Winemaker Notes
The basis for this wine are grapes from the sites Wiltinger Braunfels, Wiltinger Kupp, Oberemmeler Rosenberg and Saarburger Rausch. These are harvested separately by hand in the fall and pressed as whole grapes. The maturation takes place in the legendary Scharzhof cellar in traditional Fuder barrels. After fermentation, the barrels are then blended by cellarmaster Heiner Bollig to create this fantastic wine. Bright, straight and fresh nose with precise aromas of ripe lime zest, guava, grapefruit, white peach, white currants and hints of exotic fruit plus distinct herbal notes of mint - all underpinned by smoky slate notes. On the palate grippy with animating acidity, seems virtually dancing, with subtle sweetness, which gives the wine a rather semi dry impression, delicate melt, fine salty minerality and long finish carried by salty / citrus notes.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lively and subtle nose of ripe yellow apple, white peach and wild flowers. Juicy and elegant with a vibrant acidity that lights this up beautifully. A touch of perceptible grape sweetness at the front of the medium-bodied palate, but the long, wet stone finish is admirably dry. Spot on balance. Drink or hold.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
Following the Mosel River as it slithers and weaves dramatically through the Eifel Mountains in Germany’s far west, the Mosel wine region is considered by many as the source of the world’s finest and longest-lived Rieslings.
Mosel’s unique and unsurpassed combination of geography, geology and climate all combine together to make this true. Many of the Mosel’s best vineyard sites are on the steep south or southwest facing slopes, where vines receive up to ten times more sunlight, a very desirable condition in this cold climate region. Given how many twists and turns the Mosel River makes, it is not had to find a vineyard with this exposure. In fact, the Mosel’s breathtakingly steep slopes of rocky, slate-based soils straddle the riverbanks along its entire length. These rocky slate soils, as well as the river, retain and reflect heat back to the vineyards, a phenomenon that aids in the complete ripening of its grapes.
Riesling is by far the most important and prestigious grape of the Mosel, grown on approximately 60% of the region’s vineyard land—typically on the desirable sites that provide the best combination of sunlight, soil type and altitude. The best Mosel Rieslings—dry or sweet—express marked acidity, low alcohol, great purity and intensity with aromas and flavors of wet slate, citrus and stone fruit. With age, the wine’s color will become more golden and pleasing aromas of honey, dried apricot and sometimes petrol develop.
Other varieties planted in the Mosel include Müller-Thurgau, Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), all performing quite well here.