Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Wiltinger Braune Kupp Spätlese (AP #5) is fragrant, frisky and floral on the very charming and finely spicy nose that shows a tender reductive tone. Refined and filigree on the palate, this is a delicately racy and concentrated, juicy and savory Spätlese from the Braune Kupp, a 4.5-hectare monopole partly owned and partly leased by Egon Müller. The 2023 reveals a structure of crystalline acidity, is persistently savory and doesn't show any sweet sensations due to the mineral savoriness and great balance of this highly delicate and charming Riesling. This Riesling has been released under the old Le Gallais label for 70 years, which honors the name of Müller's neighbors in Kanzem from whom his father Egon III leased 2.5 hectares in 1953.
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James Suckling
Whoever doesn’t like these incredibly fine and deep aromas of stone fruit might well be in need of therapy. Very juicy and concentrated, but every bit as vibrant and refined, this is a great riesling Spatlese that proves this style doesn’t need to be in the least old-fashioned. In spite of the frank sweetness on the mid-palate, the finish is dangerously refreshing.
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.