Karl Haidle

Württemberg | Stetten

Founded in 1949 by retired, world-class Gymnast Karl Haidle and now onto its third generation, Weingut Haidle has long been a pioneer and leader in fine-wine production in Württemburg.

Today, the young and energetic Moritz Haidle is in charge of the estate. He is a dedicated organic farmer and a passionate devotee of hip-hop culture. A talented graffiti artist, Moritz is no doubt a radical figure in the Swabian wine scene, uprooting the traditional image of the staid German winzer. His vibrant character and commitment to terroir translate in the pure, focused wines that are emerging from this deep, natural cellar. Specializing in Riesling, Lemberger, and Spätburgunder, Moritz gives the unique slopes of Stetten a chance to speak with nuance and clarity.

Though one of Germany’s thirteen anbaugebiete, Württemberg still remains one of the country’s slightly obscure viticultural areas; Moritz refers to it as the “outsider” region. Before WWII, wine grapes in the Rems Valley were almost always sold off to the local co-op and the majority of wine production was consumed by locals. It was only over the course of the last twenty years that wines from the region became distributed around Germany and ultimately exported to the rest of the world.

Beginning in 1949, Karl Haidle founded his eponymous winery with a single hectare of vines and a vision to bottle his own wine. Sadly, Karl passed away at a young age leaving Mortiz’s father, Hans, to take the reins of the family business at only 23 years of age. It was under Hans’ patient, watchful eye that the winery we see today began to take shape. Hans expanded the holdings to a full 23 ha and dedicated himself to making wine of pinnacle quality, with a focus on Riesling—what is unique in a region more recognized for simple, juicy reds. He became a VdP member in the 90s.

The viticultural focus at the estate is summed up quite simply by Mortiz, “we want to work with nature to get long lasting vines with deep roots and naturally low yields.” The fruit is picked by hand and vinified in old, neutral vats some of which are 70+ years old. “I swear by the old barrels of my Grandfather,” Moritz says. The winery is arranged to move the wines via gravity, the whites undergo extended lees contact, nothing is ever fined and they are bottled with just a touch of sulfur.

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http://weingut-karl-haidle.de/en/

Vintage Reports

2017
2017 started with some late-frost which was detrimental to some of the best parcels, where many of the buds froze. Following the frost, the Lemberger managed to recover quite well whereas the Riesling vines resulted in dramatically low yields. Harvest was not too bad, all things considered. We did several passes through the vineyards when picking, as not all the grapes had ripened at the same time. In the end, yields were low but the quality was high. The Rieslings are mineral-driven and elegant and the Lembergers are fruit-forward and juicy.

2016
The summer started with a lot of rain. For quite a long time we were not able to protect our vines—we couldn’t enter our steep vineyards because it was too wet. Spraying was also difficult because it wouldn’t stick to the leaves. It felt like there was no day without rain during June and as a result, the pressure of fungal infection and disease was quite high. It felt like 2016 would be an awful vintage. But then in late summer the weather changed and was nice through harvest. The days we gave the vineyard team a day off it would rain a little bit and when we continued picking again, the nice weather would return. The wines of 2016 are a little bit more elegant and balanced than 2015; they are a bit juicier and they were fun to drink early.

2015
After my debut in 2014, which was a pretty tough vintage with a lot of rain and a lot of unhealthy fruit, 2015 felt like holiday to me. The whole year was pretty hot and the landscape felt like being in California; all the grass was dried out and golden. After the hot summer, we were worried that the harvest could get pretty rainy but we were lucky and the weather remained stable. Even better, we had warm days and cold nights which was perfect because you get better aromas without losing acidity. Our picking team was quite happy because nobody could remember a vintage with such healthy and beautiful grapes. It was surprising that even with the warm weather, the grapes had enough acidity and the wines turned out to be quite fresh.

Soil Reports

Schilfsandstein

Schilfsandstein
The name is given by the marks of fossil horsetail in the rocks. Predominantly composed of sand and silt, with traces of clay and limestone. Because Schilfsandstein is easy to work with, it was often used for buildings, such as the Yburg, even though it weathers easily. Fossils in this stone are easily traced with pronounced flora and shells. The skeleton-rich and coarse soil gives wines good minerality.
Stubensandstein

Stubensandstein
This is the soil with the highest altitude (for vines) growing in the Remstal (Rems Valley), hence the red hue (oxidation). It is very crumbly and was often used as scouring powder. This is where its name was derived, as it also used to scour the parlor floor.
Bunter Mergel

Bunter Mergel
Colored marl is a substrate of clay and limestone and dates back 200 million years. It has a lot of lime, at least as much as the gypsum keuper (found mainly in the lower parts of the Häder), though it is not as heavy nor compact. This soil crumbled easily almost like a puff pastry. Due to its richness and high limestone content it was often used as fertilizer for soils that possessed less limestone. The rust brown, green, and grey-blue colors of the sulfate-heavy dolomite layer are why it is often called "colored marl".