I received a JJ Prum offering from Garagiste that contained this line:
With no JJ Prum W-S or G-H Kabinett at all in the 2017 vintage, the pressure on 2016 is mounting as the Kabinett is heavily traded to restaurants as well as consumers and the (already highly allocated) 2016’s will have to get the world through at least two years while we wait to see what 2018 brings us.
Now, I will admit to not knowing exactly how growing/harvest cycles work, especially in the Mosel, but is it already a certainty that 2017 will be an extremely low-yield Riesling year in the Mosel? Was it really so bad that Prum won’t be producing their single vineyard kabinetts? I’d love to hear about the growing season so far for German Riesling (outside of the Mosel too!)
I can’t speak for J.J. Prüm, but it’s still too early to make such a statement. A lot can happen before the harvest. Right now, things look great, even if we’re a couple weeks ahead in the growth cycle. But there’s no pressure from downy mildew as last year.
Thanks for the info, Lars. It’s very easy to get information on bad weather conditions in Bordeaux/Burgundy as soon as they happen, but it seems like that sort of information is a little tougher to come by when it comes to Germany.
Allocation and vintage hype/talk is easy to fake with some marketing mumbo jumbo, and knowing the source, my guard is up doubly so. But the claim that there won’t be any Prum GH/WS Kabinett in 2017 is fairly unambiguous and would be a shame.
In almost 20 years of buying wine, I have to say the hyperbole and lack of frank discussion about 2016 German Riesling is about as annoying as I have ever seen.
David- like you, I have received a lot of email offerings. I am guessing you might have also received some offerings that included a decent array of past vintages aside from 2010 and 2015 (and to some extent 2012.) That is one more indication of a supply glut- likely built off a lack of understanding of the wines as much as anything, but that does not change the fact that buying on pre-arrival is not necessary.
This is quite frankly turning me off entirely. I did go in on a small 2016 Prum selection and I will bid on two estates in the Mosel auction, but otherwise I am tuning out until wines arrive and I can taste them. This lack of transparency cannot be a good thing- and whether it is or not, clearly we can all wait until the wines are released and we can taste them before we dive in.
There was spring frost across Europe. This damaged buds in many vineyards. The hail was from a couple of days ago. I heard that it hit various vineyards on the Mosel, Saar, and Ruwer, as well as the Rheingau.
The thing to remember is: there is plenty of German wine; there is plenty of wine in the world. To put it in Parkerize: there are GOBS of wine being made. No worries.
Thank you David. From the few sources I trust amidst all the hype, the message I am getting is a riper and sweeter vintage- a very good one, but overshadowed by 2015 in many respects. I will go in for a few things, but I am just amazed by the hype I am getting.
What do you make of 2015? I have had quite a few at this point- including some of the heavy hitters. The potential I think is quite significant, but at this level of potential I think we need a few years to see what really happens.
Perhaps that is part of my frustration- the hype is not just driven by a perception that 2016 will be seen as lesser in the glass, but by the presumption that 2015 is all that great a benchmark to begin with. I suspect that might be the case- but it is too soon to tell, and even if it does prove true, it does not preclude the value and worthiness of more precocious vintages of quality.