Fritz Haag 2020 Estate Riesling

Photo credit to Layth Gadoui

Not many winemakers can claim their vineyards were appraised as Grand Cru by Napoleon, but the Haag family’s story is certainly one to marvel at. Although their label harkens to their historic beginnings, this winemakers’ future is just as riveting as its past.

Founded in 1605, their winery is located in the central Mosel River valley, in the town of Brauneberg. Here in the central Mosel, breathtakingly steep vineyards have brought this region’s wine quality to unparalleled heights. Not to my surprise, viticulturists didn’t just plant on these dizzying slopes for a good leg workout. These conditions favor Germany’s Schatzi (little treasure): Riesling. This grape variety prefers poor soils, can thrive in cold climates, and like many Germans, loves sonnenbaden (sun-bathing).

The central Mosel’s soil is made up of varying slate types: the Fritz Haag vineyard is home to a unique blue Devonian slate. In the Mosel, darker-colored slate soils are valued for their ability to retain heat, prevent erosion, and effective drainage. These properties are essential to mitigate Mosel’s colder climate, steep slopes, and heavy rainfall/flooding. (“Understanding Slate Soils in Wine” by Amanda Best, Wine Enthusiast).

(Source: VDP Weingut Fritz Hag)

The winemakers are Oliver and Jessica Haag, who took over the winery in 2005 from Oliver’s father: the famed Wilhelm Haag. I stumbled across an interview where Oliver stressed the challenges his father faced in years past. “(He) actually made vintages with nearly no grapes, with high acidity, unripe vintages, he lost vintages because of the weather and so on…” (“Oliver Haag of Weingut Fritz Haag: Ep. 123” The Extract) Despite these challenges, Wilhelm Haag made phenomenal wines. He even won winemaker of the year in 1994 from the prestigious Gault Millau Wineguide (Fritz Haag).

Source: Fritz Haag

With 400 years of history in the land before him, it’s safe to say there was a bit of pressure on Oliver when he took over. Yet, that’s part of the magic of winemaking- it’s constantly evolving. In the same interview, Oliver recounted talking with his father about his own winemaking style. “If I made something new, he would say ‘oh, I don’t think I would’ve done that- but it’s your choice’ and afterwards he would come and say ‘wow, this wine is tasting well, congratulations- you did a good thing.’ (The Extract).

Though the winery boasts a plethora of wines to taste, the natural starting point is their signature 2020 Estate Riesling. This is an off-dry wine, an increasingly popular style in Germany today. According to their 2020 harvest report, they enjoyed favorable weather that year, producing high-quality yields. The exception to this favor was poor weather interrupting their picking during October, but they reported to have managed it well.

The Tasting

The wine is a pale lemon color, quite clear. On the nose I got some crab apple notes, pear as well. Floral notes were reminiscent of a nice spring afternoon. There’s a slight effervescence. Moving onto the palate, I got a bracing acidity, pulling the wine into focus and giving structure to the lime and pear notes. There’s not much sweetness, this is certainly a Trocken (dry) wine.

A good quiche would pair nicely with this wine. For the money this is a great entry-level Riesling. It captures some of the much-loved elements of this variety: fresh acidity and a nice fruit profile. I look forward to trying more from the Fritz Haag winery!