Wine regions is a weekly discussion of wine, focussing on an individual growing area.
Today we focus on Germany's Mosel, formerly known as Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, named after the river that runs through the vineyards and its two tributaries.
The Mosel makes some of the best and most underrated white wines in the world. More, after the fold.
The dramatic vineyards of Mosel are in Western Germany near the border of France and Luxembourg. The vineyards are on the steep slopes next to the Mosel River and produce mainly white wines. The most planted varietal is Riesling and the best wines are made with this grape.
Mosel slopes from wikipedia
The key to understanding Mosel wines, and German wines in general, is the cool climate. Average summer highs rarely pass 65F, so ripeness is of paramount importance. South and southwestern facing vineyards sit right next to the river, which reflects the warmth of the sun onto the grapes. In Germany, ripeness means quality, that is why many of the wines are overtly fruity or sweet. Not all wines are sweet though, and knowing which words to look for on the complex label can help determine the style of wine.
Kabinett: This is generally a drier style of wine, is light in body and low alcohol. The grapes have not fully ripened.
Trocken: literally means dry, but unlike Kabinett, these wines are usually fully ripened and fermented dry. Troken wine is usually full bodied and complex, but some can be thin and disappointing. Often buried on the label is a vineyard designation like Wehlener Sonnenuhr. Usually, vineyard designated wines are high quality.
Spatlese: This is the lowest designation of grapes that are fully ripened. These wines are full bodied and generally sweet but retain a nice acidity.
Auslese: A late harvest wine, the grapes are picked after the Spaatlese grapes. Often only made during exceptional vintages, these wines are usually sweet, intense and very complex. Auslese grapes are sometimes fermented dry, and will be labelled Auslese trocken.
Eiswein: Exteremely late harvested, as a matter of fact, the grapes are harvested frozen, rushed to the winery, and crushed when still frozen. This has the effect of concentrating the flavor, and makes a very complex and expensive dessert wine.
Trockenbeerenauslese: Made from Boytritized grapes (see diary on Sauternes) TBA is extremely intense dessert wine. From The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia:
The texture is very viscous and its liquerlike consistency is just one of many reasons why it is impossible to drink TBA. Taking a good mouthful of TBA is about as as easy as swigging cough syrup-one can merely sip it. Its intensity and complexity, and the profundity of its aromas and flavors must be experienced.
Dry is a relative term when it comes to Mosel Riesling. The driest kabinetts can be bone dry, but feel thin and unsatisfying. It's just acidity and very little fruit. It is the Mosel trocken wine that truly satisfies, with plenty of acidity matched by lush flavors of green apple, pear, peach, and honeysuckle. The fresh and lively aromas just leap out of the glass, inviting you to gulp this stuff down. Be carefull though, the alcohol can sneak up on you. This is summertime wine, served well chilled it goes great by the pool (or in my case, the plastic baby pool).
There are six districts within Mosel, of which, three deserve special attention. Bernkastel also known as Mittelmosel contains some of Mosels most prestigious vineyards, the most famous being the Docterberg. Again from The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia:
The story is that Boemund II, Archbishop of Trier in the 14th century, was so ill that his doctors could do nothing for him. A winegrower from Bernkastel reccomended the restorative powers of the wine from his vineyard. Noemund drank some, made a miraculous recovery, and declared "The best doctor grows in this vineyard in Bernkastel."
The vineyards in this area are some of the steepest in Mosel and covered in slate, which adds a mineral, almost smoky quality, to the wine. Other vineyards to look for in Bernkastel are the sundial vineyards such as Wehlener Sonnenuhr and Juffer Sonnenuhr.
The Saar district lies along the banks of the Saar river, which feeds the Mosel. This is much cooler than Bernkastel and the minerality comes to the fore. This is often labelled as steely, and the best wines from this district often have an overt Granny Smith quality.
The Ruwer river is another tributary of the Mosel. In cool vintages, the wines are quite acidic, but when the weather is warm, Ruwer wines are light, delicate, perfumy, and irresistable.
One more note about Riesling, it does not go well with new oak, making it more or less the anti-chardonnay. If you can get over the hump with respect to the sweetness of Mosel Riesling, it is a very rewarding wine to drink. The depth-of-flavor and complexity is astounding. Hints of crazy flavors dance on the palate: gun powder, petrol, honey, flint, quince, kumquat, every variety of green apple. If you can't get over the sweetness, try the Rieslings from Alsace, dry and full bodied with all of the complexity.
riesling grapes from wikipedia
One more quote about Riesling, from Oz Clarke's Encyclopedia of Grapes:
I wonder what it feels like being the wine experts' favourite grape, yet failing to excite the palates of the vast majortiy of wine drinkers across the world? Does it feel as though you're the class swot cooed over by teacher for your straight 'A's in all your exams, yet when it comes to breaktime you're left shunned and alone at the edge of the playground as your more raucous colleagues cavort and shout and delight in each other's company? It's no good that teacher comes by and tells you not ot cry, that your time will come-because right now, no-one will play with you, however much you try to please them.