Fritz Haag Riesling Braunberger-Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese Gold Cap 2019

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

What’s with the Gold Cap?

Ze Germans didn’t think having the longest wine names on the planet was enough so they added more info! Instead of writing it on the label they decided to change the colour of the capsules. For Fritz they go from white to gold and then there are the long gold caps. Enter the cryptic crossword of wine!

For some Gold Cap means a little selection of the best vino, others it also entails the introduction of Bortytised fruit into the mix. Then the Long Gold Caps may refer to an Auction wine, that’s another story altogether.

I’ll sum it up this way. Normal Cap very good, Gold Cap excellent, Long Gold Cap MIND BLOWN! (theoretically)

The terrifyingly steep Brauneberg hillside has been revered as a top vineyard site since Roman times (it was the Romans who first cultivated wine grapes in the Mosel valley). For centuries, Brauneberg wines were the most celebrated of all Mosel Rieslings. The Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett is a selection of early-picked fruit and has a very fine, delicate structure. Its pure, energizing fruitiness exemplifies the Fritz Haag style.

This Grosse Lage (grand cru) site produces profound, distinctive wines with great purity and concentration. Auslese is a special selection of late-picked, very ripe clusters with about 50 percent botrytisaffected grapes. It is a rich, fullbodied style of Riesling, with a lively interplay between fruity sweetness and vibrant acidity. It makes a deliciously refreshing, palate-cleansing “sorbet” between courses, or a brilliant accompaniment to fresh fruit dessert dishes.

The Juffer Sonnenuhr (“Sundial”) vineyard is the choicest center cut of the Brauneberg — the steepest and most south-facing part of the hillside. This Grosse Lage (grand cru) site produces profound, distinctive wines with great purity and concentration. The Juffer Sonnenuhr GG is produced 60% in Fuder casks and spends more time on the fine lees than the Juffer GG. It is a full-textured wine with fine fruit aromas and delicate juiciness that lingers on the palate.

About Fritz Haag

The historic Fritz Haag wine estate is located in the heart of the central Mosel River Valley. The earliest documentation of the estate dates back to 1605. At that time, the village in which it is situated was known as “Dusemond.” In 1925, this village was renamed “Brauneberg” (“brown mountain,” a reference to the color of the slate soil in this area of the Mosel) in an endeavour to further promote the reputation of its world-renowned vineyards “Brauneberger Juffer” and “Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr.”

The name “Juffer,” which translates as “old maid” in the local dialect, goes back to 1790. The proprietor of these exceptional vineyards at the time, the aristocratic Kurpfälzische Kammerherr Wunderlich, had three daughters who all remained unmarried and lived the lives of spinsters. As a consequence, when they took over the vineyard management from their father, the name “Brauneberger Juffer” was born and the wines soon became famed throughout the wine world. The vineyards are recognised as true pearls of the Mosel region and were treasured even by Napoleon.

For many years, the Fritz Haag wine estate was successfully headed by the endlessly energetic Wilhelm Haag, and achieved under his guidance a world-renowned reputation. Wilhelm Haag was the first to be named Gault Millau’s “Winemaker of the Year,” a highly coveted accolade introduced in 1994. Since 2005, his son Oliver has taken over the reins and has followed his legendary father in leading the estate into the future.

In the Vineyard

The Fritz Haag estate owns 17.5 ha (43 acres) of vineyards which are all exclusively planted with Riesling. The excellent micro-climate and the deep slate soils of the Brauneberg hillside yield some of the most intensely flavored and elegantly-structured Riesling wines of the Mosel region. Oliver Haag rigorously selects the clones most suited to the microclimate of his vineyards in order to achieve the maximum potential in the grapes.

In the Winery

The 2019 Vintage at Fritz Haag

AN UP-AND-DOWN YEAR OF WEATHER EXTREMES

2019 started unusually mild with minimal frost and negligible precipitation. The dry and warm weather continued in February, with over 100 more hours of sunshine than expected giving a spring-like feel. The advantageous conditions encouraged our vines to launch into an early April bud break. This kind of early start to the vegetative cycle can leave the young shoots vulnerable to spring frosts. We were left holding our collective breath through early May, until the threat of cold nights had finally passed. Our fears were not unfounded; while we emerged unscathed, many of our colleagues in other winegrowing regions were not so fortunate.

The next month was comparably cool and rainy, slowing the vegetative growth back to a normal rhythm. The best sites on the Brauneberg began flowering on roughly 12 June, while the vineyards on the edge of town followed one week later. These changeable conditions during flowering ultimately made an already reduced fruit set even smaller. And then summer arrived fast and furious. We endured record high temperatures at levels last seen in 2003, including 41 degrees at the end of July! A scarcity of water and excessive sunshine shaped the summer of 2019. Yet even under these extreme conditions, the mature vines in our Grand Cru vineyards flourished, digging deep into the vineyard soils to reach the water stored there. All signs pointed throughout summer toward an early harvest.

And on 25 September we started bringing in golden yellow grapes — remarkably healthy, concentrated and fine quality. The rain we had been hoping for throughout the entire summer finally arrived during the second half of harvest. This less-than-ideal timing necessitated meticulous selection to cull the finest of the fruit. Our heartfelt thanks goes out in particular to our 40-member crew, who leaned in hard over the course of a challenging and successful 4-week harvest. Turning to the cellar, the young wines have finished fermenting and are currently resting on their fine lees. Barrel samples reveal a harvest of small quantities and exceptional quality, drawing on the best of both 2017 and 2018: elegance, acidity and a slate spice with stunning complexity and clarion, concentrated fruit.

Where in the World is Fritz Haag?

Fritz Haag is in the middle-Mosel with the majority of his production coming from Braunenberg.

The German VDP has an excellent interactive map covering the wine growing regions of Germany. Clink on the Map to go to the live version.