Mid-September 2024 I met Marc Berna in the Ahn Vogelsang vineyard in glorious weather. The winegrower proudly showed me his clusters of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, as fresh as daisies, glistening in the sun and showing no sign of rot.
He was looking forward to the imminent harvest, hoping for good weather. The winegrowers have suffered enough from the persistent summer rains, and have had to treat the grapes much more often than usual to prevent vine diseases.
But the rain was not going to spare the harvest either.
A vintage that favoured Burgundy grape varieties
3 March 2025. four and a half months after the end of the harvest, I visit Marc Berna at his winery in Ahn. He will give me a tasting of a selection of his 2024 wines, most of which are still slumbering in the stainless steel vats. An exciting event, as this is my first tasting of the 2024 Luxembourg vintage in a producer’s cellar.
The winegrower Marc Berna has already bottled two 2024 wines, including Gris de Gris, a Pinot Gris rosé © Photo credit: Claude François
The family business Caves Berna covers eight hectares. The Bernas own plots in, among others, the prestigious Ahn Palmberg locality, which is particularly suited to Riesling. After the harvest, this late-ripening variety was considered the troubled child of the vintage, because the grapes had developed lower sugar levels than usual, but relatively firm acidity.
The result is all the more surprising: the 2024 Palmberg, of which the winegrower lets a few drops drip from the stainless steel vat, is convincing in its youth with its intense and aromatic notes; the wine already seems harmonious and balanced. Its length is also remarkable.
Berna is extremely satisfied with his Palmberg: “The grapes had got used to the water, they reacted very well,” he is delighted to say. “In the end, the rain didn’t harm the vintage, quite the contrary: it allowed for good mineralisation in the soil. This had a positive effect on the grapes, which were able to develop enough sugar”.
But for Berna, the winners of the 2024 vintage are the Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois grape varieties, which are truly excellent, and the base wines for the crémants are also impeccable.
I am served samples of his Elterberg Pinot Blanc and two Pinot Gris from the Vogelsang locality, and I tentatively approach them. Impressive: they have substance, fullness and length, intense aromas and are very harmonious. What is also remarkable is that they are already very drinkable, even the Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes, which comes from old vines, although the wines are not yet ready to be bottled.
Healthy grapes at the heart of mid-September 2024 for the start of the harvest: the record rainfall did not have a negative effect on quality. Rather, the water allowed for good soil mineralisation © Photo credit: Claude François
Berna has, however, already bottled two wines that are now on sale: the Auxerrois from the Vogelsang locality and the Gris de Gris, the Pinot Gris that has obtained its Rosé colour on contact with the must. Both confirm the impression left by the previous samples: This vintage has the potential to enthuse wine lovers.
Working with nature, but leaving nothing to chance
A general impression that is confirmed by André Mehlen. The director of Domaines Vinsmoselle is charmed by the “fresh acidity and fruity character” of the wines. He is particularly positive about the Pinot Blanc, which, in his opinion, has become even better than in previous vintages.
The problem with the 2024 vintage is generally the low quantity. “The yield was 30% lower than the average of previous years,” laments the former state wine controller. The vineyards between Grevenmacher and Wasserbillig were particularly affected, as they were considerably damaged by the late spring frost.
The Bernard-Massard wine cellars and their family estate, Clos des Rochers, are among the affected producers. “We didn’t harvest enough Riesling, nor enough Pinot Gris,” regrets technical director Stephan Krämer.
He too says he has been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the wines: “The sugar content is certainly not very high, but the wines are mineral, with a moderate alcohol content and magnificent fruit”. The expert points out that “with us, everything is harvested by hand, and that makes a huge difference. The grapes are already rigorously selected in the vineyard, so that the harvest that arrives in our cellar is of impeccable quality”.
The Burgundy grape varieties Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Auxerrois developed particularly well in the 2024 vintage. © Photo credit: Claude François
Nothing is left to chance. The production of a high-quality wine requires meticulous and continuous choices. As wine consumers, we sometimes forget the efforts that wine producers make and the risks they take to meet the highest quality expectations in a year like 2024, which, with 1195.7 millimetres of rainfall, was the rainiest since weather statistics began in 1854.