13.6.2022

Mythos Mosel 2022

After two long years of waiting there was a lot of Riesling to be tasted between Detzem and Wintrich. A (somewhat longer) Riesling travel report.

After two long years of abstinence we are finally back at Mythos Mosel. After the last round in 2019 covered the section furthest down the river, this year we are on the road between Detzem and Wintrich. Whereby this is only geographically correct. If you go by the buses it is not Detzem but Klüsserath which is the outermost station. We definitely are hyped and the weather promises to be perfect. So perfect that we catch a thick sunburn on the very first day. Despite the perfect conditions we feel the corona effects. On the one hand, we have really little desire for relatively packed tasting rooms inside (big thanks goes out to all the winemakers who simply moved everything outside) and on the other hand, we have the feeling that especially on Saturday was actually measured by the weather quite little going on. However, that may just be our own sampling. We’ve also often heard that Saturday was super busy and the buses didn’t stop because of overcrowding.

The lack of interest in some tasting rooms, however, brings me directly to the next important point. It is impossible to taste everything even with perfect planning. It’s probably just as impossible to visit every station in the first place. And since this is still a vacation we didn’t even try to make a perfect plan. Our plan is first day left of Trittenheim, second day right of Trittenheim. And otherwise look when the bus arrives and where it is nice. That means in reverse that many stations or also wines simply do not appear here. This is not because they were not good. It can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes we drink our way through the whole collection, sometimes there is only one wine and hunger strikes. But I also do not write about wines or collections that do not appeal to us. I don’t see the benefit in that and I insinuate that the small tasting sip of the wine does not do it justice in these cases.

We chose Trittenheim as the center because it is somehow in the middle and because we sleep there at the winery Christoph Clüsserath. A very place to sleep at by the way with super breakfast and I can fully recommend it for any vacation at the Mosel. You just have to be careful that you get the right Clüsserath. Its the name of basically everyone here. Like, really, everyone.

But enough of the introduction. Let’s start with day 1. The first bus has somehow not read the timetable or so and arrives late. We learn and plan to start the second day directly in Trittenheim somewhere. But now it goes first to Leiwen-Zummethöhe. I hear someone saying in the bus that there is no vintner there. Sure, who does not know them, the bus stops at Mythos Mosel without winemakers. But we have read the plan and are looking forward to a great view of the Mosel and Trittenheim (see cover picture) as well as Loersch and guests.

We also start at Loersch. Apotheke GG 2020 has much structure, is slightly yeasty, fruit restrained, acidity relaxed. Dhroner Riesling Feinherb 2021 is much yeastier, much more acidity, nice fruit, much too young. This is then also clearly noticeable in the Apotheke Feinherb 2019. The 2 years more maturity are beneficial, the fruit here very nice and a lot of stone with it. Finally, 2021 Alte Reben Spätlese: Here again clearly yeasty, stark acidity but beautiful fruit. Thanks to the acidity, it somehow seems almost drier than the feinherb wines. Good start.

Next at Max Ferd. Richter. Domprobst Alte Reben 2020 has a bit of nail polish remover, citrus, grapefruit with white stuff, which means nice bitter notes and lots of spice. With the Helenenkloster Feinherb 2021, the acidity is once again banging. That will be the case more often this weekend. The fruit makes up for it, though, lots of green apple and stone. Elisenberger Kabinett 2021 is darker in fruit, has punch, lots of stone fruit and great minerality as well. Brauneberger Juffer Kabi 2021 has lots of pear, a great draw and then lingers minerally on the tongue. This is a lot of fun.

Then Dr. Hermann with the Würzgarten GG 2020. Glue, rather dark, interesting structure that can’t really be put into words with the one small glass. Very exciting, but needs more than just the tasting sip. 2021 Treppchen Kabi -6- still has significant yeast, is crisp and also hard for me to grab right now. But I think that it will be good. 2021 Würzgarten Kabi has lots of pit fruit, rather yellow fruit and seems a bit more open than the Treppchen right now. I like the acidity here. 2021 Herzlei Spätlese is very dense, lots of fruit and lots of stone, salty, melty and seems far less sweet than it probably is. It’s pretty darn good.

Would have liked to stay here longer, but it was busy and setting up the Kabi tasting in the middle of the aisle was somehow not optimal either. There would have been such nice places on the terrace. So off to the bus stop, enjoy the view again and then off to Klüsserath.

Here waits for us certainly the most beautiful building of these days (see picture a little further up). Especially on the upper floor with the open walls, a light wind and a lot of shade through the open wooden facade. It is really beautiful here. We start with Regnery. 2021 Bruderschaft Alte Reben is super fruity and the nose and then the acidity pops in quite a bit. It’s kind of a bit difficult right now, but should catch up with time and then be a lot of fun. The Blanc de Noir 2021 is already fun. And I actually do not like BdN so much. It’s spicy, herbal, has great fruit, nice structure and lots of freshness.

At Frank Brohl there is the first Petnat of the weekend for us. Here from Cabernet Blanc. It smells a bit like swimming pool, freshly mowed meadow and green peppers. We heard people complaining about that later, but we think it’s great. In addition, there is passion fruit and anyway everything relatively wild. Summer bubbles simply, not big or deep or super complex. But the perfect refreshment in between. The Riesling from the winery has a super hard time against it right now. Therefore, on to the next PiWi.

This one comes from Stephan Steinmetz and it’s not that long since we had it on the blog. The Unkultiviert also smells a bit green, gooseberry, cassis and spice. For me even a little too green just now. The better half is thrilled though. In contrast, I like the Elbling very much. Relatively low in fruit, some pome fruit, a bit vegetal and with great juiciness. The Auxerrois struggles a bit in comparison, as it has noticeably less acidity. There’s honeydew melon and something floral. Quieter than the other wines here, but nice. And then, of course, Stephan Steinmetz still makes great sparkling wines. Crémant Blanc and RosaRot are fun as usual and you should always have that in the cellar at home.

We then ate delicious grilled cheese and game goulash at Schlossgut Liebig, but didn’t really drink anything except for a glass of Crémant from Alice Hartmann, and then boarded the bus to Thörnich because the time was getting late.

Petershof is a nice discovery. The Oberemmel Altenberg Kabi 2021 is a light stinker, yeasty but with great fruit and lots of juiciness. The 2020 Krettnach Altenberg has great spice, lots of stone, is also super juicy with slightly less crisp acidity. Really good and not expensive at all.

Château Pauqué Kandirella 2020 is a Pinot Blanc from the wood barrel, second exposure. Super creamy, very fine wood, some smoke and we like the structure. The Clos de Paradis, an Auxerrois from new wood has even more structure. Still needs a bit of time though. Also, big fan of the Botrytis 2017, which had lots of dried fruit, plums and intensity.

The 2020 GGs from C.H. Berres had great stone, structure and all, but somehow too young. I’m sure they’ll be really good, though. Another wine that suffers from too little time spent with it today. The 2021 Erdener Treppchen is already a lot of fun, though, with powerful, somewhat darker acidity that seems more mature than many others.

The Pauly Weissburgunder Reserve 2019 also still needs time. That’s where the one sip isn’t really enough, either. Apricot pits, marzipan, wood, structure. Young, but good. Niederberg Helden 2020 GG has lots of spice on the palate, ripe acidity, mango, some subtle passion fruit and a few apple cores. Really good.

The better half also really likes the Ludwig Sauvignon Blanc. Red currant with the green bits is there and I think that’s pretty okay too.

Jakoby is then also really good. The Riesling Petnat, like all the Petnats this weekend, is perfect for in-between. Nice draw, funky, lots of yeast and super cloudy. The 2019 Sonnenuhr (no idea which one, missed asking and yes there are a lot of Sonnenuhr vineyards around here) has great ripe acidity, is super long and the fruit is pleasing too. And also the Sonnenuhr Kabinett (surely the same Sonnenuhr) is good but way too young. We then also quite like the Pinot Noir from 2018. Great cherry, nice structure and fine, crumbly tannin. A bit too much chatting with the winemaker here ruined the schedule.

At Ludes we have Ritsch Kabinett from 2021 and from 2017. Both feinherb and it becomes clear that the wines should then be given some time after all. 2021 screams quite loudly “I’m too young” from the glass and with 2017 it comes together superbly. The acidity is perfectly integrated, the fruit is great and generally this is very round.

We then make it to Leiwen, but it’s already almost 6 pm. Hofgut Falkenstein we would have liked to try, but was empty already. And at Schmitges, Selbach-Oster and Carl Loewen there was then the quick run through without notes. But they all make good Riesling.

On day 2 we have only Piesport and Trittenheim planned and that will turn out pretty well in the end. The bus to Piesport comes just as we run to the bus stop. Perfect timing, so off to Piesport. We start at Karl Erbes. The 2021 Erdener Treppchen Kabinett still seems rather closed, fine fruit, pome fruit, herbs, relatively fine acidity. The 2021 Erdener Treppchen Spätlese is super juicy, apple, quince, pear, very clear, even more pear, this is really good. The Spätlese from the Erdener Prälat 2021, on the other hand, seems much stonier, darker in fruit, more intense, somewhat yeasty and with crisper acidity. That still needs time, but is also now already great. And the 2016 Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese is then just a bit unfair. Very fine ripeness, beautiful, very clear fruit, juicy, mineral, perfect balance of acidity and sweetness, creamy, some butter, mirabelle on scones. This is awesome.

We then decide against the bus (honestly I don’t even know if one would have driven there, but I think so). The walk over the bridge, past two goats and along the Moselle towards Lehnert-Veith was a good decision. As I said before, in the end it’s mainly a vacation and you can’t be rushed.

At Franzen it starts with Der Sommer war sehr groß (the summer was very big), even if that may not quite fit for 2021. The wine has stone fruit, a fine bitter note, is fresh and unobtrusive. The Riesling from the Bremmer Calmont 2020 is of a different caliber. Grapefruit and stone. Very good. The Neefer Frauenberg GG 2020 goes even further. It’s still closed, but super dense, lots of spice, but somehow also hard to grab. The 2019 Fachkaul after that is even denser, lots of herbs, hardly any fruit, great, ripe acidity and extreme length. Great.

At Materne and Schmitt, it quietly calls Natural from the glass of the Lehmener Ausoniusstein 2018. There’s apple skin, magnesium sticks, stone fruit, slightly muddy, lots of stone, funky, pretty cool. Then very special is the Potion 1366 from 2017. The Riesling here was in acacia barrels for 2 years and was aged like red wine. This has ultra amounts of smoke, especially on the tongue, dark fruit, slightly oxidative notes, super exciting but also super different.

Then a gap in the Pinot tasting opens up and we plunge into the wines without a real plan. We tasted a lot, did not always take notes. Also there did not seem to be a list. At least we didn’t find one. We liked the Pinots from Lehnert-Veit themselves through the bank. The Goldtröpfchen 2017 has lots of reduction, fruit, density and lots of length. Super young, but that will be superb one day. That this is the case indeed, could be easily tried on the more mature wines from large bottles. Günterslay 2016 Magnum. Quite great fruit, super nicely matured tannin, cherry, some smoke, lots of freshness. Another step above was the 2013 Private Reserve from the 3 liter bottle. Really good, but it’s not on the wine list, so enjoy and be happy. The guest was the Domaine Thiriet from Burgundy. The Volnay 2019 Les Grands Champs has great fruit, is cool, pithy and super long but also super young. Then much denser was the wine from the Côte de Nuits. I think it was the Aux Montagnes, but I didn’t take a picture or write it down. My bad. Dried fruit, noticeably denser but still super elegant. Great wine. The whites were nice too.

After so much red, the laser acidity from the Saar helps. The Sonnenberg Kabi 2021 from Müller definitely pops. The trick then is to keep it from being unpleasant, and that worked out great here. A minimal green note gives bite, there’s green apple, gooseberry and great length. In the Euchariusberg Spätlese 2021, on the other hand, sugar and acidity are still fighting a bit. It still needs time. But the collection is really good once again.

We return as we came, directly on the Moselle, back in the direction of Später-Veit. There the wines of Fio are waiting for us. We start with the PiuPiu Petnat, which is not on the list, but that does not matter. Petnat is always good. Especially when it is so well made. The CabiSehrNett is a real stinker, has a lot of structure and a nice balance. But it is a bit special. Much less special than might be expected is the Glouglou an orange wine made from Müller-Thurgau and Weissburgunder with about 10 days of maceration. This is orange, but in smooth and clean. Great. The 2014 Fio Riesling then clearly shows that wine doesn’t need sulfur to age great and can still be super stable. And since we’re here, we also try the White Port 10 Years. Dried fruit, intense, great length, vanilla, caramel, structure. We have to buy it. And finally, a 1997 Coalheita. That is simply amazing.

The Chardonnay Brut Natur from Später-Veit is full of umami. Intense and special, but good. So is the Goldtröpfchen Grand Reserve 2016. Dense, clearly woody, spice, you can chew on it. I like it very much.

We would have liked to try more here, but hunger needs to be taken care of. And unfortunately, the food took forever to arrive. For us, this means directly back to Trittenheim. Final spurt.

The courtyard at Ansgar Clüsserath is more of an oven than a courtyard. It feels like a thousand degrees under the umbrellas and no wind. So you have to be strong and get some refreshment in the form of Petnat. Yes, it’s great that there’s so much of that here. The Petnat Pinot from Lubentiushof is a tart stinker with a lot of structure and unfortunately also too warm. But we still like it. Just like the Tun und Lassen Riesling 2019. This also has a little stinker, some mango, tuttifrutti mix but no sweetness. Super long and gets more intense with air even at the tasting sip. The 2017 Gäns Alte Reben then picks us up completely. Grapefruit, stone, orangina, great acidity and just ultra long. The 2018 Uhlen Alte Reben then rounds everything out. Dark minerality, lots of spice, lots of stone, super dense and sparse fruit. The tasting sip doesn’t do the wine justice. Great collection.

At Adamy the bett half celebrates the Sauvignon Blanc and I spurn it. It’s too green for me right now. The Rieslings, on the other hand, I really like. They all seem super young, but especially 2021 Ürziger Würzgarten Alte Reben with lots of spice, herbs and core and 2021 Erdener Treppchen Kabinett with lots of pear, clear fruit and a super fresh acidity are good.

I really like the wines of Ansgar Clüsserath, but I always find them pretty straight young anyway, and 2021 makes that even more stark. The 2021 Apotheke Kabinett is indeed a bit brutal in its acidity. But we drank a 16 Spätlese last week to set the mood and it just ages so beautifully. Buy it and put it away. You will be rewarded.

A highlight stop is the combination of chocolate and wine at Eifel-Pfeiffer. Riesling and chocolate works amazingly well. Since I typed digitally this year and that is difficult with chocolate in and on the fingers I lack more detailled notes. The combination for long-term memory was Wehlener Sonnenuhr and chocolate with chili. Really cool stuff.

For the conclusion we moved on to the homebase at Christoph Clüsserath. The collection from Heymann-Löwenstein is not from 2021 but impressively good. Schieferterassen 2020 has something of tea, dark minerality and lots of stone. Röttgen 2020 is even more of all that. The minerality is so beautiful. And then the 2019 Uhlen L with cassis, lots of stone and super sparse fruit but so intense. Don’t know what else to say other than very good.

At Christoph Clüsserath, we like the fruit in the 2020 Trittenheimer Apotheke. The wine has grip, is fresh, has a lot of spice and is on top of that quite cheap. The 2021 Schweicher Annaberg is even more intense in fruit, lots of apple, a bit floral, almost a bit perfumed, but not unpleasant. We also like it very much.

And towards the end, another real discovery awaits. The whole collection from Christoph Eifel is super fun. The 2021 Trittenheimer Apotheke Kabi Feinherb is herbal, has eucalyptus, is quite ethereal overall. The freshness is great and so is the aromatics. The 2021 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Kabi has almost more herbs, some ginger ale and pit fruit. It’s so juicy and balanced. Really good. Actually, the whole collection has this herbaceousness on the nose. As I said, real discovery.

But it’s 6pm now and that’s it for 2022. 2023 awaits now.

One more little conclusion perhaps. 2021 can have some killer acidity. It can be really good. But it can also be pretty green and then it’s not for us. When it’s good, though, it’s often really good. Also, the plan of sleeping somewhere in the middle and doing one half on one day and the other on the next is good. You still don’t make it to every station. But that doesn’t matter either. Trying new things is also great as always and you should really try to test as many new wineries as you can fit. In this spirit, until next time.

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