Germany 2023 En Primeur

2023 was another challenging vintage for Germany. A mild winter with welcome rains helped replenish water levels after the devilishly hot and dry summer of 2022. A cool start to spring delayed flowering and good weather arrived to super-charge growth in the vineyard. Teams understood the need to manage canopies and focus the vines energy whilst also keeping an eye on rapidly developing buds which threatened to be too tightly packed - a potential hazard if things were to become too humid. Those decisions were vindicated as the Mosel had more rain in May and the Nahe had a sticky August. A glorious September meant a pretty quick harvest and this brief overview makes light the efforts required in the vineyard throughout the summer. Christoph Schaefer commented: 2023 is a really Kabinett vintage (for us). We produced a few Spätlese and barely any Auslese”. While Dönnhoff were “delighted with this crystal-clear and wonderfully harmonious vintage”.  There is obvious quality here from two of the great German estates, and we will add to this list as our allocations become clear.Please bear in mind the awful late spring frosts of 2024 will likely mean severe reductions in volumes and more limited releases next year.