In general, must weights are lower for '16 than '15.
Tom-2016 is not riper, but lower acidity accentuates the ripeness.
I like 2015, but not nearly as much as I like 2012. I think '12 had better balance.
Thank you- this is good to know. I am more comfortable then. It is ripeness I dislike.
2012 is quite a good year- I look forward to seeing how those progress.
Speaking of the 2012 vintage, I recently had with David Schildknecht and a few others a bottle of Joh. Jos. Prüm’s 2012 Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese at Hotel-Villa Keller in Saarburg. The wine tasted rather ripe, including botrytis notes. I know that the estate prefers noble rot starting at the Auslese Goldkapsel level, but sometimes botrytis can affect the seemingly healthy grapes, too.
I just received a picture from one of the Bürklin-Wolf vineyard guys showing that their Spätburgunder has completed veraison. It’s interesting in that we in the Willamette Valley are usually about on par with the Pfalz regarding development stages (we don’t have any color-change yet, not even close.) Even though we’ve had a pretty cool year outside of this last week, it shows just how warm Germany has been this year overall and points to an early-ish harvest. My wife and kids just got back from a month in Hessen, the Pfalz and Baden and spoke of the high temps too. They didn’t get to the Mosel though.
The individual vintages and styles should be celebrated, not rated!
Cheers,
Bill
It was warm on the Mosel, too. The veraison has already started for the Pinots.