Vintage Report Saar 2024 – A year of extremes, a wine of balance

The 2024 vintage on the Saar will be remembered as one of the most extreme in recent history—and yet it is a vintage whose style is captivating and reminiscent of great classics. What initially seemed like a total disaster surprisingly developed into an exceptionally exciting vintage with great finesse and depth.

Frost disaster in April – 80% of the harvest lost

On the night of April 22nd to 23rd, 2024, a once-in-a-century frost hit the region with full force. Within a few hours, large swathes of the Saar vineyards were severely damaged. The vineyards in Ockfen, Ayl, Wiltingen , and parts of the so-called "Tälchen" (little valley) were particularly affected. The damage was so severe that yields per hectare fell to historic lows of between 750 and 2,000 liters per hectare —amounts last seen around 1900.

Pentecost flood exacerbates the situation

The shock of the frost had barely been absorbed when a second natural disaster struck the region over Pentecost: a once-in-a-century flood, with water levels exceeding the previous records from 1993, submerged parts of the infrastructure. Wine-growing towns like Wiltingen were partially submerged, and in Schoden, the dam threatened to burst and completely submerge the village. Saarburg was flooded over large areas, and the Leuk, a small stream flowing through the picturesque old town into the famous waterfall, overflowed its banks in the city center – something unprecedented! But despite the enormous challenges, the Saar winegrowers demonstrated extraordinary dedication, patience, and sensitivity – the rewards are now evident in the glass.

Smallest harvest since World War II – and yet a great vintage

2024 marks the smallest Saar harvest since World War II . However, the remaining grapes benefited from an excellent water supply due to the floods, which—coupled with significantly increased ripening temperatures—led to a surprisingly full-bodied, extract-rich vintage without the wines appearing heavy .

Why it was a good vintage despite everything

The answer lies in the interplay of water supply and climatic developments: The large amounts of water coincided with a warmer ripening climate , which today is on average 1°C warmer than 25 years ago and even 2.4°C warmer than 150 years ago . This enabled uniform ripening with extremely low alcohol levels ( -1 to -1.5% vol. compared to previous years), intense aromas, and impressive freshness. The alcohol levels are therefore historically low. Completely dry wines below 11% vol. were thus not uncommon! True cool climate wines !

A vintage in the style of the classics

The 2024 vintage is reminiscent in style and expression of the classic vintages 2021, 2016 and 2008 : cool fruit, delicate acidity, animating lightness and simultaneous depth make these wines elegant ambassadors of the Saar.

Conclusion: 2024 represents one of the smallest, yet most characterful vintages of recent decades. A year that impressively proves: Great wines often emerge under the most adverse conditions.

Many thanks to Florian Lauer from Weingut Peter Lauer for his excellent vintage report, whose findings served as the basis for this article. Florian puts in the hard work every year, analyzing the parameters of the vintage like a university professor, but manages to present the results in a way that's generally understandable and thus comprehensible even to the layperson. This helps enormously in placing the vintage in the context of recent years and thus understanding the reasons for the vintage's style. Thank you very much, Florian!