The 2023 harvest is already in the cellar and today together with Hannes we want to take a brief look back at what happened the past months.
• How was the wine year 2023?
2023 was characterised by a constant alternation of hot and dry periods with extremely wet periods, plenty of thunderstorms and heavy rain. It was not an easy year for viticulture due to the increasing infectious drive, but in general we survived the summer well.
• What was your general impression of the harvest in 2023?
As in summer, so it continued through the beginning of the harvest. There were very nice and very hot days, followed by heavy rains. But at the latest moment, we had three wonderful weeks in which the grapes ripened well. As a result, the harvest was extremely concentrated, and we harvested most of the varieties in just two weeks instead of five.
• Which varieties will be particulrly good?
I would not dare to say which varieties did particularly well. This year it’s more a question of each single vineyard. The good vineyards, where we worked well throughout the year, where the harvest time was right, which coped well with the heavy rains, produced high quality grapes. The rest of the vineyards had to reduce production, which means that the quality range this year is a little wider than usual. And this can be said for almost all varieties.
• Were there any difficulties/challenges?
The issue of perfect timing for the harvest was perhaps a little more risky this year. Due to all the rain, the grapes had a rather thin skin and wouldn’t have survived more rain at some point. Waiting until they are perfectly ripe can sometimes ber a major challange. But the the very close interaction with our winegrowers was curcial at last.
• Which wine are you most impatient for?
The Pinot Bianco Carnol. This year the structure is slightly different due to the hail, but it should be very good….
We can therefore wait impatiently for spring to taste the new wines and in the meantime enjoy the current vintages.
All the best
Judith & Hannes Rottensteiner