Looking back: the 2023 wine year

Helmuth Zozin - Direktor

2023 was a challenging year, one that showed that diligence and painstaking work really pay off. Although the weather conditions were far from ideal, we still achieved great results. Our system of meticulous work in the vineyard, years of experience with biodynamic preparations and many years of humus build-up are clearly bearing fruit. Our vineyards cope well with both drought and periods of heavy rainfall. Their resistance to stress increases from year to year. This is something we again became very much aware of in such a complicated year as 2023.

The winter was warm and extremely dry, with hardly any rain in February, March and April. May, June and July were very wet with rainfall almost every other day. At the end of July and the end of August, there were two hot spells with temperatures of up to 40 degrees. Fortunately, the fall was fantastic with six weeks of perfect weather, interrupted by just one day of rain in mid-September.

As a result, we were able to pick grapes every day between September 5 and October 18, harvesting vineyard after vineyard with the grapes at optimum ripeness. Surprisingly, the hot spells did not cause any problems for our vines. The grapes retained a fresh acidity combined with a moderate sugar content. Perfect aromatic ripeness with reasonable levels of alcohol and crisp acidity is exactly what we are aiming for, and the 2023 vintage is set to deliver exactly that.

It is difficult to say whether we were just fortunate with the weather or whether our biodynamic methods were the decisive factor. At all events, we can say that applications of biodynamic preparations make our vineyards more resilient from year to year.

As always, we began the harvest in Terlano at the best Sauvignon Blanc sites for our Liebenaich and Tannenberg wines. In these first weeks of September, it was hot in the afternoons, and so we restricted the harvesting to the cool morning hours. White wine and Pinot Noir grapes want to be brought in when cool, and we started work at five in the morning and finished by midday at the latest.

It is important that the grapes arrive in the cellar cool and in perfect condition in order to preserve their fruit and freshness. As we do not use sulphur or added yeast in the vinification process, this is all the more relevant. Natural spontaneous fermentation is a wonderful way to capture the individuality of the terroir in the bottle. On the other hand, it is a fine line to walk; even the slightest carelessness will be punished with undesirable aromas. In this delicate phase, we therefore treat our grapes with the utmost care and pay close attention to every detail to protect them from oxidation and negative developments.

Of course, it is easier when we have fantastic weather in the fall like this year. After the one short period of rain, we were able to bring in the grapes without any hassles: the Chardonnay for our Sophie, the Schiava from the Keil, the Lagrein from Rubatsch, and finally our reds for the cuvées. Unusually, we concluded the 2023 harvest with a white variety, namely the Golden Muscat.

We are exceptionally happy with the new vintage. We feel that we are gradually getting to the point we were dreaming of in 2005 when we decided to change over to biodynamics: high physiological ripeness combined with moderate sugar content.

The white wines present with mineral fruit on the nose, nerve and tension on the palate and a light yet juicy finish – concentrated, expressive wines that are a pleasure to drink. The combination of abundant ripe fruit with assertive acidity and relatively moderate alcohol content is highly promising. I think the 2023 white wines will be quite challenging in their youth with their cool character, but with a little patience they will score with great ageing potential.

The red wines present with ripe fruit and dense tannins. They promise to combine accessibility in their youth with excellent ageing potential.

Of course, this is just an initial assessment. Our white wines still have six to eleven months on the lees in large wooden barrels ahead of them. The reds are aged in barriques for twelve to eighteen months. A lot can and should still happen in that time. The preconditions are more than promising and all signs point to an excellent vintage.

Comparing the vintage with previous years, I notice parallels to 2016 in terms of fruit and structure, but with one level more acidity and half a degree to one degree less alcohol.