Spätlese (literal meaning: "late harvest"; plural form is
Spätlesen) is a
German wine term for a wine from fully ripe grapes, the lightest of the
late harvest wines. Spätlese is a riper category than
Kabinett in the
Prädikatswein category of the
German wine classification and is the lowest level of
Prädikatswein in
Austria, where Kabinett is classified in another way. In both cases, Spätlese is below
Auslese 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. 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.