ripeness achieved
in that vintage, rather than by the comparative merits of e.g. the Kabinett
wines of that year. The can also be some regional and varietal variations. So
take any such chart with a good pinch of salt.
2004 good wet autumn, the antithesis to 03
2003 good the dryest and hottest vintage ever
2002 good Glorious prospects watered down by wet atumn
2001 very good Rainy Sept. saved by glorious October
2000 bad difficult year, lots of rot, some highlights
1999 good soft and forward wines for early enjoyment
1998 very good esp. for Kabinetts and Spl., great Eisweine
1997 very good very ripe, soft, fruity, forward wines
1996 very good ripe, healthy grapes with good acidity
1995 variable difficult uneven year, superb in MSR
1994 very good, high acidity and much botrytis, many TBA's
1993 very good, excellent ageworthy wines, great in the Saar
1992 good, maturing quickly, often too soft, with highlights
1991 fair, high acidity should make them last for some time
1990 great, a classic year throughout, racy, for long keeping
1989 very good, too soft and early maturing for greatness
1988 very good, often unfairly overshadowed by 89, keeping well
1987 fair, drink now
1986 fair, drink now, some good ones
1985 good, some vg MSR Rieslings now highly enjoyable
1984 bad, some QbAs can surprise
1983 very good, mostly at their peak or declining, great Eisweine
1976 very good, not keeping too well, often lacking acidity
1975 very good, lasting better than '76, less botrytis, better balance
1971 great, classic year, keeping very well
1964 very good, the best should be still vg
1959 great, almost as great as '53, some legendary TBAs
1953 great, according to some the best vintage of the century
1921 great, some legendary wines, like Thanisch's B.'er Doctor TBA
Regional Variations
2003 worse: Mosel, ...?
2002 better: Rheingau, Pfalz, ...?
2001 better: Middle Mosel, Nahe
2000 better: Franken, Nahe, lower Mosel (alias Terassenmosel;) (+...?)
1999 better: Saar
1998 better: Nahe, Pfalz, Untermosel, Rheingau
1997 better: Saar, Ruwer, Ahr; worse: Pfalz
1996 better: Pfalz; worse: Saar, Ruwer, Franken
1995 better: M-S-R, Mittelrhein, Ahr; worse: Franken, Pfalz
1994 worse: Baden, Wuert.
1992 better: Nahe, Rheingau, Rheinh.
1989 worse: Franken, Rheingau, Rheinh.; better: Mittelrh.
1985 better: Baden, M-S-R, Pfalz
A note on the 2004 Vintage
2004 was a difficult vintage, esp. at harvest time. There never was a long enough dry spell to help the growers. The wet and cold conditions meant that they had to wait for the acids to drop, but made it difficult to harvest anything beyond (high) Spätlese. The acidity is the defining feature of the vintage, and makes the wines a copmplete contrast to 2003. Some acid lovers have praised 04 thus, perhaps beyond merit. Dry wines are a particular difficult area for the vintage, and high quality Auslesen are rare. I am tempted to call 04 "average", insofar as average is good these days. There are many good wines to be had from 2004, for sure. Some will have a long life probably, and may need the time to harmonize and integrate their considerable acid backbone.
A note on the 2003 Vintage
Certainly, 2003 is an extreme vintage. It was hotter and dryer than anyone can remember, and the wines show it. There has been some talk of how the acidity (addition of which was legalized) of the Rieslings is showing surprisingly well, and of minerality in the wines, but I remain scpetical about that. All 03s have lots sugar (fermented or not), relatively low acidity and extract. This is not what classic elegant Riesling is made of. Still, good wines are around, even superb ones, and a few legendary TBAs in the making. But when even some (unacidified) Saar wines start to taste flabby, problems cannot be denied...
An early note on the 2001 Vintage
The rainy September threatened a rerun of 2000, but things turned very well in October, with gloriously sunny and dry wheather. The late ripening Riesling had the advantage of coming out of the wet period healthy and with very sound acidity. The warm wheather gave very good ripness, comparable in places to 99, but with better stuffing, and far superior acids. The Middle Mosel has probably profited most from the conditions, and receives a lot of attention, bordering to hype. This ceratinly is a vintage to be joyful. Whether it deserves being called a great one throughout is perhaps a bit early to say.
A note on the 2000 Vintage
From early flowering to the summer all looked set for a record breaking harvest,
but then the weather turned, and drowned the grapes in water, and often in rot.
The market is awash with grape juice of very poor quality. Good wines will be exceptions,
and a great credit to the grower. They do exist though, and the most successful 2000s can outshine comparable 99s for their greater minerally extract and depth. Some of the usual suspects in MSR, Nahe, and even Pfalz made very fine wines, and Franken was really successfull. One should not write this vintage off.
A note on the 1999 Vintage
1999 seems a bit like a re-run of 1997, with its softly fruit and forward wines.
Only that the wines seem even softer, and even dilute from high yields, with
added botrytis in many cases. If you see racyness and elegance there is not much
for you to find in 1999. The Saar had a year of exceptional must weights, and
some call it a great Saar vintage. I'm not so convinced of that. Time will tell.
A note on the 1998 Vintage
1998 was looking fine (too
dry and hot if anything) until September when it started to get cold and wet
until November. The harvest thus was very difficult, and favored the dryer
regions of Germany. The ripeness of the grapes still managed to increase, but
rarely exceeded Spätlese levels, with the important exception of a considerable
number of ice wines that were made possible by a severe frost in November. These
are the wines that 1998 will be remembered for in the decades to come, not only
for their exceptional quality, but possibly for being the last ice wines of the
century, as well as perhaps the last of a dying kind of wines whose must may by
law be concentrated only by wholly natural means (no fridges, reverse osmosis,
or what have you...). Compared to the riper years of 1997 and 1999, 1998 also has
the edge in terms of a more solid acid structure, making the wines more elegant and
probably more ageable. The Pfalz 98s are superb.
A note on the 1997 Vintage
97 started problematic. Frost
reduced the crop substantially in Saar and Ruwer. Spring and early summer were
cool and wet. Flowering was interrupted in many places, leading to problems of
uneven ripeness. Yet August and September up to early October were warm and
sunny, perhaps sunnier than any year in recent memory. Then came some rain
again, but too little to do damage. A dry period followed with frosty nights.
The frost was not strong enough for Eiswein, but it reduces acids further and
turned the leafs brown. In late October rain returned and diluted the grapes
that were still hanging. There was hardly any bortytis for making BA or TBA. A
little Eiswein was made as late as February 98. The general picture is one of
ripe, fruity, soft wines that drink well young, but many of which will not last
that long. The low acidity poses problems in particular in the Pfalz. Red wines
look very promising. Saar and Ruwer wines are superbly concentrated, due to very
low yields, and posess excellent acidity levels.
A note on the 1996 Vintage
A realtively cool and dry summer led
to a very late harvest of healthy grapes (very little botrytis). The wines have
high acidity (too high sometimes) and good to very good extract. The Middle
Mosel looks best within MSR, and the Rhein regions fared better still. The best
Rheingau wines are superb, and the Pfalz had perhaps the best vintage since
1990. Baden was very sucessful too. The warmest regions and vineyards have a
clear advantage in 96. Some massive Eisweins were made around Christmas. Yields
were low again. 96 looks like a long term vintage for elegant, ageworthy wines.
A note on the 1995 Vintage
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer has been lucky
again! 95 continues the string of very good vintages in MSR, in marked contrast
to some other German regions, and certainly is on a similar level as 93 and 94.
MSR's advantage in 95 was the fact that Riesling ripens very late in these
latitudes. In fact, most MSR-producers and critics consider it slightly superior
to 94. From QbA to Auslese, 95 seems to have produced a little denser, riper
wines, with better integrated acidity and more substance. They are also less
accessible than the young 94s, not giving as much away on the nose. Yields were
rather low (in all of Germany).
The more northern Rhein regions are a more
mixed bag, and the Pfalz had to cope with serious (unnoble) rot problems.
A note on the 1994 Vintage
94 looks terrific for sweet wines.
The dessert wines may even be better than in 93, which was a very good year,
although 94 was in some ways a more difficult vintage. The general picture is
one of extreme ripeness and botrytis levels with very high acidity at the same
time, making thrilling wines in the top predicates, including plenty TBAs. Lower
predicates are perhaps not quite so exciting in 94, dry wines in particular, as
they tend to lack extract to balance the acidity.