Spätlese
Encyclopedia
Spätlese is a German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 wine term for a wine from fully ripe grapes, the lightest of the late harvest wine
Late harvest wine
Late harvest is a term applied to wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. Late harvest is usually an indication of a sweet dessert wine, such as late harvest Riesling. Late harvest grapes are often more similar to raisins, but have been naturally dehydrated while on the vine...

s. Spätlese is a riper category than Kabinett
Kabinett
Kabinett , or sometimes Kabinettwein , is a German language wine term for a wine which is made from fully ripened grapes of the main harvest, typically picked in September, and are usually made in a light style...

 in the Prädikatswein category of the German wine classification
German wine classification
German wine classification consists of several quality categories and is often the source of some confusion, especially among non-German speaking wine consumers. The official classification is set down in the wine law of 1971, although some changes and amendments have been made since then...

 and is the lowest level of Prädikatswein in Austria
Austrian wine
Austrian wines are mostly dry white wines with some luscious dessert wines made around the Neusiedler See. About 30% of the wines are red, made from Blaufränkisch , Pinot Noir and locally bred varieties such as Zweigelt...

, where Kabinett is classified in another way. In both cases, Spätlese is below Auslese
Auslese
Auslese is a German language wine term for a late harvest wine and is a riper category than Spätlese in the Prädikatswein category of the Austrian and German wine classification. The grapes are picked from selected very ripe bunches in the autumn , and have to be hand picked...

 in terms of ripeness. The grapes are picked at least 7 days after normal harvest, so they are riper and have a higher must weight
Must weight
Must weight is a measure of the amount of sugar in grape juice , and hence indicates the amount of alcohol that could be produced if it is all fermented to alcohol, rather than left as residual sugar...

. Because of the weather, waiting to pick the grapes later carries a risk of the crop being ruined by rain. However, in warm years and from good sites much of the harvest will reach Spätlese level.

The wines may be either sweet or dry (trocken
Trocken
Trocken is German for dry, and is used in the classification of German wine. On a wine label, it indicates a wine that is dry rather than off-dry , sweeter or sweet . Technically, trocken wines are not devoid of residual sugar, but have, at most, a few grams per liter, which can be perceptible but...

); it is a level of ripeness that particularly suits rich dry wines from Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

, Weißer Burgunder
Pinot Blanc
Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....

 and Grauer Burgunder
Pinot Gris
Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance...

 grapes for example, as at Auslese
Auslese
Auslese is a German language wine term for a late harvest wine and is a riper category than Spätlese in the Prädikatswein category of the Austrian and German wine classification. The grapes are picked from selected very ripe bunches in the autumn , and have to be hand picked...

 levels the alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

 levels may become very high in a dry wine leaving the wine unbalanced, making wines with at least some residual sweetness preferable to most palates. However, most German wines are traditionally dry, and the amount of sugar is not the only figure balancing a wine. Dry German wines can be very balanced and usually get higher rates from German wine journalists than a comparable wine with more sugar.

Many Spätlese wines will age well, especially those made from the Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...

 grape.

Characteristics

  • Greater Intensity and strength than Kabinett
  • High level of acidity that curbs any overt sweetness
  • Fleshy and intensely flavored
  • Often tastes of apple, pear and honeysuckle
  • Elegant nose with highly detectable aromas

Requirements

The minimum must weight
Must weight
Must weight is a measure of the amount of sugar in grape juice , and hence indicates the amount of alcohol that could be produced if it is all fermented to alcohol, rather than left as residual sugar...

 requirements for Spätlese are as follows:
  • In German wine, 76 to 90 degrees Oechsle, depending on the region (wine growing zone
    European Union wine growing zones
    The European Union wine growing zones is a tool used in the common European Union wine regulations to regulate certain aspects of winemaking. The zones differ in terms of climate and examples of what is regulated by wine growing zone are required grape maturity at harvest and allowed levels of...

    ) and grape variety.
  • In Austrian wine, 19 degrees KMW, corresponding to 95 °Oechsle.


Chaptalisation may not be used. The requirements are part of the wine law
Wine law
Wine laws are legislation regulating various aspects of production and sales of wine. The purpose of wine laws includes combating wine fraud, by means of regulated protected designations of origin, labelling practices and classification of wine, as well as regulating allowed additives and...

 in both countries. Many producers, especially top-level producers, regularly exceed the minimum requirements.

History

The Spätlese courier at Schloss Johannisberg

Legend has it that the introduction of the Spätlese category took place in the Rheingau winery Schloss Johannisberg
Schloss Johannisberg
Schloss Johannisberg is a winery in the Rheingau wine-growing region in Germany, that has been making wine for over 900 years. The winery is most noted for its claim to have "discovered" late harvest wine.- History :...

 in 1775, and happened by mere circumstance. Since 1718, permission to start harvest at Johannisberg was announced in writing from the Prince-Bishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...

 of Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...

 by means of a so-called autumn courier - Herbstkurier. In 1775, for some reason, the courier sent out by the abbey at Fulda was delayed for 14 days. According to some, the abbey’s messenger was robbed on the way to bring the official harvest picking order. By the time the order finally arrived noble rot
Noble rot
Noble rot is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes...

 had set in, but the harvest was carried out anyway, although no high hopes were staked on the wine from the rotten grapes. But rather than a failed product, the wine turned out to be surprisingly good. Schloss Johannisberg began actively seeking to produce late harvest - Spätlese - wines affected by noble rot. The delayed courier therefore became to be referred to as the Spätlesereiter.

In 1778 Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 tasted a bottle of Spätlese that was given to him and was so impressed that he advised friends who were in Europe to go to the Rheingau to experience the wines and bring a case back to America.

Additional Prädikat levels

Terminology for different levels of late harvest wines, based on grape selection, were then introduced starting with Auslese
Auslese
Auslese is a German language wine term for a late harvest wine and is a riper category than Spätlese in the Prädikatswein category of the Austrian and German wine classification. The grapes are picked from selected very ripe bunches in the autumn , and have to be hand picked...

 ("Select harvest") being introduced in 1787, and additional levels added later. The key to these developments was selection of bunches and grapes by level of ripeness and botrytis, thus giving different wines from the same vineyard.

Therefore, the initial Spätlese terminology was for any late harvest wine, and the initial 1775 Spätlese wine was made from grapes that were affected by noble rot to the extent that they appeared unpalatable, and gave a very sweet wine. Such a wine would not really correspond to a modern-day Spätlese. Grapes of this character, vinified by themselves would rather give a Beerenauslese
Beerenauslese
Beerenauslese is a German language wine term for a dessert wine-style late harvest wine. Beerenauslese is a category in the Prädikatswein category of the Austrian and German wine classifications, and is a category above Auslese. Beerenauslese wines, often called "BA" for short, are usually made...

 in modern terminology, and if bunches of such botrytis-affected grapes were mixed with more or less healthy bunches, it seems likely that the wine would land in the upper end of the Auslese range.

Later history

In the 1971 German wine law
Wine law
Wine laws are legislation regulating various aspects of production and sales of wine. The purpose of wine laws includes combating wine fraud, by means of regulated protected designations of origin, labelling practices and classification of wine, as well as regulating allowed additives and...

, the Spätlese Prädikat was given its present interpretation. In the early post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 era, the semi-sweet wines that Germany for long has been associated with became more common, since new methods by stopping fermentation
Fermentation (wine)
The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...

 and using Süssreserve were introduced. The Spätlese wines represents the "high end" of these semi-sweet, rather than fully sweet, wines, since they are not allowed to be chaptalized.

From the 1980s, and even more from the 1990s, production of dry wines became much more common in Germany. Thus, wines designated "Spätlese trocken" in many cases came to represent the best dry wines from many wineries. From the early 2000s, the new designations Grosses Gewächs and Erstes Gewächs have become more common, with the result that remaining Spätlese trocken wines rather represents the second-best dry wines.

In Austria, which largely abandoned the semi-sweet wine category in the wake of the 1985 diethylene glycol
Diethylene glycol
Diethylene glycol is an organic compound with the formula 2O. It is a colorless, practically odorless, poisonous, and hygroscopic liquid with a sweetish taste. It is miscible in water, alcohol, ether, acetone, and ethylene glycol. DEG is a widely used solvent...

scandal in order to concentrate more on dry wines, Spätlese wines are much less common than in Germany.
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