HEALTH WARNING: This is VERY long, even longer than my report from day 1
Day 2 was spent touring vineyards and estates down the river from Bernkastel.
I woke up early to get breakfast at Burgblickhotel in Kues (extra 15 Euros since I am staying at their flat, not one of their hotel rooms). On the walk there I passed through St. Nikolaus-Hospital, which looked really radiant in the morning sun. Good breakfast selection with lots of cold cuts.
As I walked back to Bernkastel to pick up by E-Bike rental (provided by Velodocs, which has multiple collection spots), I saw quite a few tour boats going up and down the river. If you are visiting, I highly suggest you look at boat schedules and book in advance because they can be confusing. I then biked over towards Graach, where I stopped in front of Dr. Loosen to take a look at the heart shaped trellising.
Continuing towards Wehlen, I saw the legendary Wehlener Sonnenuhr.
At around 10:30, I arrived at Markus Molitor. This was a completely unplanned visit since I thought I would have a busy morning, but it was definitely worth it. Thanks to @Robert_Dentice for the recommendation! I was greeted by Riesling the dog in a completely empty tasting room. I tasted with Leon from Berlin, who was very energetic and informative. In terms of the wines, my three favourites were their Wehlener Klosterberg Pinot Blanc *, Kinheimer Hubertuslay Auslese 3* White Capsule, and Erdener Pralat Auslese 3* Golden Capsule. It was also nice to taste in Zalto and Josephinenhütte glasses! Here is a quick rundown:
120+ Ha under vine, with 80-120 labels per vintage
~85% Riesling and the rest Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir beginning from the late 80s
All wines are from hand-harvested grapes and fermented spontaneously in Fuder, stainless steel, barrique, or amphora
2021 Wehlener Klosterberg Pinot Blanc *
50% new barrique, 12.5% ABV. Quite toasty and floral with well integrated acid. Dense on the palate and very enjoyable. A standout wine!
2020 Wehlener Klosterberg Chardonnay *
New oak stands out a bit here, but this wine is much less “obvious” than the Pinot Blanc. A bit watery on the palate.
2019 Graacher Himmelreich Pinot Noir ***
Opened on 4 April. From vines planted in 1987, and usually vinified with berries only but sometimes inclusion of up to 15% stems. Quite floral and perfumed. High acid. Not too intense or long, so I imagined it has lost some of its freshness from being opened a week ago.
2020 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Kabinett Fuder 6
This is a “premium” Kabinett bottling from a single parcel in Zeltinger Sonnenuhr with vines >80 years old. Classic citrus and honey water character of the Mosel. Smells very “sour” (unrelated to VA). Well made but not exciting.
2020 Saarburger Rausch and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlesen White Capsule
I don’t know what is going on with these two wines, but maybe they have been opened for too long. Quite a bit of VA and not showing too well.
2017 Kinheimer Hubertuslay Auslese *** White Capsule
A bit rubbery and peachy. Otherwise not super aromatic. Painfully intense on the palate. Very well made.
2020 Kinheimer Hubertuslay Auslese ** White Capsule
Aromatically similar to the previous wine, but significantly less intense on the palate.
2024 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** White Capsule (Amphora Version)
Since 2020, Markus Molitor has been experimenting with using amphora to ferment some of their parcels. I have had the non-amphora version of this wine before from 2019 and 2015, and those were very different. This is a wine with almost no discernible fruit to me, but an immense amount of minerality. Not my style but I imagine there would be many people who like it. However I have some doubts about how this wine will evolve as it ages… Very expensive 200+ Euros!
2020 Ockfener Bockstein Kabinett Green Capsule
An embodiment of the Saar. This has an alarmingly high level of acid, but good intensity to balance it all out. I thought it was quite interesting.
2003 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese ** Green Capsule
Very ripe, as typical of the 2003 vintage. Lots of honey and an almond peel bitterness to the finish. This wine is youthful and ageing very well.
2005 Zeltinger Deutschherrenberg Auslese ** Golden Capsule
Very golden colour, quite ripe, and a touch of VA. There seems to be a bit of botrytis here. Already quite a bit of development here with some toffee and cream.
2023 Erdener Pralat Auslese *** Golden Capsule
Opened since January yet still so fresh! Very opulent wine with lots of fruit and spices. This is an immense wine with a long finish. I can’t wait to see how this ages.
Next I biked to Donh Kunh Thai Imbiss in Zeltingen for lunch. Their Tom Yum soup and yellow curry were all delicious. Large portions and very good value! I ran into Christian and Julia Hermann at the restaurant but completely didn’t realise it was them!
After lunch, I headed to Selbach-Oster to taste some wines. Sebastian Selbach was very kind and we had an interesting conversation about the wine market in the UK and some of his winemaking philosophies. We also discussed his views on TDN being something he actively tries to avoid. However, this tasting was rather short. My overall impression is that his winemaking tends to be very clean and precise, but not super aromatic. Here is a summary:
2023 Weissburgunder Trocken
Some gooseberries and lime. A daily wine.
2022 Zeltingen Riesling Trocken
Unassuming nose. Some spices. A daily wine.
2023 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling GG
Quite spicy rather than fruity. Decent intensity on the palate. Sebastian told me that this wine is made from grapes in the mid-slopes of the Sonnenuhr, since the lower parts get more botrytis due to proximity to the river.
2021 Pinot Blanc Reserve
Piercing acid with a riverbed minerality. A step up in intensity compared to the Weissburgunder Trocken.
2023 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Kabinett
Classic Mosel character. White peach and green apples. Lazer sharp acidity.
2022 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese
Quite closed.
2018 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese *
Sebastian tells me that rather than using GK/LGK, they classify their Auslesen using 0-3 stars. Some vanilla with a bit of a chemical botrytic character.
2025 Noble R Beerenauslese
Entry level BA exclusively for restaurants to serve on pairing menus. From grapes in different parcels, but mainly Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. A clean and pure wine.
After tasting at Selbach-Oster, I headed to Dr. Hermann for my final tasting of the day. I was not familiar with their wines, but this introduction by Christian Hermann was spectacular. He is very energetic and extremely generous with his time and wines. We started by talking a bit about how climate change and spring frosts have caused lots of trouble for wineries in the Saar. He mentioned that Peter Lauer was sold in the last month, following Von Hovel’s closing (??? This is BIG news to me, since I can’t find information about this online at all…) He also showed me some of the wines he recently had at a rare wine tasting–WOW. We tasted together the entire lineup of his 2024/2025 wines from Kabinett up to TBA and Eiswein. Here is a summary:
Cover crops used to reduce effects of global warming. Dry and off-dry wines fermented in traditional Fuder while sweet wines are fermented in stainless steel. Aiming for 100% healthy grapes (no botrytis) for Kabinett and Spatlese.
2024 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett
Very elegant. White flowers, white peach, and lots of minerality. Super high acid but well balanced by the sugar and flavour intensity.
2024 Erdener Treppchen Kabinett
Slightly riper than the Wehlener Sonnenuhr. Red apples and ripe peaches. Very creamy and dense on the nose but not heavy at all. Very playful wine!
2024 Erdener Treppchen Kabinett Alte Reben
Alte Reben designation for Dr. Hermann means >100 years old. Harvested at the same time as the normal Erdener Treppchen bottling, but from a different parcel. This is slightly riper and more structured than the regular bottling. Very, very good.
2024 Urziger Wurzgarten Kabinett Alte Reben
Similar to the Erdener Treppchen Alte Reben, but more spicy rather than fruity and even more structured.
2024 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese
Similar to the Kabinett but sweeter. This is good, but I definitely prefer the Kabinett.
2024 Erdener Herzlei Spatlese Alte Reben Goldkapsel
Lots of honey and melon. Classic Mosel lightness but with immense structure and power. This is one of my favourite wines today.
2024 Erdener Treppchen Auslese Alte Reben
Very closed and not showing too well today. I mentioned to Christian that this may just be bottle variation?
2024 Erdener Pralat Beerenauslese Alte Reben Goldkapsel
Very clean botrytis–lots of marmalade and baking spices. 50% botrytis and harvested at 152 Oechsle, so technically a TBA. Such elegance!
2024 Riesling Eiswein Goldkapsel
From the Kinheimer Hubertuslay vineyard, but cannot be on the label since it is not a VDP Grosse Lage. Harvested on 14 January at 155 Oechsle. There is quite a bit of botrytis here, which some people like, but for me a bit off-putting for an Eiswein. Very well made, but not super exciting for me.
2025 Erdener Treppchen Trockenbeerenauslese Goldkapsel
Lots of tropical fruits and spices. It is unthinkable the lightness with which such a powerful and dense wine can be conveyed.
2025 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Trockenbeerenauslese Goldkapsel
Similar to the Erdener Treppchen TBA, but feels much higher acid even though the technical data is very similar. I think I prefer the Erdener Treppchen TBA a bit more, but who can ever say no to something this good?
This tasting convinced me that Dr. Hermann’s wines are very, very good and I will shift to buying more of them now before they become too expensive… Christian did mention to me to try and buy wines made after 2019 since he changed his style from making very opulent dense wines to very elegant wines with lots of spiel.
It seems that all of the producers I visited today had the same opinion on the 2025 vintage:
Excellent conditions up to mid-September, when local storms and rain caused lots of rot. With careful selection, fruit is excellent but yields are down.
By now it was already late afternoon and the sun was shining over all the south and southwest facing vineyards. The bike home was spectacular and I took lots of photos of the Urziger Wurzgarten and Erdener Pralat.
For dinner, I had a very long and extremely enjoyable experience at Zeltinger Hof. Everyone I had met on this trip recommended this restaurant. The food is good, but not excellent, though I really liked the white asparagus soup. It is also a nice place to get very fresh game. The sommelier Niki was incredibly kind and knowledgeable, just like I had heard from the people at Rieslinghaus. I opened my bottle of 2019 Keller Abts Erde GG (18 Euros corkage), which was unfortunately a complete disappointment.
2019 Keller Abts Erde GG
Pale lemon-green. Very unassuming nose, but one can pinpoint aromas of petrol, ripe yellow fruits, minerality, and a minty/herbal spontaneous character. The palate is quite concentrated, and the finish is acceptably long, but this certainly performed far below its pedigree. In hopes that this is bottle variation, I will not rate this wine. NR - Faulted(?)
Having heard about the legendary wine list (ask for the iPad), I just had to order some older wines. I ended up opening an Auslese which showed remarkably well. This was 180 Euros and worth every cent.
1976 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese
Medium amber. The sweetness is very well integrated at this age. Still very noticeable, but no longer stands out. Caramel, toffee, cream, marmalade, dried apricots, cough syrup (in a good way). Still quite intense and grippy on the palate, with a slight bitterness. Respectably long finish. I like this a lot! 91-92/100 points
After hearing me remark that I was curious about what lower pradikat wines would taste like after 50 or 60 years, Timi kindly brought out something he had opened a few days ago–a 1966 Riesling Spatlese from a producer I couldn’t quite make out.
1966 Riesling Spatlese Unknown Producer
Medium amber. Clearly past peak or corked (or both). Rotten apples, damp cardboard, and a mouldy, musty character. Falling apart on the palate and only just a tiny bit sweet. NR - Well Past Peak
In case anyone comes by recently and wants to get a feel of older wines, I suggest looking at wines from the vintages 1966, 1969, 1971, 1975, and 1976. There are many wines that should be drinking very well for 150-200 Euros. Anything less expensive might be from other varieties such as Muller-Thurgau, Huxelrebe, Rivaner, etc. which can be significantly lower quality. I’m not an expert in old wines, but at this sort of 50-60 year old range I would suggest sticking to Riesling Auslese (or higher if you have extra money to spend!) Spatlese from the late 1980s and 1990s are likely to be good as well.
And finally two things I brought home tonight… A 2024 Dr. Hermann Urziger Wurzgarten Kabinett Alte Reben Versteigerungswein and a grape juice from Markus Molitor! I forgot to ask what grapes they make them out of so if anyone knows shoot me a reply (I can hardly imagine them using the expensive Pinot Noir for this…)
Ending with some tips I hope people will find helpful:
- If you are biking around, try and stay safe at night. I biked back from Zeltinger Hof after drinking wine, but in hindsight this was a bad decision even though I was sober. It is cold and ~6km. Arrange taxi in advance or stay in Zeltingen for the night.
- I have heard from many people that Waldhotel Sonnora is extraordinarily good, even for a 3 star Michelin restaurant. I tried to get a spot for this trip two weeks in advance, but unfortunately everything was fully booked. I highly recommend booking at least one month in advance.
