Anyone have an early report on the '22 vintage? I haven’t seen anyone post about it and I’m already getting some EP offers in my inbox. I’m hearing Kabi quantities are very low, but unsure why or what that means.
Paging some of the German experts @Martin_Zwick @Robert_Dentice @MiranK @Claus_Jeppesen
Much too early to ask, Andrew. There are of course first statements from winemakers, BUT so far no report regarding the vintage 2022 from Mosel Fine Wines etc etc.
I just got an invitation for a barrel-tasting at the end of march. After the barrel-tasting I will report my impressions.
Stay tuned,
Martin
It is eerily quiet on this front. It was a hot and dry year. I heard reports of extremely low amounts of juice coming from the grapes. Sounds like the polar opposite in terms of vintage conditions from 2021. For my own project I made an early picked Kabinett and a late picked Auslese Trocken vs. 2021 where I made three Kabinett Trockens. I too got a Egon Müller offer and am very curious.
Hot and dry would make sense that there would be low amounts of Kabi, if they just couldn’t keep the sugars under control. I don’t mind ripe, my biggest question would be how the acid levels faired. Are we looking at another 2003 or is there going to be the acid to balance the ripe fruit?
It’s hard to generalize about the 2022 vintage. In Germany, drought conditions were a problem for much of the growing season, as they were in 2020 and 2018. The young vines, whose roots don’t go as far down as those from old vines, suffered the most from the lack of water.
At Hofgut Falkenstein, we chose to hand-pick these grapes and sell them to the local co-op. In fact, most of the grapes from young vines were sold in bulk, but we did keep some for the cellar—namely, those from vineyards that have a good water supply. Several of the top sites on the Saar—such as Scharzhofberg, Bockstein, and Euchariusberg—are less drought-prone than other sites. The same goes for the Middle Mosel—e.g., Graach has more water reserves than Wehlen.
As for the harvest, it depends on the location. The Saar had less rain during the harvest than the Middle Mosel.
I can only speak for Hofgut Falkenstein, but we produced a lot of Kabinett wines that have good acidity in the 2022 vintage. The 2022s will be more approachable than the 2021s.
Thank you very much @Lars_Carlberg
I have been canvassing a few winemakers today from the middle Mosel. And they all said it is very hard to generalize as well. Most said they made a lot of Kabi and there is good acidity but it is different than 2021. One winemaker peaked my interest and said 2022 reminds him of 2013, my favorite overall vintage. He also said it is a vintage for the geeks! And a number of mentions of promising dry wines.
My pleasure. So much depends on the producer.
Some also said 2021 was a geeky vintage due to the return to classics! Not that I mind, Riesling will always be for geeks 
So I was able to cobble together a bit of information. The most interesting to me was the last one, with some takeaways:
Light, aromatic and harmonious white wines
According to Moselwein, the acidity levels are low throughout.
The Riesling also reached 90 degrees in places, but grapes with Spätlese and Auslese quality (late harvest) as well as for noble sweet rarities remained the exception, with the majority between 70 and 80 degrees. The alcohol content is described as moderate and in line with prevailing market trends.
The acidity of the 2022 wines is less pronounced than last year because it was broken down more quickly in the heat.
The fresh and fruity white wines appear rather lean, sometimes even delicate and light-bodied, and appear ready to drink early.
Thanks! I look forward to reading those.
I canvassed several growers and here are some interesting common themes:
Impossible to generalize with this vintage across regions or growers
Old vine vineyards that could get access to water did the best
Young vines struggled
This is NOT 18
Yields were down
Lots of producers mentioned Kabinett and Dry
Acids are good but different than 21, not as ripe and balanced as 21
Lots of riesling geek wines
Outstanding vintage for Spatburgunder
Can’t wait to taste the wines!
I took a flyer on a case each of Muller QbA + Kabi + Spat. May be an earlier drinking vintage, which would be nice to keep my 19’s and 21’s slumbering.
Down from 2021 levels or just low yield in general? If the former, yikes…
It’s all in the reports I posted, my friend!
There is enough wine in the cellars if you look at the nationwide harvest volume. Compared to the previous year, it rose by an estimated six percent to 8,993,500 hectolitres and would therefore be two percent above the long-term average. However, there are major differences both within the wine regions and among themselves, depending on water availability, grape variety levels and soil conditions.
Thanks, haven’t had a chance to dig into the reports you shared yet
I think even down from 21. There was very little juice in the grapes and the young vines did not produce much.
Keep in mind I think you would get a different answer if you would ask the top producers. Just as Lars said above they sold some of the younger vine grapes to the coop.
The Wines of Germany report agrees with Robert: in the Mosel, the volume is down from even 2021. Also, looks like acidity is low too (in the Mosel specifically – though I’m sure acidity will vary depending on producer and vineyard).
In the end, 688,000 hectolitres of wine must ended up in the cellars, seven percent less than the long-term average and six percent less than in the difficult rainy year of 2021. Light, aromatic and harmonious white wines, which make up more than 90 percent of the harvest, as well as intensively coloured red and rosé wines are expected. According to Moselwein, the acidity levels are low throughout.
That is kind of good news if all the top wine is only being made with the old vine juice! But I wonder how much young vine juice is used normally.
On the Muller offer at least, prices were up about 20%, which is about the minimum I expected just given inflation. I think if yields were extremely lower than normal, we might have seen more of a bump.
It depends on the producer. Some of them have mostly young vines, then it’s a problem—and not all young vines performed poorly.
The drought-prone sites, whether old or young vines, suffered more than those sites or plots that have a good water reserve.
