Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
We seem to spend more and more of our time on the Mosel. Not so strange.
We are obsessed by its wine - the ultimate Riesling. Known for its
lightness of touch, ethereal delicacy, raciness and terroir definition.
Thorsten
Melsheimer (Reil)
"I'm the only one stupid enough to work the crazily steep vines in
Reil" says head-banded Thorsten Melsheimer. "It's not as if the vines
are actually facing in an ideal direction either. It forces you to work hard.
It helps to be bio-dynamic. You have to slash the yield and pick insanely late.
I bought some vines in a perfect south facing vineyard recently and the wines
are not as interesting - the vines are just lazy!" Thorsten is certainly
not lazy, nursing old vines back to life, rebuilding walls in the remotest,
least-accessible part of the Mullay-Hofberg vineyard. "When I get really
hot working in the vines I jump into the Mosel for a quick swim to cool
off."
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trocken |
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Reiler Mullay-Hofberg Riesling SpŠtlese trocken |
2006 |
15.99 |
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Reiler Mullay-Hofberg Kellerchen Riesling SpŠtlese
trocken |
2005 |
16.50 |
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fruity |
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Reiler Mullay-Hofberg Beerenauslese HALF |
2005 |
39.99 |
Andreas Schmitges
(Erden)
From the steep, iron-rich
red slopes of Erdener Treppchen and the even steeper Pralat come Andreas
SchmitgesÕ gently spicy, boldy perfumed, beautifully judged modern dry Rieslings.
He knows theyÕre good. Why fight it?
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trocken |
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Grauschiefer Riesling trocken |
2007 |
10.99 |
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Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett trocken |
2007 |
11.50 |
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Erdener Treppchen Riesling SpŠtlese trocken |
2007 |
15.50 |
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Erdener PrŠlat Riesling Alte Reben trocken |
2007 |
21.99 |
Marin Conrad
(Brauneberg)
Martin Conrad is a twenty-something
young buck from the beautiful, loopy Middle Mosel. Martin took over from his
parents a few years ago and is hell-bent on raising quality. His mother runs
the family's hotel and restaurant in the village of Brauneberg while Martin
concentrates in his winery on the opposite side of the road. His style is
modern, dry Mosel Riesling with more-ish minerality. Ripe in the nose (from the
late-harvested grapes), succulent in the mouth and dry on the end.
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trocken |
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Conradus Riesling trocken |
2007 |
13.99 |
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Brauneberger Juffer Riesling trocken |
2006 |
18.99 |
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Brauneberger Juffer Riesling trocken Goldkapsel |
2006 |
22.99 |
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fruity |
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Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett |
2007 |
16.50 |
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sweet |
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Veldenzer Kirchberg Eiswein |
2007 |
49.99 |
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Juffer-Sonnenuhr Beerenauslese |
2007 |
66.99 |
Harald
Steffens-Kess (Reil)
"I'm the one who went round to Thorsten Melsheimer and signed him
up to Ecovin" says Eco vintner Harald Steffens-Kess. Harald
Steffens-Kess is friend and almost neighbour of Thorsten in the village of Reil
on the Mosel. He has a small parcel in Reil, the rest on
the opposite bank in generally more sun-favoured Burg. His Hahnenschrittchen (hensÕ little steps) is the best weÕve
tasted from that vineyard. He makes his wines in a slightly leaner, nervier
style with all the whiff of slate that we love from the Mosel.
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Burger Hahnenschrittchen Kabinett trocken |
2006 |
10.99 |
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Burger WendelstŸck SpŠtlese trocken |
2006 |
12.50 |
Wegeler (Bernkastel)
Those of us with long memories may remember Deinhard, a big player in
German wines internationally from the 60s and 70s. At that time Deinhard was
owned by two families, Wegeler and Deinhard. In the early 90s Wegeler bought
the other out. We were delighted to be courted by them recently. "But you
are so big and we are so small" - that didn't bother them. So we thought
we'd drop in on their Mosel estate in Bernkastel. Turned out to be a
revelation. Famous for their classic fruity Mosels we were delighted to discover
that Norbert Breit their Cellar Master also makes elegant, dry wines in his
trademark crystal clear, lean style. Wehlener Sonnenuhr SpŠtlese trocken, yes
please! And as for the Bernkasteler DoctorLordy! So subtle, so refined. Not
remotely showy. It works in much the same way as the finest Burgundy does - it
doesn't kick down the door but creeps up on you.
We simply had to ask Noribert to show us the Doctor, a 3 hectare
vineyard on a steep slope above Bernkastel. It wasn't always 3 ha. Before the
1971 wine law, it was 1.35 ha and was Germany's most famous and expensive wine.
Wegeler owns half of the original parcel.
The story of the name is worth telling. Boemund II was the Archbishop of
Trier in the 14th century and was very, very ill. Doctors tried everything.
Finally a winegrower from Bernkastel brought some wine from his vineyard and
the Archbishop made a miraculous recovery. "That's the only real
Doctor," he said.
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Wehlener
Sonnenuhr Riesling SpŠtlese trocken |
2005 |
15.99 |
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Bernkasteler
Doctor Riesling trocken ERSTE LAGE |
2005 |
32.99 |
Clemens
Busch (PŸnderich)
Clemens Busch
looks a bit like Jesus. He certainly has intensity and conviction! He and his
wife Rita have transformed our expectations of the PŸnderich vineyards.
PŸnderich was just another village in the middle Mosel churning out dilute,
wishy-washy wines with yields of over 100hl/ha. The BuschÕs crop at around 40
hl/ha.
They own
7.5ha of vines in Marienburg (Virgin MaryÕs Castle) and Nonnengarten (NunÕs
Garden), which used to belong to the Cloister. They are currently renovating
ClemensÕs grandfatherÕs old house built in 1663 on the riverfront, but continue
to make their wines in the cellars up the hill, away from the waterÕs edge.
We asked
Clemens about the distinctive and fascinating nose on his wines, reminiscent of
aged Rieslings, and he revealed that, in the search for further layers of
complexity, he allows his grapes to oxidise slightly before fermentation.
Unusual, but effective!
There is
nothing of your average Mosel about these wines. They show definition, poise
and intensity and set a new benchmark of quality for others to aspire to.
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PŸndericher Marienburg Riesling SpŠtlese
trocken ** |
2006 |
14.99 |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Riesling SpŠtlese
trocken *** |
2006 |
17.99 |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Riesling Kabinett trocken "Fahrlay-Terrassen" |
2002 |
18.99 |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Riesling Auslese trocken |
2002 |
22.99 |
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halb |
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Riesling Vom roten Schiefer |
2007 |
15.99 |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Riesling Auslese halbtrocken 500ml |
2001 |
22.99 |
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fruity |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Riesling Kabinett |
2007 |
13.99 |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Riesling SpŠtlese
"Weissenberg" |
2002 |
21.99 |
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sweet |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Auslese Fass 51 375ml |
2006 |
27.99 |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Auslese Goldkapsel 375ml |
2006 |
34.99 |
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Auslese Lange Goldkapsel 375ml |
2005 |
39.99 |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Beerenauslese ÒFahrlayÓ 375ml |
2006 |
74.99 |
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PŸndericher Marienburg Beerenauslese 2, 375ml |
2005 |
99.99 |
Martin
MŸllen (Traben-Trarbach)
Quietly determined Martin
MŸllen had a falling-out of almost biblical proportions with his father, ending
up with Martin going his own way and effectively building up his vineyard holdings
from scratch. We have been watching his wines for a while. Shallow as it may
sound, we were originally put off by the kitsch bird motif on one of his
labels. But then the wines haunted us. Beautiful, poised, focused wines of
finesse and polish.
Kršv may have
been built on the bawdy image of the Kršver ÒNacktarschÓ (naked bottom), but
Martin is almost single-handedly raising the reputation of its finest slopes
ÒParadiesÓ and ÒLetterlayÓ with his hauntingly fragrant, pure wines.
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Kršver Paradies Riesling SpŠtlese trocken |
2005 |
12.99 |
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Kršver Letterlay Riesling SpŠtlese* trocken |
2005 |
13.99 |
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Kršver Letterlay Riesling SpŠtlese ** trocken |
2003 |
15.99 |
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Kršver Paradies Riesling SpŠtlese** trocken |
2005 |
22.50 |
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fruity |
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Kršver Letterlay Riesling SpŠtlese |
2003 |
15.99 |
Rudolf
Trossen (Kinheim-Kindel)
ÒFateÓ Rudolf
called it, when we called by on the off-chance and found him in. This after phoning
for directions from the riverside car park. ÒCan you see the house with the
round windows on the opposite bank of the river? That's me waving!Ó
We were
intrigued by whispers of a very uncompromising grower in Kinheim-Kindel. Rudolf
Trossen, leather waistcoat, Scholl footwear, is a Hardcore Eco-warrior.and
poet. His father came back from the Russian front after the war with half a leg
missing, so Rudi had to do all the spraying and had an allergic reaction to the
chemicals. Having not been convinced he was going to take over from his father
his allergies got him thinking about ecology. He had found his cause.
ÒBio-dynamics started here in Germany with Rudolf Steiner's theories from the
1920sÓ he says. He founded Demeter and Ecovin in Rheinland-Pfalz.
His vines all
lie in the Kinheimer Hubertuslay and, as he points to his parcels scattered on
the opposite slope, it quickly becomes clear which are his - the ones with
green ground cover.
So what are
the wines like? The
Schieferblume (Slate Flowers) and Trossen Kabinett tr are lively, fresh - and
savoury, smoky, with loads of mineral content. The Madonna Plateau is from a
parcel of pre-phylloxera vines above a small statue of the Madonna. Wonderful,
crazy-subtle perfume and fabulous density.
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Schieferblume Riesling trocken |
2007 |
13.99 |
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Von der Lay Riesling Spatlese trocken |
2007 |
16.99 |
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Schierferstern Riesling Spatlese trocken |
2007 |
17.99 |
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rose |
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Rose |
2007 |
12.99 |
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sparkling |
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Trossecco |
NV |
13.99 |
Lubentiushof –
Andreas Barth (Niederfell)
Andreas Barth studied Law
and Music but decided, with the support of his interior designer wife, Susanne,
to turn to wine-making. He is
almost entirely self-taught except for a couple of modules at the famous wine
school at Geisenheim.
In 1994 they
bought an estate on the outskirts of Koblenz on the not very well-known Lower
Mosel called Lubentiushof. Sounds grander than it was. But with a run-down
cellar came 2.5ha in Gondorf, which is what Andreas was most interested in. It
was tricky starting with no customers - but the first two years went well. Then
with all the radical work he was doing in the vineyards there were two years
when the vines went into shock yielding just 15hl/ha! Now, having recultivated
vines that had gone to seed, he has 5ha -
many between 35-85 years old. He only uses natural yeasts, and is virtually
organic.
A journalist
on the Frankfurter Allgemeine Paper encouraged him to go for the vacant
Kellermeister position at the large, historic Von Othegraven estate in the
Saar. He now works there one day a week, keen to fill the vacuum there and
polish the slightly jaded reputation. It's exciting to work with historic
vineyards like Kanzemer Altenberg.
ÒIn the Saar
there is a homogenous geology within each vineyard. There is often a slight
sparkle within the blue slate which means there is a high oil content.
Whereas here
on the Lower Mosel in Gondorfer Gans there is some blue slate too, but here it is
mixed with red and yellow sandstone/slate and quartz. It's as if someone has taken all the
minerals and shaken them up! To give you an example of the effect: if you can
expect 24g of mineral extract on the Middle Mosel, you find 27g on the Lower
Mosel.Ó
With the low yields and very
late harvest in the vineyard, the high extract of diverse minerals and finally
a very, very long fermentation, these wines are surprisingly less floral when
young, much tighter and more restrained but packed with information and
explosive potential! We tasted from three
vintages and the oldest, the 2001s, were definitely showing signs of
brilliance. His late release 2003s
after extended lees contact and the best part of a year in bottle now taste
amazing. Fascinating, deep textures and fabulous length.
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Burg von der Leyen Riesling trocken |
2006 |
12.99 |
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Gondorfer GŠns Riesling trocken
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