2010
The humid and cool weather during the flowering period in June was the
main reason why the yields turned out to be small in 2010. On the other
hand, it resulted a in very loose grape structure - which is an important
prerequisite for a rainy late summer. Because of this structure, the
grapes remained healthy for a long time. The berries remained small
and aromatic. Even the rain could not change that. Good for the quality!
It was only at the end of September - when the grapes had already reached high ripeness - that the combination of warm temperature and frequent rain brought about botrytis setting pretty quickly, as some of the berries burst open. Therefore the rotten grapes were completely removed in the pre-selection. The remaining grapes stayed then much longer healthy, as we had marvellous dry weather throughout the harvest. The juice in the berries was concentrated quickly so that we could take time - the harvest was finished only at the beginning of November. It led to excellent qualities, but also to very low yields. The yields were lower than usual by around 30%.
The 2010 vintage shows distinct solid fruit that lingers in the mouth.
Pleasant sustainable minerality gives tension to the wines. In addition,
the natural reduction of yield resulted in high dry-extract content.
2009 Also in 2009, the warm April caused quite early sprouting and the vines grew very well. In June the rainy and cool weather led to a little fruit setting resulting in very loose berry structure of the grapes. Despite the warm and humid summer, the risk of early rottenness was therefore small, measures to reduce yields were seldom necessary. The main harvest started on October 12th and delivered us fantastic healthy grapes. Even in the basic quality the fruit was highly ripe, and thanks to the dry weather, we could once again select a Trockenbeerenauslese. The acidity values stayed within the optimum range throughout the harvest which was completed on October 26th. All in all, a perfect wine vintage! The wines present themselves very fruity and well balanced, similar to the vintage 2007, offering probably a touch more finesse though.
The best wines: Halenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese (Robert Parker & Gault Millau: 98 marks) Halenberg Riesling "Großes Gewächs" (Eichelmann: 96 marks) "Auf der Lay" Riesling (Wein-Plus: 97+ pts)
2008
The vegetation in 2008 was strongly supported by the unusually sunny
May with the consequence that the flowering was already over at the
middle of equally pleasant June. Followed by a typically German summer
which is perfect for the vines. Throughout warm, with a few extremely
hot days and wonderful rural rain from time to time - absolutely comfortable
conditions for the vines that kept on growing.
However, the ripening process went on unusually slowly. Due to quite cool months of September and October, the acidity that is typical for riesling was maintained well, which made it our duty to harvest at a late stage. In fact, the harvesting of riesling started properly as late as October 17th. The grapes had wonderful aroma and were mostly very healthy. Even the eiswein grapes, which were left on the vines until December 30th, had seldom signs of botrytis (noble rot). Noble sweet Auslese wines were therefore rare. The young 2008 wines are very clearly structured. They show distinct minerality, fine fruit and wonderful elegance. At the same time, they are a little bit more moderate in terms of alcohol content, which offers even more fun drinking them. The similarities to the vintage 2002 can not be denied. The weather conditions were comparable and also the young wines showed similar characteristics to that of the present vintage. They have been developing wonderfully so far.
The best wines: Halenberg Riesling Eiswein -gold capsule- (Gault Millau: 97 marks, best noble sweet white wine) Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Spätlese (Robert Parker: 95 marks) Halenberg Riesling "Großes Gewächs"(Robert Parker: 94 marks)
2007 The weather in April 2007 was something most of us could have gotten used to quickly. We had never been running around so often barefoot wearing shorts in the garden and enjoying the sun in the vineyards every day at this time of the year! The sprouting of the vines didn't take time either and the accordingly early flowering brought about a development three weeks ahead of the many years' average. In the end, we were indeed happy that the summer wasn't so hot as in the previous years. It would have possibly meant that we had to harvest riesling grapes in September. Instead, we were glad to watch the enormous lead in development gradually fade away. It means a clearly longer vegetative period, which, after all, the northern wine-growing areas are known for. It has the effect that the grapes mature very slowly and have plenty of time to develop huge aroma. The kind of aromas that you will never find in the riesling wines of the New World! Furthermore, the typical acidity of riesling is conserved much better. On the 10th of October, the riesling harvest began. The harvest provided us with very healthy golden yellow grapes. We were in no hurry and could wait for all the grapes to reach the desired degree of ripeness, and at the end of the harvest we were able even to pick grapes for eiswein on the 21st of December. The elegant wines of the vintage 2007 show a very delicate fruitiness and thrilling minerality.
The best wines: Halenberg Riesling Beerenauslese (Wine Spectator: 96 marks) Halenberg Riesling "Großes Gewächs"(Robert Parker: 95 marks) Halenberg Riesling -R- (Gault Millau: 92 marks, best half-dry riesling)
2006 We seldom had a summer so hot and dry as in 2006. The development in the vineyard proceeded at terrific speed, and it was when we started to become a little concerned about the vines since it had become too dry for us that August came. The coldest and most rainy August for a long time. It is crazy - yet what a great luck for us! We did't have to worry about watering, while the maturing process of the vines was still ahead of time. Then, September was again much warmer and drier in our region ending with a couple of warm rainy days, which lingered till the 3rd of October. Fortunately, the amount of rainfall was moderate in Monzingen. The rotten grapes of no use for vinification were removed neatly by our perfectly trained harvest helpers, whereas the grapes with faultless noble rot are now made into magnificent noble sweet wines. Time was pressing, as the state of full ripeness was reached so fast. Besides, the quickly spreading botrytis (noble rot) resulted in daily increasing must weight and even more rapidly in significant loss of quantity. Our harvest crew, motivated by the fantastic weather, did not let us down. They all kept on working till dust and did not mind picking grapes even during the weekend. In a good two weeks, the work was done, which normally takes us four weeks. The harvest was completed - on the 20th of October. We are not exaggerating at all, when we call the quality of the vintage excellent. The vintage 2006 combines in a sense the fullness of 2005 vintage with the delicacy and passion of 2004, while the minerality has found a especially beautiful expression. The best wines: Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Beerenauslese -gold capsule- (Robert Parker: 98 marks) Halenberg Riesling Beerenauslese (Wine Spectator: 96 marks) Halenberg Riesling "Großes Gewächs" (Der Feinschmecker: German Riesling Prize)
2005 Following the dry but otherwise quite normal summer, we had a good level of development of the vines at the beginning of August 2005. Then, mid August, an exceptionally dry and warm, sunny period began. At the time when Switzerland was nearly flooded, it was absolute dry here. We were desperately waiting for rain. Finally on the 10th of September, there was rainfall of 10 litres per square metre. After that, it remained dry again, before we had another rainfall of around 25 litres early October. It was followed by perfect weather for harvest. The very dry summer had the following effects: Mid September, the sugar production in the grape slowed down. At the same time, due to the sunny warm and dry weather, clearly visible shrinking/concentration of parts of grapes began, which went over to very nice noble rot at the beginning of October, as the weather stayed dry. The genuine aromatic ripeness was observed in riesling grapes from the middle of October on, so we picked the grapes quickly in the following time. The ripening process is pretty much similar to that of the 1976 vintage. Looking back today, we are glad that the sugar production went on relatively slow, because it prevented wines from becoming far too alcoholic. The natural concentration alone brought about high and highest must weights, causing however less quantity to be harvested due to water evaporation. The acidity values were within the optimum level. The 2005 vintage unites strength and elegance in the most wonderful way. Also the acidity of the wines is truly harmonious. Clearly present everywhere, but never importunate. Thus it has the best qualifications for a really great vintage. As far as the noble sweet wines are concerned, we have never had such a good year!
2004 At the end of August, we had a quite usual level of development. We could barely expect a "great" vintage in quality at this point. Then, three weeks of continuous sunshine out of the blue sky in September pushed ahead the development tremendously. The first week of October brought some more wonderful late summer days with temperatures up to 27°C And suddenly, we had the best chances again with grapes being healthy and showing only occasionally signs of noble rot. The riesling harvest began in beautiful dry weather on the 20th of October with some hesitation. The weather was so seducingly nice that we wanted to make the best use of every ray of sunshine. Yet, nothing lasts for ever. At the end of October, we had several humid and warm, foggy days, so that we quickly completed the harvest. The must weights were exceptionally high (86° Oe and upwards) with quite normal acidity values. On the morning of December the 21st, we pressed a small amount of highly concentrated eiswein. What a wonderful Christmas present! The ripening period in 2004 was very long, resulting in the grapes with strong aroma. The quantity of grapes was on the long-time average at our winery.
2003 In recalling 2003, we immediately think of the hottest summer Germany had ever experienced. The vines started to bloom very early in the first place. It was the earliest blooming since 1993. At the beginning of July, the development of the vines was three weeks ahead of the long-time average, and by the end of the month, with the Mediterranean temperatures, the first grapes started to ripen. A sensation in our latitudes! Day after day, the sun continued to shine from the azure blue sky. It is incredible how well the vines came to terms with such a heat and tremendous drought. Only in the extremely steep slopes with thin earth layer, the lack of water was obvious. In order to maintain the vitality of the vines, we gave some support in several plots by watering with drip irrigation hoses we got in a hurry, until the long awaited rain late August defused the situation. The grape harvest began early October. Beautiful golden yellow sweet grapes were gathered in perfect weather conditions. Since the rain early September triggered a little noble rot, which turned into perfect raisins due to the dry autumn weather, the selection of beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese was possible. The must weights increased in 2003 even higher than in 2001 and 2002, while the acidity values were much lower. In the end, the wines were somewhat more powerful than usual. In fact, you can taste the heat of the year. Although this is probably the most exceptional vintage we have ever had, we believe that it has a good aging potential. The vintage 1937 comparable at least to some extent is the proof that it is possible. The best wines: Halenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese (Gault Millau: 96 marks) Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Auslese -gold capsule- (Gault Millau: 92 marks) Halenberg Riesling "Großes Gewächs"(Gault Millau: 90 marks)
2002 That an excellent vintage was obtained again in 2002 in spite of changeable weather in autumn was thanks to strong wind which dried the grapes quickly after every rain. So keep calm and don't panic! During dry weather periods the harvest crew members joined forces to make the most of time. If it had stayed without rain for two weeks towards the end of October, the vintage 2002 would have set completely new standards. With a potential of grapes that is at least equivalent to that of the previous year, we should be satisfied though. In fact, the wines made of them have convinced the specialists. Gault Millau indeed awarded us for the vintage 2002 the title "Collection of the Year"! The vintage is crowned with a magnificent eiswein from Halenberg.
The best wines: Halenberg Riesling Eiswein -gold capsule- (Gault Millau: 100 marks, best noble sweet white wine) Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Spätlese -Rutsch- (Gault Millau: 92 marks) Halenberg Riesling Auslese trocken (Gault Millau: 92 marks)
2001 We had a wonderful summer in 2001. July and August were predominantly sunny. Only a few rainy days, which, however, fully covered the needs of the vines. The magnificent weather ended for the time being in September, and the rainy cool weather destroyed our optimistic expectations. October was "golden" as we had stable high pressure weather conditions, spoiling again the vine as well as the human being. In combination with late harvest (it was only on the 18th of October when it began!), exceptionally high ripeness and wonderful aroma of the grapes were obtained. The harvest was completed so late as on the 5th of November, when the acidity values were still good. It was worthwhile waiting patiently: Especially the American press gave us overwhelming praise. Wine Spectator rated our riesling wines with over 90 marks seven times!
2000 A brilliant start of the summer, so early as Easter (!), was followed by an explosive development in the nature. At a record tempo, the blooming of the vine was completed. A perfect start for our vines! But then the summer turned into capricious spring weather. September was rainy and warm, causing early rot of some grapes, but the impact was not so grave thanks to our inclined vineyards which dry off quickly. Early October, we had a very good level of ripeness and hoped for dry autumn weather, which unfortunately was not fulfilled to such extent as we had wished. Above all, the autumn fogs prevented the highly ripe grapes from being concentrated through drying up, and that is why our efforts to select Beerenauslese in the Halenberg failed. The wines of the vintage 2000 show, due to the long vegetative period, fine fruitiness and delicate-passionate, harmonious acidity. Careful selective hand picking, removing of unusable grapes and treatment of the grapes with utmost care were so important as seldom before. The result is the reward for the efforts. A brilliant eiswein crowns the vintage. The best wines: Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Eiswein*** (Gault Millau: 98 marks, best noble sweet white wine) Frühlingsplätzchen Riesling Eiswein (Wine Spectator: 95 marks) Halenberg Riesling Auslese -gold capsule- (Gault Millau: 92 marks)
