Mythos Mosel 2026 - Day 1

That after a two-year break we end up, of all places, back in the section around Bernkastel-Kues isn’t exactly great timing. Of 5 visits to Mythos Mosel, three fall in this section. This time, though, we change base and stay not in Brauneberg as on the two previous occasions, but right at the end of the route in Zeltingen-Rachtig. In Rachtig, really, and since there’s no bus stop there, every morning starts with a walk to Zeltingen. But thanks to a bus schedule that this year has the first departure at 10:12, you can theoretically make it to the other end of the section before the 11 o’clock start. Good omens.

For those who don’t know Mythos Mosel: across three rotating sections, plenty of wineries open up their courtyards, invite guest winemakers, and present wines. This year in the section from Kesten to Zeltingen. That adds up to so many stops, winemakers, and wines that it’s impossible to manage them all. That leaves you two options. Let yourself drift and see what happens, or make a plan. Or, of course, something in between. We go for the “something in between” variant. The plan, at any rate, has us heading toward Mülheim at 10:12, changing there to line MM1, and then visiting Maring-Noviand and co. up on the hill. The alternative, should the connection go wrong for whatever reason, is a walk to Brauneberg, which should likewise allow a punctual 11 o’clock start. Then Saturday: Brauneberg, Mülheim, and Lieser without Schloss Lieser (because presumably very crowded). Sunday: Graach, Schloss Lieser (hopefully with fewer people), Wehlen, and Zeltingen.

Before we get to how well that worked out, the usual disclaimer: as noted, it’s impossible to taste everything. It’s also impossible to take precise notes on everything, because sometimes things are really busy at the stands. So what doesn’t appear here wasn’t necessarily judged unworthy of mention. We may simply not have been there, or were there and skipped the wine or the stand. And a tasting sip at 30 degrees with sauna-grade humidity is, in the end, always just a tasting sip at 30 degrees with sauna-grade humidity. So we condense and mention what stood out to us. The first thing that stands out is what feels like fewer big names on the winemaker list. But since we already tend to taste producers we’ve barely or never had on our radar, in our case that doesn’t dampen the anticipation one bit.

Sunday’s 10:12 departure works out great, at any rate. So does drizzle on warm asphalt at exactly that moment. We wouldn’t want to have to do without the sauna infusion, after all. So we get off in Mülheim to switch to the other bus, just as it suddenly and without warning swaps roles with the very bus behind us. Simply staying seated would have done the trick, if only one had known that MM1 can turn into MM2 and vice versa. Walking back, though, is silly, and so the alternative plan becomes the main plan, and one fine on-foot march along the Mosel cycle path later, we start right at 11 o’clock at Fehres in Brauneberg.

Because nothing says good morning quite like a glass of sparkling wine, we start at Schaufelberger. Cuvée Magique Extra Brut 23 has lots of drive, more citrus, austere. I like it. That someone has to smoke right at the stand, that I don’t like so much. Cuvée Magique Rosé 23 is creamier, with red fruit and plenty of pastry. Cremant Brauneberger Juffer 22 with great mouthfeel, even more drive, lightly creamy stone fruit, and lots of length. Great start and a producer I didn’t know at all. Zum Eulenturm Rieslingsekt Zero Dosage 21 likewise with lots of drive, rather austere and stone fruit. Riesling 25, with its fragrant nose, is a brutal contrast programme, but as a spritzer I’d happily treat myself to a full Dubbeglas. The Nonnengarten Cuvée 25, made from Elbling, Riesling, and something I’ve forgotten, is also fairly fruity but more balanced. The Trieren 24 single-vineyard Riesling is then more orange in the fruit, long and creamy. Lovely. At Köwerich, it’s mainly the special tasting with a ‘14 Kabi, ‘08 Spätlese, and ‘04 Auslese that sticks in the mind. These have aged beautifully, I just unfortunately didn’t note down the vineyards. Fehres contributes a Veldenzer Kirchberg Spätlese 16 to the special tasting, which confirms that I’m very fond of ‘16. 2023 Alte Reben with eucalyptus and flint is good too.

We move on from the lovely Mosel bank to Willi Haag. Karp-Schreiber, I can reveal this much already, is perhaps the discovery of the weekend for me. Never heard of them before this event, but Juffer Kabinett 25 trocken is a wine you can chew on. Really great structure. The Juffer Sonnenuhr GG 24 starts off harmless, but the longer the wine stays in the mouth, the more it builds. Strong too. Juffer Kabinett 25, fresh, very fruity with lovely drive. 1997 Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese, special tasting, intense, yellow fruit, a touch of petrol and firn, stony, spicy, soft. Beautiful. Brohl, with the Marienburg Spätlese trocken and the Alte Reben 1889 Spätlese trocken, also has two of those chew-on wines on offer.

At the other Haag, Fritz Haag, we get lucky. There’s pizza napoletana, it’s just after 12, as if we’d planned it, only entirely without a plan. Sometimes you just have to get lucky too. The pizza though, is really tasty, and on a full stomach the tasting feels fresher again. Knebel has ’24s across the board. They still come across as very young, but have that wonderful, dark minerality the terraced Mosel so often has. The Uhlen 24 GG in particular stands out, because it already seems more open than the rest, as does the Von den Terrassen, which doesn’t come across quite as dense but already shows all the makings. Klosterhof Brauneberger Klostergarten Kabi T 25 then pulls your face taut again. That’s got fuego. I also really like the austerity of Clüsserath’s Apotheke Trocken 24. Then the bus comes, and although we were at the stop by both Haags in Brauneberg, we didn’t have a single wine from either Haag in our glass. That’s how it goes sometimes.

At Max Ferd. Richter in Mühlheim, the glasses have run out. The queue accordingly fairly long, and the number of people in the shade of the tasting tent is no smaller either. We taste in a quick run-through, in excerpts. Wehlener Sonnenuhr Alte Reben Kabi 24 has everything a Mosel Kabi needs, I always enjoy drinking it anyway. Juffer Kabi 25 with more drive, but then again a year younger. Elisenberg 25 a bit perfumed but lovely too. Dr Hermann Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabi 25, again without perfume and similarly good as the Richter Kabi. Würzgarten Kabi 25, by contrast, still needs time. Loersch Apotheke Vogelsang 24, taut, herbal, and rather smooth. Jungheld GG 24, still pretty wild, but great texture behind it. We move on.

Stop Bottler, Weingut Reh. Chardonnay und Pinot Sekt, very taut, fine fruit, some yeast, and a relatively high perceived sweetness, though a quick web search says Brut. It’s very tasty. Layet Mehringer Blattenberg 24 with lots of spice, stone, and rather little fruit. That’s really good. Before we can carry on tasting, the smell of food wafts through the rooms. And who can resist potato dumplings filled with liverwurst on sauerkraut? Right. And so we eat first. The Bottler Spätlese Leienberg 25 Alte Reben rinses the last traces of liverwurst flavour off the palate, and it’s a perfect match. Fruity, dense. Johannesberg Kabinett 25, again very typical Kabi. On the fruity side. Uncomplicated but not inconsequential. The day grows later and we move on, after all, Lieser is still waiting.

On the walk across the bridge, well worth it for the bridge and the view alone, a sardine tin rolls past us, doubly vindicating the decision to go on foot. Accordingly, plenty of people then get off at Thanisch, and so we limit ourselves to the sparkling wines from St. Laurentius. Cremant Extra Brut is very creamy with drive. Pinot Rose Brut has lots and lots of berry on the nose and is then creamy-yeasty in the mouth, and the Grand Cuvee 2016 is intense with plenty of pastry and a lactic citrus-yoghurt acidity in the mouth. I like it a lot.

The little shuttle bus takes us to Pauly and their roof terrace, which offers a welcome cool-down in the breeze. Ludwig’s enormously creamy Weissburgunder 25 is the perfect companion to it. Pauly Alte Reben Helden 24 is superb. Soft, yet with structure and very long. Helden Kabi 25 with noticeably more drive, but just as much fun. We also partly take in the special red-wine tasting in the cellar, but not enough to write it down. Knodt-Trossen contributed a pretty brilliant bottle, but more on that tomorrow.

It’s only a stone’s throw on foot to Schumann, and so that becomes the day’s finale. Lieserer Schlossberg 25 Kabi trocken with lots of herbs and then, after all, some, at least perceived, sweetness. The wooden cask in which the Lieserer Thurm 25 was matured stands two metres away from us. That’s pretty cool. The wine has a wonderful, clear, fruity acidity and lots of length. Claes Schmitt pleases with the Neumagener 25 Kabi, which makes you smack your lips with every sip. Scholtes, likewise not on our radar at all, has with the Pölicher Held 25 an enormously herbal Riesling that stands out today and really appeals. 23 Im Königsberg Kabi afterwards, clear, bright, yellow, and straight-ahead with honey and length. Different, just as good. The food smells tempting again already, but the table for dinner is already booked and it’s gone 5 p.m. Knocking-off time, then. Unfortunately, we’d overlooked that our bus only stops at Lieser Ort and not, say, at Lieser Thanisch. As a result, we only just miss a sardine tin. The following bus just 8 minutes later, though, is almost empty, and so it’s a relaxed ride toward Zeltingen. The bus thing worked out great today. You’re allowed a bit of luck now and then. The report for Day 2 follows soon, then with a little wrap-up too.

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