'as clear as a mountain stream, as sharp as a Japanese sword'
The exceptionally scenic meanders of the central Mosel River are overlooked by some of Germany's most famous vineyard sites; they are also home to one of the country's most celebrated modern growers. Markus Molitor has built a small family holding of vines into 40 hectares across prime vineyards, from which he makes Riesling of the very highest order.
The motto here is 'perfection in the vineyard, selection in the cellar'. Markus likes to say that Riesling should be 'as clear as a mountain stream, as sharp as a Japanese sword'. The language may be poetic, but vintage in, vintage out, his wines are transparent expressions of site that thrum with energy. And these are top sites: Urziger Wurzgarten has steep red-soil slopes, and is famous for the spicy quality in its wines. In the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, 80 year-old ungrafted vines struggle through thin soils and make tense, dramatic wines.
The extreme attention to detail that Markus demands means he needs to employ many more vineyard and cellar workers than his neighbours. Given this approach to quality, it's hard to imagine a bad year here - but the 2020s have the extra benefit of a very fine vintage. With over 50 releases every year, it can be hard to find your way through the plethora of Molitor wines, but there are some clues. Capsules are colour-coded to describe sweetness: white (dry), slate green (feinherb a.k.a. off-dry) and gold (sweet). The Ausleses are starred on an ascending scale of 1-3 to denote finesse, with the tension in the wine becoming tighter as you move up the scale. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold; available Winter 2022
