Mosel Riesling

The Mosel Riesling is the king of German wine; it’s a grape synonymous with Germany itself, and furthermore, it’s found at its highest quality among the steep vineyards along the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer rivers in German’s Rhineland. Though it’s only Germany’s fifth largest wine producing region. Riesling from here is a full-bodied white that has as much, if not more complexity than a lot of red grapes with similar fortitude, which is why it is so adored by wine drinkers everywhere.

Noted to be one of the most beautiful places in the world of wine, the Mosel river valley is a sharp, narrow divide of prime shipping lanes enroute from the port of Rotterdam inland. The walled slopes on either side of the river are a sea of vines from the boarder with Luxembourg to Trier. The steep slopes here meet a gradient some point that exceeds fifty percent; it must - despite the increase in temperatures over the last few years, this are has definitely always been on the fringes of the coldest wine production regions in the world.

All grapes need prime ripening areas, but Riesling especially. Riesling has real trouble ripening even in some of the most sun-exposed vineyards - which is why the gradient is so important. All day sunlight is one of the major key components in fine German wine. This grape gets the prime locations, and makes up around sixty percent of plantings today despite its growing pains. With newfound adoration comes renewed attention, and growers looking to replace vies are planting this cash crop instead of some of the more sturdy hybrids, in term rewarding anxious fans with more of their prized golden liquid.

Riesling is unlike any other grape. It can age as long as the finest red Burgundy, it takes to oak well and the complexities are simply unreal. This grape is known to display primary characteristics of yellow raisin, stewed quince, honey, chamomile and yellow pear when made by a great producer. Secondary Characteristics are all the boast. Notable is slate-like minerality, often chalky; boastful amounts of acid, and a sense of lightness that dances across the palette even while filling the mouth with decadence. Tertiary aromas of gasoline and candlewax are coveted in fine German Riesling.

It’s no secret that the Roman’s had a taste for wine; fine ones at that. They are though to be associated with major wine outposts to this day, as well as the transport and cultivar of thousands of varietals, from Fer Servadou, all the way the Syrah. They are thought to have established plantings on the slate-bed hills of the Mosel river valley in nearly all of the various villages.

This was notably the easiest wine to drink in nearly any of their other outposts in Gaul and Pax Romana proper. In the wintertime, these wines were spiced, and heated in a kettle to be consumed similar to tea. Practices like this boosted morale and kept legions warm. This is supposedly where the middle-age practice of spiced wine comes from around the holidays. You often see this fare at the markets in early December.

The style of Riesling that the Mosel is known for generally is an off-dry honeyed wine of medium body. This has been traditional for centuries, because the cold weather would act to halt fermentation in the medieval cellars, thus ending the conversion of sugar to alcohol. Sometimes these wines would have low alcohol levels in a particularly cold year, leaving behind highly prized sweetness - which in a colder world was something to behold, today there’s a much greater trend towards dry wine.

The region is laid out in villages that span from Koblenz in the south near Luxembourg, to Trier which is in the state of Rhineland-Paletinate. These villages are referred to as Winzerdörfer colloquially - which etymologically harkens back to the elder eras of Germanic villages, where villages warranted communal cellars for vintners to store their harvest.

Though these wine towns had been chugging along producing wine since 1291 with the advent of the Bernkastel Winzerdörfer, Riesling didn’t make an appearance here until 1435. A nobleman by the name of Count Johann IV is credited with the first plantings of the gas-scented grape. Originally the grape was concentrated around the winemaking village of Rüsselsheim. Others followed suit, impressed by the exciting aromas of the grape, and eventually the region developed a local reputation for Riesling.

Unfortunately, the planet was a much colder, and harsher place, and Riesling always struggled, this made the grape noble in the minds of consumers, and prices were relatively high due to its difficulties with ripening. At the time, all the stops were taken to continue to produce these epic quality wines which satiated the likes of Germany’s noble running class. Early rudimentary dynamite was used to blast swaths of slate from the canyon, creating new bedrock terroir, prone to erosion, with coveted new southwest slopes. Some vineyards were made easier to work. This is another one of those human-tradition related aspects of the terroir here.

Later into the sixteen hundreds, at the height of powdered wigs and absolutist grandeur, The monastic tradition became amenable to communion wines of Riesling. The largest producer of Riesling was not necessarily serving noblemen, but nonetheless was ecclesiastically blasting away at the canyon-sides of the Saar, able to espouse an incredible 100,000 vines in 74 sites along the Mosel river valleys. The local municipalities regulated at this time that the Mosel river area was to be a Riesling-only refuge; one serving Both the noble and ecclesiastical classes nearly exclusively: thus sealing a four hundred year relationship with this noble grape.

The fame of the Mosel was just beginning; and it’s reputation for quality was bound to see its incredible wines ready for export. The eighteen hundreds were a burgeoning and exciting time for negociantes in France - Bordeaux had nearly exploded onto the world wine scene as the envy of all wine production; the latter years saw Fontanafredda’s victories over previously envied French vestiges in world wine symposiums, wine was exploding onto the world scene.

The Prussian empire, a precursor to the republic of latter years swept through the Rhineland and ignited fanatical patriotism among large swaths of northern Germany; now collectively a united empire. The Mosel had the resources and backing of a state to begin its export of its world famous wines. A string of smashing vintages in the 1820’s made their way across the channel for practically the first time, and British royalty coveted these tantalizingly sweet Rieslings from the Moselle.

Prime minister at the time, William Gladstone, opted not to collect import duty on these wines. This decision combined with the decision by the Prussian government to begin masse exporting at low tariff rates, meant that British and American consumers, could now enjoy these wines at low prices that were far more acceptable to the masses. This was no longer just a noble grape. A series of terrible freezes leading to molds and, of course the scourge of phylloxera, during the eighteen forties and fifties, would sour this once lucrative prospect.

Vintners began to turn extensively toward hybrid grapes, and those which were far more sustainable and amenable to Germany’s extreme cold. The far more weather resistant, and grower-friendly Müller-Thurgau plantings began to become an attractive offering by the cuttings industry, which thrived in ports like Vienna and Frankfurt as older vines were eaten away at by the dreaded louse. Gone were the days of blasting away at the canyon for desirable southern aspects, as growers began to welcome a new paradigm of easy to grow fruit, with less complexity - realistically, this was more of a fight for the survival of wineries, as many did not make it across Europe.

The region is famous for its aforementioned porous slate soils. A lot of vineyards are totally concentrated with this all encompassing terroir. The slate in the finest vineyards with the highest reputations are often ubiquitous - that is, found down to bedrock. Below these slates in other vineyards can be found iron-rich clays, and limestones adrift below the shattered slate topsoils.

There is a bit of a disconnect between growers today in regards to the various types of slate. Blue slate is the traditional calcium-dense slate commonly associated with fine wine production but on some of the banks uniquely surrounding the Ruwer have red slate, which is dense in iron oxide and creates wines that are slightly more honeyed and less striking than their blue slate counterparts. Which is the best you can decide, because frankly, the region is not known for sour quality in any regard.

Included in the region are various towns and auspices; formerly referred to as the aforementioned Winzerdörfers, now just subdivided into segmentologies of varying terroir. Though now just referred to as the Mosel region, at one point, prior to 2007, the region went by Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, which more broadly mentioned the tributaries which shoot off into some of the well regarded Winzerdörfers not directly adjacent to the Mosel. Today, it is apply subdivided into the Upper Mosel, Mittelmosel, and Lower Mosel and the six distinct districts, or Bereich, between the further encompassing masses.

The largest problem the region faces is obviously the same one every region predominated by step angles faces: erosion. This is further annunciated by the fact that centuries of blasting away at the bedrock means that every week some poor vintner is carrying his vines, soils or slates back up the hill. This is relatively common practice even in some of the more astute vineyards located here. The erosion can often be countered by planting bumper crops to try and hold ground - but these soils are almost entirely slate in some areas, which is slippery and infertile, so this is often not an option for some growers. It also means all vineyard work must be done by hand totally. There are essentially no tractors or harvesters to be found.

The Upper Mosel is concentrated around the city of Trier to the far north. This is prime vineyard space, and growers have far more of an opportunity to really create more quantity on the predominantly red slate soils, which are in term easier to work and less vigorous. The Saar and Ruwer tributaries meet in this area, creating a diverse plethora of various terroirs and aspects to choose from.

The most famous villages, Bernkastel and Piespoort are located in the zone known as the Mittelmosel: an area synonymous with the highest of reputations. This sub-region starts in the town of Zell and continues along the path of the Mosel to Schweich. Most to the famous landholders in the Mosel have plots of coveted parcels here, including some of the Sundial parcels which are located outside of the town of Bernkastel and are famous for their heat and all-day sunlight.

If you're looking for an example of a fine wine from the Mosel, JJ Prüm is a classic producer of quince and honey scented Rieslings. This producer is known not for strength and brute force, or budy and structure, for definitive nuance, with a solid core of minerality. The best of vintages were practically designed for aging. You can expect a keen structiure with focus on lanolin-like aromas, some stewed quince and kiwi, as well as ripe meyer lemon. These flavors subside to slate like minerality and heavy crushed rock flavors. There is a bite of white pepper, honey and achamomile wihch becomes immediatly apparent. These wines really are something special.

The Lower Mosel runs from Koblenz in the far southwest, near Luxembourg to the town of Alf. It is actually notably home to the world’s steepest vineyard known Calmont in the river’s hairpin turn surrounding the town Bremm. This angle of approach is a whopping sixty-five degree gradient of full southern exposures and is an envy of vintners across the Mosel.

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Burg-Cochem is also called the Terrasenmosel, and is located near the village of Treis-Karden. The reason: the terraces build along the ridges of the riverbank to grow the grapes. these make this area less dangerous and provide even ripening. It consists of terroir of Devonian soils, mostly comprised of red and blue varying slate. Wines from here, while not necessarily coveted as reflected by their prices, are uniquely structured with gleans of orange citrus fruit and further herbaceousness. Growers here don’t take to erosion well, and the steep slopes lead this area to be fully ensconced in terraces, hence the name, terrasenmosel.

With increased angles comes challenging vineyards to work. Producer Knebel is a staple of this region producing lovely and afforable wines of notable distinction. They are stuning wines which are known for their light texturess and free-flowing acidity with principled mineralic stricture consisting of iron and flavors of calcium, and wet slate. Slight earthiness of button mushroom and damp cavern can be tasted but not before the yellow pear primary characters and those of ripe lemon. These wines are really sing on the palette. Plenty of styles are availible, but I like the dry wines the best.

Distrikt Bernkastel is the most famous of the major viticultural areas and is home to the regions most prized vineyards. Doctorberg is the vineyard at the helm of this regions fame, but the Sundial vineyards: Brauneberg Juffer-Sonnenuhr, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr; are notable as well because of their ability to produce lusciously sweet and creamy rieslings from their all-day sun exposures. Sun dials were placed in these vineyards to allow vineyard workers to see the time of day doing work hours. Though these vineyards are exclusive, they have many owners and are divided amongst the luckiest landholders with historical claim. Some vintners own only one or two vines.

Erden is a township in Bernkastel which is well-regarded for power, and its notable vineyards. The blue Devonian slate soils lead into a causeway of teutonic palatability displayed by its wines of incredible distinction as noted by the Grosse Lage vineyard of Erdener Treppen which is covered by this prose slate and represents one of the finest wines in all of the Mosel. These wines are brute force rieslings, not delicate and supple.

Brauenberg is located halfway between Piesport and Bernkastel, but is included in the Bernkastel Bereich. Wines from this town are highly regarded for its brown iron rich baked soils with add a smokiness to its riesling. The most famous vineyard here is the Juffer vineyard which is only roughly thirty hectares, but the slate here is prized for its dark color. The wines carry their deep rich gold, and succulent apricot flavors which float upon a ripe bit of acidity and creamy tannin. The structure despite the luscious body is extremely Mosel-like.

Graach is another included village here in this expensive postal code. These soils are a Devonian grey clay which yields wines of incredible propensity for age. This tiny appellation is an expensive plot which is home to more acetic rieslings of intense minerality wrought on by the plethora of low-fertility well-draining slate soils. The Graacher Domprobst vineyard is famous for its intense chalkiness and white peach charater while wines still seem to retain that supple richness associated with fine Mosel riesling.

Piespoort is just town the north, and is a powerhouse wine producing village that leaves nothing to be desired from its coveted Riesling. These banks re the steepest in the Rhine. The ton produces the best balance. Though there is all day sunlight, the added altitude leads to winds and slight diurnal shift with cools the grapes down in the late afternoon, when other sites are busy ripening. This leads to a glistening minerality and freshness unique to here. This may also lead to the lavender and Lilly floral aromatics that one is bound to notice in wines from Piespoort.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen is a vineyard which captures the spirit of this town. The beauty of these Rieslings is notwithstanding. Soils here are a well draining iron-red slate and quartzite marl. One will notice that these are some of the ore aromatic of all selections, though they still give ample honey and chamomile. Chalk and slate are detectable as well. Confusingly, Piesporter Michelsberg is a disassociated town of similar namesake which produces inferior wine of Müller-Thurgau.

Distrikt Ruwertal, or the Ruwewr, as it is colloquially referred, is located just east of Treir. It is full of single vineyard producers, and some fabulous monopole producers. This area offers some of the best value right now for Mosel wines, but as with any wine region it;’s important to pick your producer wisely. This region suffers from vintage variation a bit more than some others due to its lack of height, it’s highly susceptible to cold temperatures and a bit more striking acidity than usually expected, though minerality here is prized above all else.

Distrikt Saar also is a fine region to check for quality wines. Any given vintage can produce some striking dry wines, but more often than not this is not the appellation to seek out sweet wines from. There are some incredible producers making wine in this district and a revamp is in full swing. Here they are less susceptible to vintage variation and have some nice southwestern aspects that make for full-bodied and delightful Spätlese Riesling.

Distrikt Obermosel is a thin runway which boarders nearby Luxembourg. Auxerois blanc, and Müller-thurgau are the majority plantings which placate the vineyards here. This is more of a quantity-producing region these days, but shows some future promise in all seriousness. There is currently a revamp underway, and this warming region of iron-rich Devonian slate could soon see more plantings of Riesling.

Distrikt Moseltor is the southernmost wine producing area of the Mosel wine region. Most of the wines here are an unfortunate sparking offering made from Elbling, which is highly resistant to the cold. Elevations are higher, and things are a bit colder here so producers have over the centuries opened to discontinue the production of higher end wines in this Bereich, which, while unfortunate is beginning to look more like a reversal as the world’s climate continues to heat. Who knows, maybe we will see the impossible made possible here once again.

That's all,

~K