The wines featured in this offering are from two historic producers in the prestigious Mosel River Valley. Vineyard sites here line the winding Mosel River which flows from the Vosges Mountains in France into the Rhine. Along its banks are some of the most impossibly-steep vineyard plantings in the world. The vines grow in soil made up of various shades of Devonian Slate that give Mosel Riesling its bracing acidity and distinct minerality. With each bend of the river, vines appear on whichever bank optimizes the opportunity to harness sunlight and ripen these grapes which sit among some the most northern vineyards in the world. Mosel Riesling are intensely aromatic and offer ranges of citrus, yellow fruit, peaches, and even pineapple, alongside beautiful floral notes, stony minerality, and vibrant acidity. The three vineyard sites represented in this offering—Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, & Graacher Himmelreich—represent almost a continuous block of vineyard on the north side of the Mosel River running a kilometers North to South from the town of Zeltingen to the town of Graach.

The Prädikat System and Sweetness
Riesling is ‘graded’ on a scale known as the Prädikatswein. While it is assumed that these markers indicate the sweetness of an individual wine, there is remarkable variety within each level. The level is determined by the sweetness or ripeness of the grape juice at harvest/pressing. However, the ultimate sweetness of the wine is determined by fermentation. A producer can ferment these wines fully dry (trocken), or stop fermentation early leaving varying degrees of residual sugar. In practice, residual sugar levels will rise with each level of the Prädikat scale and it can be a useful starting point. That said, you will often find Kabinett wines that are sweeter than their Spätlese counterparts. From my perspective, the important thing is to not think of Riesling at the Kabinett or Spätlese levels as ‘sweet wines’. These are dry to off-dry wines that can be paired with food ranging from salads, to spicy Asian cuisines, to steak and sushi!

The Prädikat Scale (driest to sweetest)
Kabinett – Spätlese – Auslese – Beerenauslese – Trockenbeerenauslese – Eiswein

ABOUT THE VINEYARDS

Zeltinger Sonnenuhr / Wehlener Sonnenuhr
Sonnenuhr means ‘sundial’ in German, and represents the old sundial carved into the hillside that was originally used for vineyard workers to know when the workday was complete. Both the vineyards of Zeltinger and Wehlener feature these beautiful features which were erected in the 19th Century by the Prüm family. Both of these vineyards feature steep grades of nearly 80% at places and vines as old as 80 years. Both face Southwest, allowing the sun to ripen the grapes beautifully. However, Zeltinger Sonenuhr vineyards tend have less top soil before the roots dive into the slate rock. This tends to produce lower yields and more concentrated grapes, and also forces the vines to go deeper for water, leading to more flinty minerality. On the other hand, the wines of Wehlener Sonnenuhr are often a bit more expressive and elegant while still possessing the fine minerality. Wehlener Sonnenuhr wines are fabulous with a bit of extra age.

Graacher Himmelreich
On the southern border of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard, these wines thrive in hot years (like 2022). They possess more citrus aromas than WS, and often have a racy acidity and crushed-rock minerality. These wines can be mouth-watering in their youth.

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS

J.J. PRÜM
One of the most important estates in Germany, J.J. Prüm was officially founded in 1911. They make exclusively white wines and from prestigious vineyards in the Mosel. Today, the estate is owned by Dr. Manfred Prüm and his daughter Dr. Katharina Prüm who is also the winemaker. Their wines are renowned for their longevity, acidity, and classic flavor profiles.

MAX FERD. RICHTER
Founded in 1680, the estate now produces wines from sites all along the Mosel river. Today, the estate is managed an operated by the nine generation of the family, with a tenth generation working alongside. Vines here average 40 years of age and are examples of the best ‘bang-for-the-buck’ fine Rieslings in the world.