1990 Vintage Report
Overview
Great vintages in triplicate are unheard of in
Germany's wine growing regions. Never in recorded history have
there been three successful vintages in a row; there have been
several successful vintage pairs such as 1920, 1921 and 1975,
1976 but never a series of vintages just completed. Subsequent to
tasting almost 300 wines in early December, we can already say
that the 1990 vintage will be better than 1989 and is the finest
vintage we've ever tasted at this early stage.
The vintage began much like it did the past few
years. A mild winter, followed by a warm spring started buds to
sprout by the third week of April. May had very little rainfall
but for June it was above normal.
Flowering was very early and complete by the middle of June in the Mosel region. Photosynthesis almost came to a complete halt because of very hot and dry weather through July and early August. This severe slowdown in the plant metabolism resulted in "natural" bunch-thinning and the eventually incredibly low yields. It also preserved the acidity in the fruit that remained on the vine. Good rains in the second half of August allowed ripening to begin by 8/20/90. The harvest started mid - October in the Mosel region and earlier in other regions. Late in the harvest brought botrytis, to allow the production of Ausleses, BA's, and some very rare TBA's. The first week in December was quite cold and on the 7th of December a number of Eisweins were produced. In general this was a harvest that brought very concentrated and ripe musts with unusually high acids into the cellars. We cannot remember a vintage with such positive characteristics: very concentrated, very ripe with very high acids! A review by grower follows:
Estates by Region
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
MÖNCHHOF
Possibly the finest wines I've tasted at the
Mönchhof. Yields much below '89. 100% predicate wines with only
10% Kabinett, 30% Spätlese and 60% Auslese. Acid levels from 9.5
gm/l to almost 11 gm/l in the finished wine. Average mustweight
over 90 Öchsle.
CHRISTOFFEL BERRES
Yield about 60 hl/ha with average mustweight
about 90 Öchsle. Very high acid levels, especially for this
microclimate, and very concentrated wines. Erdener Prälat
Spätlese was harvested at 98 Öchsle.
J.J. PRÜM
Yield about 45 hl/ha, average mustweight over
90 Öchsle, must acids 10 to 13 gm/l. Quality is concentrated in
a great number of Ausleses. There is also BA, TBA (very small
quantities that may yet be declassified) and an Eiswein from the
Bernkasteler Johannisbrünnchen at 140 Öchsle. Dr. Prüm already
prefers the '90 vintage over both 1988 and 1989.
DR. F. WEINS-PRÜM
Yield 49 hl/ha, mustweights to 104 Öchsle
(GKA's), must acids 11 gm/l very high extract. Finished wines
still have 9.5 gm/l to 10 gm/l acidity. Bert Selbach also prefers
the 1990 vintage over 1988 and 1989.
Wwe. DR. H. THANISCH
Yield was less than 60 hl/ha, mustweight from
80 Öchsle to BA quality. Must acids from 11 gm/l to 14 gm/l 45%
of the wines produced are Ausleses. The finished wines have
between 10 and 11 gm/l acidity. Here also 1990 is judged to be
the best of the three vintages.
FRITZ HAAG
Yield below 40 hl/ha, nothing was harvested
below Auslese level and with very high must acids. The wines have
great depth, and great concentration. Wilhelm Haag feels that in
over 25 years as cellar master this may be the best vintage the
estate has produced.
MILZ LAURENTIUSHOF
Less than 60 hl/ha was harvested, with an
average mustweight just shy of 90 Öchsle, must acids to 15 gm/l.
Very high extracted, concentrated wines. Goldcapsel Ausleses in
the Leiterchen and Felsenkopf. An Eiswein was harvested in the
first week in December in the Apotheke vineyard. Here 1989 may be
the best vintage of the three with 1990 very close behind.
KARTHÄUSERHOF
Yield less than 50 hl/ha, average mustweight
over 85 Öchsle with a Goldcapsel Auslese at 104 Öchsle. Again
the most concentrated wines of the three vintages. All the wines
have very pronounced cassis fruit, very high acids in the
finished wines.
PIEDMONT
Only 47 hl/ha were harvested. This is only half
of the 1989 harvest. Mustweights to 105 Öchsle. Finished wines
have in excess of 9.0 gm/l acidity with very high proportion of
tartaric. Here again 1990 is the best of the three vintages.
von HÖVEL
42 hl/ha harvested was less than half of the
1988 vintage. Mustweights to TBA (Hütte). Finished acids over 10
gm/l with high proportion of tartaric. Very concentrated wines.
Again 1990 best of the three vintages. New - a Balduin von Hövel
Estate Riesling !
EGON MÜLLER -SCHARZHOF / LE GALLAIS
Only 38 hl/ha were harvested with great quality
that surpasses the 1989s. Herr Müller likens the wines to the
great 1971s, but more concentrated. Mustweights to TBA including
an Eiswein harvested on December 7th. As everywhere the wines
have very high acidity with good proportion of tartaric.
DR. FISCHER
Great surprise - the best young wines I've ever
tasted at this estate. Yield less than 60 hl/ha, with mustweight
to BA. Eiswein produced December 7. Over 40% Ausleses. There was
significant botrytis and Herr Fischer likens the vintage to 1976.
Lots of apricots and cassis in the young wines.
ZILLIKEN
The 1990 vintage yield was less than 60 hl/ha,
which is somewhat below average. Quality is far above average,
again the best of the three vintages. Most of the harvest is
Spätlese, Auslese including a long Goldcapsel Auslese and an
Eiswein (harvested 12/7/90). Very concentrated wines, with fine
botrytis and great acids to balance. Hanno Zilliken compares his
1990s to his 1971 wines.
SCHLOSS SAARSTEIN
Yield was 53 hl/ha, with mustweights to 95
Öchsle without selection and up to 140 Öchsle with selection.
Must acids to 14 gm/l. Wines have very high extract that buffer
the very high acids in the finished wines. The 1990 BA surpasses
the quality of the 1989 BA. Again 1990 is the best of the three
vintages.
BERT SIMON
45 hl/ha was harvested with musts that had very high acidity (to 16 gm/l) and very high extract. Average mustweight close to 90 Öchsle with a TBA harvested at 180 Öchsle. Again a fabulous vintage for Bert Simon which may be as good as his great 1989 vintage. A Mueller-Thurgau BA in the offering is actually a declassified TBA!
Rheingau
VON SIMMERN
Yield was only 40 hl/ha with average mustweight
of over 90 Öchsle. There were BAs in the Nussbrunnen and Marcobrunn and TBA's in the Sonnenberg and
Nussbrunnen (186 Oechsle). Must acids from 11 to 14 gm/l with the
finished wines to 10 gm/l. An interesting study was made at von
Simmern to compare costs of machine harvesting to hand selection.
The former costs 20 Pfennig/liter and the latter 67 Pf./l. More
concentrated wines than 1989.
GEORG BREUER
Yield was 37% below the 1989s or less than 40
hl/ha. Must acids were very high. Ausleses over 105 Öchsle with
a BA at 145 Öchsle and Eiswein at 135 Öchsle. Bernard Breuer
feels that his 1990s will approach the legendary 1953s.
Pfalz
PFEFFINGEN
Yield was below 60 hl/ha. Riesling quality from Kabinett to Auslese, Scheurebe from Spätlese to TBA. Both the TBA and BA will be declassified to BA and GKA respectively. Very good acids in the Riesling to 10 gm/l in the finished wine. Better than 1989 and almost as good as the 1988s.
Franken
WIRSCHING
One of the top vintages in the last 20 years. The vintage is especially good for Silvaner (mustweight to TBA, Riesling (mustweights to Auslese), Scheurebe (mustweights to TBA) and a very concentrated Traminer Auslese harvested with a yield of 17 hl/ha. Yield below normal and mustweights and acids significantly above normal.
Nahe
CRUSIUS
Yield of 40 hl/ha and mustweights t 102 Öchsle
(Niederhaeuser Felsensteyer). Very ripe with must acids from 10
to 15 gm/l. Extract appears very high because the high acids in
the new wines do not appear as high as the actual number suggest.
Hans and Peter Crusius compare the vintage to 1975, but more
concentrated.
SCHLOSSGUT DIEL
We were the first to taste the great 1990
vintage at Diel. Armin Diel cannot remember a vintage of this
quality. Yield below 40 hl/ha with 10 gm/l acidity in the
finished Riesling and over 9.5 gm/l acidity in the Pinot Blanc
and Pinot Gris. In the Dorsheimer Goldloch the yield for Riesling
was below 25 hl/ha. The Goldloch produced a great GKA at 110
Öchsle.
Rheinhessen
GUNDERLOCH
Here again the Hasselbachs feel that 1990 vintage surpasses 1989 and is the best vintage ever at the estate. Yield was 42 hl/ha with must acids to 14 gm/l. Must weights to 158 Öchsle (100 lit.) which was added to a great Rothenberg GKA.
Baden
SALWEY
A very small harvest that yielded only half the
1989 vintage. The young wines have great depth suggesting high
extracts balanced by very good acids. The white wines will
surpass the superb 1989s and the reds (Pinot Noir) will be
comparable to the great 1959s.
DR. HEGER
A small harvest, but great vintage that will surpass both 1988 and 1989. Superb white wines, especially
Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, with a sensational Pinot Gris en barrique (Auslese quality). The 1990 Pinot Noir will probably surpass the great 1989. Tasted over 30 wines.
Württemberg
GRAF ADELMANN
Average yield was 67 hl/ha, however, that includes Müller-Thurgau etc. For Riesling, Clevener and Lemberger it was significantly lower. Graf Michael believes 1990 to be the finest vintage since 1971. Riesling Auslese and Spätlese were harvested at 110 and 98 Öchsle respectively and the Clevener at 104 and Lemberger at 98 Öchsle. The young wines showed very clean, clear fruit and very good acid structure.