Vintage Report 2001

Small yields and high must weights

Kobern, October 26, 2001:
A warm summer 2001 with rain whenever needed provided for an early ripening of the grapes at high levels. Strong growth of foilage led to a very good sugar production in the vines. A cool and wet September stopped the development and promoted a wide-spread attack of noble rot. This led in parts to a substantial decrease of the yields. In some vineyards fewer than 20 hl/ha were harvested.

A very sunny and warm October contributed to rising Oechsle levels, so the low yields were rewarded with high mustweights especially in the berries that were affected by noble rott. We spent many hours sorting and selecting the dried berries to make dessertwines and our efforts were rewarded by a Beerenauslese with 148 degrees of Oechsle and a Trockenbeerenauslese with 180 degrees of Oechsle.

In the area of estate Riesling and Kabinett we harvested small quantities as well, but the clarity and finesse of the wines make for wonderful 2001 vintage wines.

The 2001 vintage shows clearly that the vineyards of the Terrassenmosel belong to the best vineyards of the Mosel Saar Ruwer area capable of excellent highly concentrated wines. It also emphazises that extremely high quality can only be achieved with small yields and careful hand selection.

Konrad Haehn
Freiherr von Schleinitz estate