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.
Bastgen (Kesten)
A German love story. Armin Vogel met Mona Bastgen at Geisenheim, the
world famous winemaking academy, and once married, they began to pursue their
dream of making wine themselves. Taking over from Mona's butcher and vintner
father in 1992, the couple live and work in a hi-tech wood and glass house atop
a hill with stunning views towards Bernkastel. Armin spoke to us of wanting to
make "slender" wine, capturing the balance of fruit and minerality
which typifies the best of the Mosel. HeÕs bored of the succession of hot ripe
vintages preferring the racy balance of the rainy grey ones!
The wines have great tension, with a certain "nervy" balance
to them, notes of white flowers, pears, and a friendly crowd-pleasing quality
which caresses those new to German wine, rather than slapping them about the
face.
Clemens Busch
(Punderich) BIODYNAMIC
Clemens Busch looks a bit like Jesus. He certainly has intensity and
conviction! He and his wife Rita have transformed our expectations of the Punderich
vineyards. Punderich 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.
Eva Clusserath
(Trittenheim)
What a coincidence, our mate Stuart Pigott, the German Wine Journalist
based in Berlin was on the Mosel at the same time. So we gate-crashed his
meeting with Eva Clusserath (and her boyfriend, now husband, well-known
winemaker Philipp Wittmann from Rheinhessen) in Trittenheim. There seem to be
thousands of Clusserath's in Trittenheim! Eva has been making great leaps since
she took over from her father Ansgar in 2001. Of course, her
Trittenheimer Apotheke Spatlese trocken, made from 60-70 yo vines was bound to
be fabulous in 2005. What really impressed us was the quality of the
entry-level wines, Vom Schiefer (from slate) and Steinreich (stone-rich or
stone-empire).
Clusserath-Weiler
(Trittenheim)
ItÕs difficult to imagine a more idyllic way to start the day,
breakfasting in the house on Trittenheim bridge with the Apotheke vineyard
towering above you on the opposite bank and watching the sun swing over the
hill, gradually bringing the vines into the light as the mist rises over the
Mosel. Father and daughter, Helmut and Verana, do the wine, mother Helga runs
the guesthouse. Trittenheim is full of Clusseraths so to avoid confusion Helga
brings the Weiler name with her from nearby Mehring. They always use wild
yeasts, which can give their wines a wild perfume. The ÒHCÓ is crisp and lean,
with spicy minerality. The Alte Reben (Old Vines) comes from a parcel of 50-75
yo vines and gives a deeper, denser flavour and mouthfeel. The ÒSÓ is a
selection of the best bits of the best parcels, (usually from a small
beautifully placed triangular parcel half-way up the vineyard immediately
opposite the house) - while not the oldest vines hre are none less than 30yo.
Virana was excited by the 2005s. After a slightly disappointing cool summer
there was a long warm autumn giving the grapes the same ripeness and
supercharged alcohol as the 2003s but with much better acidities.
Martin 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.
Franzen (Bremm)
Ulli Franzen was kind enough to treat us to a ride in his motorised wine
crate, which runs on a single rail, almost vertically up EuropeÕs steepest
vineyard, the Bremmer Calmont. Without the luxury of safety belts we
clung on for dear life and enjoyed every second of it! At the top, Ulli
uncorked his Bremmer Calmont 2003 and we relaxed to enjoy the spectacular view,
which Turner also appreciated and captured in his stunning watercolours (housed
at Tate Britain). We also enjoyed the wines, which sold out very quickly. We
now have his fabulous 2005s.
Theo Haart (Piesport)
When we emerged from our tasting at Clusserath-Weiler, there was a
message on the voicemail. "Stuart here. I'm round at Theo Haart's. The
wines are frankly stunning (paraphrasing for the faint-of-heart). He's not
working in the UK at the moment. You'd better get your asses over here."
So we jumped into the van and charged over to Piesport to catch them before
they left the restaurant. Theo is world-renowned for his classic sweeter Piesporters
and, yes, the 2005s are sumptuous. Wild yeasts, classic blackcurrant leaf
aromas, ripe peachy yellow fruit mouthfeel, with smoky, slatey minerality and
exhilarating acidity - high-class fruity Mosel which can age effortlessly for
30 years or more.
Beate Knebel (Winningen)
From the dizzyingly steep Terrassenmosel (Mosel
Terraces), where the Mosel tips into the Rhine at Koblenz. Knebels have been
growing vines here since 1650. Beate
and her son MathiasÕ vineyards are vertigo-inducing, yields are extremely low
and the grapes are painstakingly picked by hand. Wild yeasts often give their
wines striking aromas. The Mosel is all about minerals, slate and racy
precision. Intense and packed with savoury minerals, they are almost like
licking slate.
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.
Thorsten Melsheimer (Reil) ORGANIC
"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."
Martin Mullen
(Traben-Trarbach)
Quietly determined Martin Mullen 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.
Rudolf Trossen (Kinheim-Kindel)
BIODYNAMIC
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 trocken 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.
Rebenhof - Johannes Schmitz
(Urzig)
Johannes Schmitz is an energetic player in the well-known village of Urzig.
He and his wife run a guest house from their winery. He is the President of the
committee that has been arranging the "Flurbereinigung" (the
re-structuring and rationalisation of the German vineyards, a process that
started in 1968) – a sure way to win some friends and lose others! He has
4.5ha, one third of which are young vines, the rest are between 40 and 80
years-old. His "Alten Reben" is always from his 80 y.o. vines. He
sets a benchmark for Urzig, with all the body and herbal spiciness the Wurzgarten
is renowned for.
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?
Harald Steffens-Kess (Reil) ORGANIC
"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.
Stein (Alf)
We first spotted SteinÕs Domwein (Cathedral wine) at the excellent and very
friendly Restaurant Zum Eichamt in Zell-Merl. On our next visit we called Dr
Ulrich Stein and made our way up to his amazing house at the top of the hill
above the village of Alf. It was dark, rainy and hard to find. Vines mark the
beginning of the steep drop. Even on the darkest winter evening the view
downstream is breathtaking. UlrichÕs signature technique is to blend two tanks,
one a very racy early-picking with another, much richer late-picking. He says
that gives each wine the best of both worlds, the nervy higher acidity with as
sense of depth and ripeness.
Walter (Briedel)
Those of us with functioning memories may remember our German
intern Gerrit Walter, who was with us for ten weeks over the summer of 2009 and
went back home to help with the harvest before heading back to Geisenheim, the
top wine college in the country. He makes an excellent basic Riesling trocken
from vines in his home village of Briedel, which has become something of a
Winery hit. ÒEdition GÓ, his
top-of-the-range bottling from the Pundericher
Marienberg vineyard. Late picked and packed with
minerals drawn from the perilously steep, slate vineyards of the small village
of Punderich. One sip and itÕs easy to understand why his Dad is giving
him free rein in the family cellar. Boy done well!
Wegeler
(Bernkastel-Kues)
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 Spatlese
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.
Von Othegraven (Kanzem/Saar)
There is definitely something very regal about Dr Heidi Kegel. Adopted
by her Aunt at an early age, she was picking grapes at the age of four, and
ended up inheriting the estate in 1995. In the small village of Kanzem, between
Trier and Luxembourg, it's an idyllic setting with the river Saar at one end of
the garden and the imposing renowned Kanzem Altenberg vineyard behind.
Our friend Andreas Barth from Lubentiushof has been making the wines for
Dr Heidi since the 2004 vintage. The outcome is a world away from the searing
acidity of the old-school Saar wines. Effortless.
Dr Heidi inherited parcels in three local Grand Cru vineyards. Wiltingen
Kupp, Ockfen Bockstein and Kanzemer Altenberg (where she has the largest chunk.
Terroir. It's a sense of place. It's the expression of the earth, the geology.
Here on the Saar, like the Mosel that it feeds, it's all about slate. Dr Heidi
and Andreas believe in minimal intervention to allow the site to shine through.
In the Bockstein you'll find loads of Quartz which often gives the wine a
dizzy, spicy, almost tropical character. The Altenberg is, in Dr Heidi's and
our view, the finest Grand Cru in her glittering portfolio. The dry Altenberg
07 is magnificent. The sweet ones are also fabulous. Writers often recommend
these sweeter styles with Asian food. Think green curry and Pad Thai. Wonderful
of course, but also perfect on its own or as an aperitif or at the end of a
meal. Elegance and power in perfect harmony. These wines will age beautifully
for 50 years.
Peter Lauer (Ayl/Saar)
Classic Saar Riesling. piercingly clear, zingy, racy. Wine that slices
through anything. Young wine-maker Florian Lauer is cocky - he's good and he
knows it - and who are we to tell him to be modest? He's been showered with
awards in Germany in recently. He works the family vines in top vineyard ÒAyler
KuppÓ, one of the most hallowed vineyards on the Saar. Florian took over full
responsibility for the wines recently, leaving dad Peter to focus on the hotel
they own south of Trier, with a splendid view of the river - although, when the
fog rolls in though, it's difficult to see much of anything!
Loch (Weinhof Herrenberg) (Schoden/Saar) ORGANIC
Manfred and Claudia Loch bought their first half-hectare plot in the
Schodener Herrenberg vineyard in 1991. Each year they try to buy another 0.2ha
and another steel tank. They currently have 2.5 hectares and 8 tanks.
The steep Herrenberg is an almost fan-shaped slope overlooking the Saar
and the village of Schoden 3kms north of Saarburg. Yields in the area are often
over 100hl/ha, but the Lochs are working between 20-35hl/ha. You can taste the
difference! The Saar is known for producing wines of racy acidity, hard to
taste young, tightly-wound and softening only with age.
The Loch style is something else: much riper, much fleshier than your
everyday shrill Saar wine. They still have a refreshing, exhilarating acidity,
but with richness, depth and a unique mouthfeel.
They leave the grapes on the vines incredibly late hoping to squeeze
another degree Oechsle (ripeness level) or two out of the late autumn sun.
Their plots are dotted over the vineyard. Each parcel is picked
separately, placed in separate tanks and bottled separately without fining and
only one very light filtration. The Lochs (and we) are fascinated by the
differences – each is clearly distinct.
New this time is the Wiltinger Schlangengraben old vines trocken, from a
parcel (unlike most from that vineyard) overlooking the Saar. Also we had to
wrestle Manfred for a few bottles of the Ockfener Bockstein trocken – he
would dearly love to get hold of more vines in Bockstein – but there are
three large land-owners who hold most of it and unfortunately donÕt want to
sell – shame, in ManfredÕs hands the wine achieves another level of spicy
intensity.
Also a new label – the third in as many yearsÉa gentle identity
shift. First there was Weinhof Herrenberg, then there was equal billing for
Weinhof Herrenberg and Loch, now itÕs simply Loch.