WINE YEARS
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2013 – VINTAGE WITH POTENTIAL
It was a vintage full of hope and trepidation – but also a vintage full of surprises. The capricious weather conditions in particular, starting with the late, far too wet spring and a late and delayed flowering, initially made the forecasts for the vintage appear rather sceptical.
A hopeful June, but also a sunny August, made up for a lot. With cautiously optimistic autumn forecasts, we started this year’s harvest relatively late compared to previous years, from the beginning of October. Almost at the same time as the start of the harvest, the weather also turned changeable and cold and wet. Due to the often heavy rainfall, the berry skins became brittle and the health of our vineyards dictated the harvest planning.
Thanks to the great commitment of our winegrowers and their harvest teams, a selective harvest across all sites and grape varieties allowed us to store good quality grapes, or in other words: all’s well that ends well!
Thanks to the precise selection of the grapes, the quality was above average and, with an average must weight of over 82° Oechsle, very demanding.
The young wines are fresh and fruity and impress with a fine acidity that is particularly characterised by the vintage. Their delicate and balanced flavour is delicately fruity and underlines this liveliness.
2014 – A LOT OF ELEGANCE & HARMONY
The finale of a turbulent wine year – the 2014 vintage shows great elegance and harmony.
“The white wines are fruity, typical of the variety, fresh and pure and are characterised by an extraordinary minerality,” says Michael Böhm, our first cellar master.
The red wines are characterised by their delicate style, their typical regional character and a fruity, delicate aroma and a balanced, harmonious taste.
After bud break on 20 March 2014 – the earliest on record in Lauffen – flowering in the exposed, terraced steep slopes began on 23 May. However, this was followed by a very long dry phase. This was followed in July and August by very changeable weather with lots of rain well into the autumn. Nevertheless, a vegetation advance of up to three weeks was still noticeable.
“We are convinced that the 2014 vintage will still give us a lot of pleasure thanks to its highly ripe, physiologically harmonious balance between fine tannins and elegant acidity,” explains Mr Böhm with satisfaction.
2015 – Perfect views of delicious wines
With a total harvest volume of around 12,200,000 kg, the Lauffener Weingärtner’s autumn 2015 harvest volume was at a good level and in line with the long-term average. Around 9,100,000kg of grapes were harvested at the Lauffen site and 3,100,000kg at the Mundelsheim site.
The harvest began in mid-September and the last main harvest day was on 12 October. Within these 24 harvest days, the entire vintage was delivered to the Lauffen and Mundelsheim sites. 10,900,000 kg of red grapes and 1,300,000 kg of white grapes were delivered.
The average must weight was an outstanding 85.9° Oechsle for the red wine varieties and 86.3° Oechsle for the white wine varieties and 86° Oechsle overall, which is a very good level.
The young white wines are fruity, typical of the variety, fresh and wonderfully pure-toned. Due to the dry weather conditions and the enormous sugar content in 2015, the wines are characterised by exceptional density and substance.
The red wines also impress with their full-bodied style, distinctive regional typicity, a fruity, delicate character and a balanced, harmonious flavour with a dense character and long finish.
2016 – Fruity – Fresh
With a total harvest volume of almost 12,500,000 kg, the harvest volume in autumn 2016 was at a good level for Lauffener Weingärtner and in line with the long-term average. Around 9,300,000kg of grapes were harvested at the Lauffen site and 3,300,000kg at the Mundelsheim site.
The harvest began on 23 September and the last main harvest day was on 22 October. During these 26 harvest days, the entire vintage was delivered to the Lauffen and Mundelsheim sites. 11,000,000 kg of red grapes and 1,450,000 kg of white grapes were delivered.
The average must weight was 83.5° Oechsle for the red wine varieties and 81.2° Oechsle for the white wine varieties. Overall, the must weight was 83° Oechsle, which is a very good level. The young white wines are fruity, typical of the variety, fresh and wonderfully pure-toned.
Due to the rather humid weather conditions during the growing phase and the dry conditions before the harvest, we obtained nutrient-rich musts with a high sugar content.
The white wines are exceptionally fruity and fresh with an elegant body and well-integrated acidity structure. The red wines are also characterised by distinctive regional typicity, a fruity, delicate character and a balanced, harmonious taste with a long finish.
All in all, we can look forward to the wines of the 2016 vintage.
2017 – Less quantity, but a lot of quality
With a total harvest volume of around 9,300,000 kg, the Lauffener Weingärtner harvest volume in autumn 2017 was well below the long-term average.
Due to the frost events in April, we had to accept yield losses of around 25%. It cannot be ruled out that some products will not be available for delivery all year round. Around 7,200,000 kg of grapes were harvested at the Lauffen site (22% lower yield) and 2,100,000 kg at the Mundelsheim site (harvest losses of 36%).
The harvest began on 8 September, making it the earliest start in the history of the cooperative. The last main harvest day was 6 October. The entire vintage was delivered to the Lauffen and Mundelsheim sites within these 22 reading days – last year there were 26 reading days. This results in a total of 8,350,000 kg of red grapes and 950,000 kg of white grapes.
The average must weight was 82.7° Oechsle for the red wine varieties and 83.6° Oechsle for the white wine varieties. At 83° Oechsle, the average must weight was at a very good level. Alcoholic fermentation therefore proceeded smoothly.
The young white wines are typical of the variety and wonderfully pure-toned. Thanks to the optimal weather conditions during the growth phase and the dry weather before the harvest with very cool nights – which leads to optimal flavour storage – we have obtained nutrient-rich musts with a high sugar content. The white wines are exceptionally fruity and fresh with an elegant body and well-integrated acidity structure.
The red wines also impress with their distinctive regional typicity, a fruity, delicate character and a balanced, harmonious flavour with a long finish.
We can look forward to the 2017 vintage with great anticipation!
2018 – A great vintage!
With a total harvest volume of just under 12,700,000 kilograms, the Lauffener Weingärtner’s harvest volume in autumn 2018 was in line with the long-term average. Around 9,400,000 kg of grapes were harvested at the Lauffen site and 3,300,000 kg at the Mundelsheim site.
The harvest began on 1 September (the earliest start of the harvest in the history of Lauffener Weingärtner, another 8 days before last year’s start) and the last main harvest day was on 5 October. The entire vintage was delivered to the Lauffen and Mundelsheim sites within 28 picking days (last year there were 22 picking days).
This resulted in a total of 11,10,000 kg of red grapes and 1,500,000 kg of white grapes. The average must weight was 89.6° Oechsle for the red wine varieties and 86.2° Oechsle for the white wine varieties. At 89° Oechsle, the average must weight was at a very high level (all late harvest quality). Alcoholic fermentation proceeded smoothly.
The young white wines are typical of the variety and wonderfully pure, with the Riesling variety being particularly noteworthy, presenting itself with great fruit and balanced acidity. Thanks to the optimal weather conditions during the growth phase and the dry weather throughout the entire vegetation period, we were able to harvest exceptionally healthy grapes that produced musts with a high sugar content. The white wines show good fruitiness and freshness with a full body.
The red wines are also characterised by opulent fruitiness and a dense, full body with a long finish, and we can look forward to the 2018 vintage with great anticipation to the special products that we will prepare from this exceptional vintage!
2019 – Small quantity, but great quality!
With a total harvest volume of 9,200,000 kg, the autumn 2019 harvest volume for Lauffener Weingärtner was significantly below the long-term average. Due to the decline in volume, we had to accept yield losses of around 30% compared to 2018. It cannot yet be ruled out that some products will not be available for delivery throughout the year.6,800,000 kg (previous year: 9,400,000 kg) of grapes were harvested at the Lauffen site and 2,300,000 kg (previous year: 3,300,000 kg) at the Mundelsheim site. The harvest began on 14 September and the last main harvest day was 14 October.
The entire vintage was delivered to the Lauffen and Mundelsheim sites within 22 harvest days, resulting in a total of 8,100,000 kg of red grapes and 1,100,000 kg of white grapes.
The average must weight was 86.6° Oechsle for the red wine varieties and 88.1° Oechsle for the white wine varieties. At 86.8° Oechsle, the average must weight was at a very high level (just below late harvest quality). Alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation proceeded smoothly.
The young white wines are typical of the variety and wonderfully pure, with the bouquet grape varieties (Muskateller, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Muskattrollinger) being particularly noteworthy, with great fruit and tangy acidity. Thanks to the very good weather conditions during the growing phase and the cool nights before the start of the harvest, we were able to harvest great grapes with maximum flavour potential and high sugar content. The white wines show above-average fruit expression and freshness with an elegant body and well-developed acidity structure.
The red wines also impress with their fruity, delicate character typical of the region and a balanced, harmonious flavour with a long finish.
We can really look forward to the 2019 vintage and are excited about the development of the wines with their extraordinary flavours!
2020 – Small but nice!
This year, reading began on 10 September (the normal start date for reading in recent years) and the last main reading day was 5 October.
The entire vintage was delivered to the Lauffen and Mundelsheim sites within 21 harvest days. The average must weight was 90.7° Oechsle for the red wine varieties and 87.3° Oechsle for the white wine varieties. At 90.2° Oechsle, the average must weight was at a very high level. Alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation proceeded smoothly.
In the first preliminary tastings, the young white wines are already typical of the variety
The white bouquet grape varieties (Muskateller, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc) and the Riesling grape variety are particularly noteworthy here, presenting themselves with great fruit and tangy acidity. Thanks to the cool nights before the harvest began, we were able to harvest great grapes with maximum flavour potential and high sugar content. The white wines show
The white wines show above-average fruit character and freshness with an elegant body and well-developed acid structure.
The red wines also impress with their fruity, delicate character typical of the region and a balanced, harmonious flavour – with a long finish.
We can really look forward to the 2020 vintage and are excited about the development of the wines with their extraordinary flavours!
2021 – Our cellar master reports !
With a total harvest volume of 9,800,000 kg, the harvest volume in autumn 2021 was around 16% below the long-term average. We Lauffener Weingärtner therefore once again had to accept significant yield losses. Around 7,700,000 kg (previous year: 6,300,000 kg) of grapes were harvested by our members at the Lauffen site and 2,000,000 kg (previous year: 2,000,000 kg) at the Mundelsheim site.
The pre-harvest began on 18 September, with the main harvest starting on 22 September. The last main harvest day was 21 October. The 2021 vintage was delivered to the Lauffen and Mundelsheim sites within 26 picking days – compared to 21 picking days in the previous year. It should be noted that almost half of the entire delivery volume was accepted within five “strong” picking days.
The total quantity is divided into 8,100,000 kg of red grapes and 1,600,000 kg of white grapes. The average must weight was 78.1° Oechsle for the red wine varieties and 77.9° Oechsle for the white wine varieties. At 78.1° Oechsle, the average must weight was at a high quality wine level. Alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation proceeded smoothly.
The young white wines are typical of the variety and wonderfully pure. Particularly noteworthy here are the white bouquet grape varieties (Muscatel, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc), which present themselves with great fruit and distinctive acidity. Thanks to the cool nights and the long ripening phase before the harvest began, we were able to harvest great grapes with maximum aroma potential. The white wines show above-average fruit expression and freshness with an elegant body and a well-developed acid structure.
The red wines also impress with their fruity, fine character typical of the area and a fresh, lively taste.
We can look forward to the 2021 vintage and be excited about it
Development of the wines with their exceptional aromatic characteristics typical of the region!
2022 – Total harvest at average level
With a total harvest of 11,400,000 kg, the harvest in autumn 2022 was at the same level as our company’s long-term average. Approximately 9,100,000 kg of grapes were harvested at the Lauffen location (previous year 700,000 kg) and at the Mundelsheim location 2,300,000 kg (previous year 2,000,000 kg) of grapes.
The reading began on September 10th and the last main reading day was October 13th. The entire vintage was delivered to the Lauffen and Mundelsheim locations within 23 harvesting days (last year it was 26 harvesting days). It should be noted that on 10 “big” harvest days, 70% of the entire delivery quantity was accepted. 9,800,000 kg of red and 1,600,000 kg of white grapes were harvested by our members. The average must weight for the red wine varieties was 84.4° Oechsle and for the white wine varieties it was 83.6° Oechsle.
On average, the must weight of 84.3° Oechsle was at a high level of quality wine (just below late harvest level). Alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation proceed smoothly. The young white wines are typical of the variety and wonderfully pure. Particularly noteworthy here are the white Burgundy varieties (Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay), which present themselves with great fruit and a dense body. Thanks to the cool nights and the long ripening phase before the harvest began, we were able to harvest great grapes with maximum aroma potential.
The white wines generally show excellent fruit expression and freshness with an elegant, dense body and good acid structure. The red wines impress with their distinctive, fruity, fine character typical of the area and a balanced, harmonious taste with a long aftertaste. The red Burgundy varieties (Black Riesling, Velvet Red and Pinot Noir) should also be highlighted here, as they present themselves with distinctive fruit, a velvety, harmonious and long-lasting body. All in all, we can speak of a great red wine vintage that will produce wines with long-lasting potential.
We can therefore look forward to the 2022 vintage and look forward to the development of the wines as they mature.
