Still playing catch up, but know I’ll be at Willi Schaefer and Egon Muller before heading home.
If you want any specific questions answered please let me know.
Also will be going back to Zeltinger Hof soon. So check the list and help me decide what’s next 
Wine List Help: Zeltinger hoff - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
gotta get my hands on some Burklin Wolf Sekt after reading this
I kinda think sparkling is the most exciting new foray in Germany and makes sense since chard and pinot are gaining so much ground
Ive really enjoyed reading along, great write up!
Cool report, thanks so much for sharing! Looking forward to your notes on Willi Schaefer - curious about their 2024s. Cheers 
I tasted there. Stunning collection. They only made 6 non auction wines including one dry. The quantities are minuscule so buy what you can.
The next morning began, 10am, at Martin Mullen.
@Robert_Dentice had sent me some recs as I started this whirlwind trip and Martin wasn’t on my radar at all. Thanks, Robert!
This tasting represents the largest change in my intra-tasting impression of the trip.
Rang the bell at 10. Was expecting Martin or his son Jonas to answer for the appointment. Susanne, his wife, answered instead, Martin and Jonas had to be out in the vineyards. There’s lots of suckering and vine maintenance going on right now.
We sat at a large table. She asked me if I would like to taste wines. Indeed! She opened huge fridge and pulled out 4 wines. Poured herself a glass. Sat back and started drinking it. For a while. I sat politely and then, over my empty glass, asked, “which wine is that?” To which she replied, “Ah, ya is good.” Indeed.
Eventually I did get some wine, and learn what the wine was, but the first couple of trockens felt like they might have been open a bit and, separate issue, they seemed strange. Meanwhile, Susanne, was very much enjoying trying the wines. Things felt…a little odd.
But, it was really just a matter of time. We chatted through things: how the mosel has changed, her and Martin’s journey building the winery (the early days were rough), diabetes and sweet wines, etc. We found our groove. The wines evened out of me. Which I think was partially the bottles and partially me finding my way through this style.
Which is really unique. Steep sites. Old vines. They bought Huhnerberg back in the day and had to restore the whole thing. Work with an old basket press for the wines. They prefer to stop ferments as opposed to adding sweet wine or sugar back. There is a through line of lightness, but also of stone (mineral, but without the sharp vibes) here. That probably sounds strange because it is strange. There is depth here.
Martin also makes a ton of wines and employees a separate numbering system and has lot of back vintage bottles. That coupled with a strong belief in vintage expression and change year to year make this a more advanced course in Riesling.
By the sweets things were ripping. Susanne is actually hilarious.
“Now he is old. Sometimes the wine is faster than martin. Then it’s dry!” Laughs whole heartedly.
“This wine is so good. We drink it at my knitting circle. I call it the ‘Knitting circle wine’” In case you’re wondering, as I did, the knitting circle has 7-8 full time members, but they allow 2-3 people to join as guests. And yes - the wine is a feinherb.
She really loves the wines they make and talked to herself as we went through, "oh yeaa. goot."etc. etc. You might think that’s just a producer talking up their book, but this lady is authentic to the bone. And by the end, we tasted a lot. If I made a comment on a wine she would open another that riffed on the comment. So on
This is probably the producer I most want to retaste to learn more. There is a movement in the depths under the cork. There is a calmness and togetherness here that remined me of the best parts of old Grunhaus. There is something alien about these wines compared to other Rieslings and the best of them are in a class of their own.
2022 Krover Paradies Kabi - grey, blue, quartz. nice mineral line. Open a while? 20hr press. Sponti. 1000L Foudre. 30-40yr old vines.
2022 Huhnerberg Kabi - Easy drinking. Floral nose. Ripe stone fruit. Stone.
2020 Krover Letterlay Spatlese - Eroded stone, full, but not heavy, some rumbling in the deep here. Very good.
2020 Huhnerberg spatlese - Calm full deep. This is a profound wine.
2022 Letterlay Spatlese - 9.5% abv. Quiet nose. Mango and spritz. 50g RS. Very good wine
2020 Wurzgarten Spatlese* - Nose is light caramel, great structure, some spice, but still calm and light. Very good!
2023 Steffensberg Auslese - Beautiful mix of smashed pineapple flesh and dried papaya. Some spice. 8.8%. It’s been open since April 30th! What?
2003 Paradies Spatlese** - Gentle and subtle, but complex beyond description. A different type of Riesling. Weightless. I don’t know how to judge this.
2007 Trarbacher Huhnerberg Auslese** - rich honey stone in cloth long finish weighted not heavey. Some tropics, but well behaved. Great vintage for them as it was an easy selection. Excellent.
I’ve thought about these wines more often than other producer’s. I’ll walk these vineyards when I’m back in TT.
Nice long drive to Herman Ludes. He’s out of the way from the “hollywood mile” crew.
I don’t know why Vom Boden doesn’t mention this dude’s piercing jade green eyes in the marketing Materiels. @collinwagner - prepare people better!
Julian is the youngest winemaker I’ve met on this trip, but has the sharpest vision of his wines. He LOVES uncompromising racy, live-wire, acid driven Riesling.
He has aligned the vineyard and the cellar totally towards that aim. Switching to screw-tops to “preserve the freshness and acidity” and selling off any wine in bulk that doesn’t meet his standards. This dude is uncompromising.
The nice thing for a consumer is that you’re either going to love these wines or you won’t. You don’t need to taste the whole line-up to peer at and decipher subtle mysteries. You can try one and you’re going to know. In a way, this was the perfect counter point for my Martin Mullen visit.
By the way, if you do like his wines, you’re gonna like the '24s!
All whole bunch, 24-48 extraction, 1 rack, fermentation takes as long as it takes. Yield is low 40HL. On average 1-2grams higher of acid than surrounding folks in same vintage.
‘24 mosel - Fruit forward, mineral and acid. Nice great entry
‘24 acid - Pretty nose, floral, white fruit, strong acid. Racy. Dries you out.
‘24 Thornicher ritsch kabinette - continuation of above, but even more cowbell (dries you out!)
// ‘22 Trocken spryer - Year on lees and that comes though in body
2013 kabinett hslvtrockeb - Nice ripe green apple, acid core, racy fresh.
Fienherb 2024 kabinette - Light mineral and hint of flowers. Nice mixture of depth. Not a trite or clunky firnherb
// ‘21 - More together, drier, still mineral
24 Monster kabinet* - White flower white peach. Racy.
2024 TR kabinette* Monster (the site is large) 50grs little rounder, but still in house style
2017 Thornicher ritsch spatlese - Sweeter/riper than rest of line-up
2015 Auslese - can’t read my own note. Was good
An aside, I like when Germans say “small glass?” Bc it’s a full glass in NYC.
Hiked up Thornicher Ritsch. This baby is step. What a view though. Julien and his uncle own the most of the Thornicher Ritsch and are proud of it.
I stayed at Zeltinger Hoff that night. The hotel is great too! AC. Hip room. Great price. Wow!
The somm was back and I felt like more variety (which in retrospect is wild given how many different wines I tasted today) so went by the glass at dinner. Venison in demi-glace with Auslese. It’s a German pairing and I’ll tell you - not bad.
Clearly a long walk was needed so did a sunset hike around Zeltinger Sonnenuhr through Wehlen Sonnenuhr to Himmelreich, Graach and back. Pretty. This is a great one to walk to experience the cooling effects of forest proximity and slope.
Placed my first order quite recently (mainly 21/23s) and was impressed, wines with soul.
Well done. I’m very behind on writing these, but I actually ended up tasting at Martin Mullen again as I found the wines really stayed in my mind (and I needed some to bring home).
Thanks a lot @Robert_Dentice 
will try to taste something if possible before. Cheers
I think you’re doing just fine on the reports! It all sounds great.
And I was wondering how much you were able to buy at each visit, as you are traveling through the regions and perhaps have limited capacity to carry. Sometimes that feels awkward for me because of course one wants to buy more when they are generous with their time.
I forgot!
Between Mullen and Ludes. I got a note from Immich-Batterieberg asking to do the tasting that day as Gernot Kollmann (owner/wine maker) was leaving for a trip. We all must suffer the occasional busy day.
I had not had much of this estate, but Gernot has a great reputation (2009 was his vintage) so I was eager to try. Really nice guy. They export 80% and our chat, along with my chat with Markus Molitor, was the most sales oriented (markets, labels, etc.) of my trip.
I think people sleep on these because the labels, which have a cool history, but you don’t get that from the shelf and they can be a little cheesy looking. There is a mineral line to these wines which is quite nice and while focused, they are not pedantically precise.
2023 CAI Riesling - side valley slot, higher up, crisp, citrus, and apple. Simple, but good. 14euro at winery
2022 Detonation - 40yr vines, still crips, but more mineral drive. 16.50euro at winery
2023 Elbling unfiltiert - Sure lie for 10 months, sponti, 20yrs vines and down-graded. limestone comes through nicely here. 15euro at winery.
2022 Enkircher Batterieberg Riesling - Excellent wine. Not too big, not too much acid, not too much mineral or tropics. Very goldilocks sense of balance. Yum. 55euro at winery
1989 Batterieberg Auslese - pretty riteous at the moment. Much better than the '89 Kabi I was to have some days later
Great question. Couple disparate points.
I know others are real pros at buying in Europe (cellar there, alt shipping arrangements, etc.), but I’m not looped into whatever the current double irish is I only had one bag to check and limited my purchases to wines I loved and could not get in the US (so usually back vintages).
German wine culture is more chill with this. Most tastings are free and are seen as less of a profit center (like CA has become) and more of marketing.
I was bringing wine with me everywhere I went to share (see my previous comment) which changes the relationship a touch.
If I was already a buyer and lover of the wine, I would mention that when setting up my appointment. Engaging with a current customer is different.
If I loved something current release that I thought was drinking well, I’d grab a bottle to have later in the day and to share with the next set of wineries.
Generally, people there just get it. You love wine. You have so much room. As part of chatting, I would always get the importer name and, if I liked wines, but they didn’t meet carry back criteria, would just mention it would go on my state-side shopping list.
I like the labels lol
You’re in good company. He loves them
Yes, this is always my ‘excuse’ and I know people understand. But I still feel uncomfortable not buying anything, especially after a winemaker spends 1-2 hours chatting with me. I’m usually visiting with at least one other person, so we can distribute purchases. But you were all alone!
I have a bottle of that ‘89 Auslese in the cellar!
Just waiting for the Becker piece!
Thanks for the posts so far.
At this point, the “sprint” phase of my trip was done. I had been “off” from work. A slower pace and more hybrid phase began.
Some morning hike around piesport. There are some really old precarious steep vineyards on the right hand side.
Schloss Lieser
Last minute edition as I was driving back to Trier.
Enormous castle. Gorgeous. Castle and winery were owned by the same family (lived in castle). Sold the winery in 1960/70. Kept the castle.
I rang the bell to the private residence (don’t know how I keep doing this), but Ute answered and showed me the right way. She, her husband Thomas (wine-maker), and daughter Lara were working the tasting room. Passionate and friendly family. Just great folks. Busy room (importer with 8 VIPs, three random two tops, me), but still felt warm and welcoming.
Interesting family story. Thomas was one of the sons at Fritz Haag and, reading in between the lines here and from others have told me, it was a surprise when the estate went to his brother instead. He and his wife got a loan and bought Schloss Lieser in 1997. Then spent half a decade repairing the winery, cellars, and quarters. These efforts cumulated with winning German wine-maker of the year in 2021. You get the feeling that these folks really busted a gut to get where they are and don’t take anything for granted.
They are at the maximin acreage they want and are selling into new markets (Lara was just back from Mexico City). We went through the whole line-up. I’ve been sleeping on these wines! Really well made across the board.
I bought a 2023 Wehlener Sonnenuh GG to take with me and share at my next couple of stops as it was the prettiest GG I’d had so far.
General winemaking - Immediately to Low pressure pneumatic press. Cool temp. Stainless. Filter out yeast, little silver, pull out. Settle. Filter. Bottle
If fermentation takes time, then it takes time. 2022 vintage was so slow to ferment that they were not able to present at the VDP.
Mostly made notes on 2023, but the 2024s I did have here were in good shape.
Dry
SL Riesling 2024 (entry) - Charming. Good acidity steers it away from usual boring entry level bottlings.
Schiefer trocken 2024 - Same lively acidity, mix of white and yellow fruit some reduction light gas
2024 Heldenstuck trocken - Very good little petrol some yellow
2023 heldenstuck trocken - Some peach coming in. Also very good, but more together
2023 Wehlener Sonnenuhr GG – Excellent. Beautiful. Ripe stone fruit. Quicker finish. Mineral and acid at end. Potential moving forward, but what a pretty little thing now.
2023 Himmelreich - Very good. Ripe fruit character Stone and herb towards end. Potential
2023 Goldtropfchen - Most mineral and tight of the GGs. Lots of time here. Still very good today. Lots of potential.
2020 WS - Nose is calmer than 2023. Yellow and white fruit. Acid is there, but folded in. Not a racy wine, though it does take off towards the end. Very good.
Juffer 2017 - Most savory and herb driven of the wines. Less my style, but great if it is.
Off dry
2016 SL kabinett (entry) - Sugar sticking out a little for me, but plenty of acid under it. Check back in 5yrs
2023 Goldtropfchen spätlese - Sugar peach Super honeyed end notes
2023 Goldtropfchen kabinett - asleep
2016 Niederberg Helden spätlese - More restrained
2023 Goldkapsel Niederberg Helden Auslese - Excellent with upside. Bot, but only additive. Canned peach and Candice’s. Pineapple. Some ginger. Floral.
2023 WS Lange goldkapsel Auslese - Excellent. Very cool. Rush of light ginger and golden plum. Textured medium weight. This will just get better.
2023 WS Auslese – Excellent!
Drove to Trier and had dinner with @Lars_Carlberg bc I didn’t get enough from just one lunch
What a guy. I said it earlier, but his knowledge of and passion for the Mosel is extraordinary. Thanks again, Lars.
My pleasure, Gavin. Thanks for your travel report. I hope you enjoyed your stay on the Saar. On Saturday, a couple of friends and I attended the vintage presentation at Weingut von Othegraven.
Very much so. How was the presentation at von Othegraven?
Karthauserhof
Old estate. Monastery got the land in 1335. Sold off later. Long term family owner then ran into trouble in mid 1980s when they got caught adulterating the wine. Now owned by Albert Behler (big NYC real estate guy). There is aggressive investment in the business across multiple aspects.
Big marketing push for these wines in NYC and other centers. I’ve seen the high production partnership interviews with somms on Instagram. Almost every building at the estate seems to be being worked on. I navigated around 8 different contractor vehicles just to park. The employee walking me through the wines hastens to add that the wines are at Masa, Per Se, and Atomix - AND that their new cellar master (though I’m told elsewhere he’s less involved) is from Bollinger. I must say, the bread seemed rather thickly buttered.
Bruno Pinot Gris - Simple. Great price point for quality though.
Brut - 80% Riesling 20% PB. Wine technical director is ex-Bollinger so wanted to do sparking (it was in plans 150yrs ago). Gentle yellow fruit core. Crisp finish. More like champs than Sekt. Is that a good thing? Right now, the grape itself is lost. Some typicity in the last 20%, but I haven’t tasted a sparkling Riesling that tastes less like Riesling. Maybe too young?
2023 Schieferkristall trocken - Good. Chill lower volume mineral grapefruit gooseberry Nice and calm, but lacks complexity at the moment . Nothing wrong, but not applause - if that makes sense. Stainless steel.
Alte Reben 2023 - Good. More lead by Apple. Very balanced. Clearly has development ahead of it, but nothing out of place now. 2RS. Some oak for texture.
2022 Karthauserhof GG - Nice nose rind of citrus and skin of apple little funk? Unique. Very good
2023 Karthauserhof Kabinett – Not there. Spontaneous. Shy nose. Ripe mango in mouth. Sugar sticks out a touch
Karthauserhof Spatlese 2009 - Very faint nose banana, strange melon, apple. Smooth lovely. Socks are on, but this is very good.
Overall, I was disappointed by the wines here and that’s before comparing them to other German Riesling. I understand the older bottlings are something special, but I haven’t had them. The vineyards (over 20ha), grounds, and buildings are special and I hope the investment going in now will bear fruit for in future years.
An aside, the story we get in the US suggests a very unified Mosel wine making community. Culture and congeniality, I’ll address later, but as far as winemaking goes - they don’t agree on much at all here.
Some don’t care about the steeps. Others worship them. Neutral oak vs stainless? Each side says, “We only use X in order to show the purity of the terroir.” When to sulfur? All the time! Just kidding, they don’t say that (though it’s more true than not). Karthauserhof stops fermentation for their off drys. So does Willi Schaefer. Markus Molitor ferments all the way down then adds back. So does J.B. Becker. What does “clean” botrytis mean to you? More terroir from pre-fermentation skin contact or nien? Personally, I love the diversity, but it’s interesting to experience the difference between the state side marketing and the ground truth.
Weiser Kunstler
Another winery I had not paid attention to. Tasted with Alexandra and she has a very peaceful energy. Works part time as a therapist so that figures. The ‘24s are in fine form. The 2024 Wolfer Sonnenlay kabinett is great for early drinking. Missing some note here I will endeavor to find.
Clemens Busch
Famous for thier biodynamic vineyard practices. Tasted Lucas Jensen, who does much of the vineyard work and alongside with a Swiss importer. The house is very cute in that old German way (pointy roof and wood inlay).
first 3 are Ortsweine done on different slate
Vom grauen schiefer 2023 Lovely lemon and white stone fruit. Less acid that kunstler, but it’s there and easier. Very good
Vom roten schiefer 2023 - Little broader. A little more herb mineral. All red slate two different types. Good.
Vom Blauen Schiefer - Longer still ripe, but maybe a touch narrower?
2022 Nonnengarten 1G - This is really good. Calm nose. 20 months of fermentation. Broader and spicier for it.
2023 Marienburg - Nice. Well integrated. Smoothed minerals and
2023 Marienburg Rothenpfad - Good. Not wild or mind blowing, but Easy to drink.
2022 Fahrlay gg - More time to go, but super long finish. Some organe rind
2023 Falkenly - Lots of extract. Needs more time. But the stuffing is there.
2022 Felsterrassen - Lovely tangerine and herb notes. Long finish. Refined complex, not loud.
2019 rothenpfad Reserve - Super ripe so even though it’s dry, it showed fuller. Orange. Long finish with herb. Less obviously mineral.
2018 feslterrasse - Very good. Big fruit and some sparkle down the gullet. Nice.
2023 Marienburg kabinett – Excellent wine. Quieter nose than 2024 with tone down orange fruit. Bright mouth! Cracking orange and little herb.
2024 Marienburg Kabinett - More nectarine darker toned nose. Prettier mouth less exuberant than 2023. Ripe grapefruit tart mango
2022 Marienburg spatlese goldkapsel - Very clean. Roast marshmallow energy but more balanced. 99rs
Marienburg 2011 BA – WTF. 400 RS. My teeth hurt! Similar to 2006, lots of botrytis.
Some random conversational tidbits. 2020 was his favorite vintage. Great in bottle and 4 weeks after, but then closed down hard. We spoke a lot about low nitrogen in hot and dry years and effects on fermentation. 2018 fermentations were also slower. They usually harvest @ flowering +100 days. 2023 was + 120 days. In 2022, all wines went through malo, it acid was already low so they didn’t feel like it changed much.
After this, my day was done and so was Lucas’. We’d hit it off, for sure one of the most knowledgeable folks I met in the Mosel, so we reconvened for dinner at the Hotel Bellevue. It’s a beautiful dining room done in the old tradition. The wine list here is great! This is a must stop.
1998 Gruanhaus Abtsberg Spatlese which was singing with the classic, old school, cassis notes
2006 Rostaing Cote Blonde first Rostaing I’ve had that was actually open! This was excellent ever changing medley of dark fruits, BBQ meats, blood, iron, and coffee.
