WEINGUT ERNST CLÜSSERATH (Mosel, Germany)

This acclaimed estate, on the severely steep slopes of the Mosel, was founded in 1956. Ernst Clüsserath, Jr. and his wife Heike have kept it family-owned since. It consists of 3.7 hectares of Riesling vines, ranging from twenty to forty years of age, split between the Trittenheim Apotheke and Altchen sites. With the exception of some rented neighboring rows in 2008, they have remained estate-grown to ensure healthy, complex fruit. The roots dig deep into weathered slate soils and produce naturally low yields. Ernst insists on vine health and management for intense concentration. Wild herbs grow between the rows to invite insect life. Pruning is a daily, meticulous and necessary task, leaving only eight buds on one remaining shoot. Further green harvesting is done if the harvest is still too productive. He harvests when nature claims the grapes are ready, tasting for aromas he will preserve in the wine. He allows only natural yeasts in the fermentation. The wines remain on the lees for three to four months. There is never malolactic fermentation allowed, as he wishes the wine to ‘dance on the palate.’ He aims for the perfect terroir of Trittenheim: low alcohol, fresh with acidity and layered with the minerals of the stones. Ernst and Heike are simply and naturally continuing the magnificent heritage of these magical slopes.

Riesling, ‘Mosel St.,’ Mosel
Download Tech Sheet

100% Riesling
Grapes are hand harvested from 15-25 year old vines grown in weathered, slatey soils, which lend a refined, delicate mineral flavor to the finished product. Vines here receive southeastern exposure to the sun, which, along with the climate and the soil, provides great potential for excellent Riesling. Grapes are handled very carefully after harvest and are pressed immediately after picking. Fermentation begins in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks using natural yeasts and lasts about 8 weeks, after which the wine remains on the lees until being bottled in mid-march. A minimal amount of SO2 is added.
20 g/L residual sugar
5.8 g/L acidity

Riesling, Kabinett feinherb, Trittenheimer Altarchen, ‘Emma Marie,’ QmP, 2011
Download Tech Sheet

Grapes are hand-picked from 30 year old vines which grow on the weathered, slatey Trittenheimer Altarchen slopes, and are moved to the cellar to begin fermentation with naturally occurring yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, lasting about 8 weeks. Malo-lactic fermentation is not completed, and the left on the lees until bottling in mid-March. Weather conditions during the summer of 2011 allowed these grapes to reach a spectacular level of ripeness, leaving us a fresh, delicate wine with fine fruit and a mineral-laden backbone.
20.5 g/L residual sugar
6.3 g/L acidity

Riesling, Spätlese trocken, Trittenheimer Apotheke, QmP, 2011
Download Tech Sheet

Grapes are hand-picked in late October from 35-40 year old vines grown on the slatey Trittenheimer Apotheke slopes. Fermentation begins using naturally occurring yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, lasting about 8 weeks. The wine undergoes no malolactic fermentation, but is left to age on the lees until it is bottled in mid-March. This wine is fresh with fine fruit and a delicate, mineral flavor.
7.8 g/L residual sugar
5.8 g/L acidity