Special Selections from Clemens Busch

10/3/18 -

We are pleased to offer a small collection of special releases from Clemens Busch, friend of Chambers Street and German biodynamic winemaker extraordinaire! Clemens, Rita, and their son Johannes currently work 16 hectares in the Mosel valley, based in the town of Pünderich, at the border of the Mittel- and Terrassenmosel.

In a region where it is not common practice, Clemens has been Organic since 1984 (stopped using herbicides in the Seventies), and is currently working Biodynamically. The demanding level of handwork done in the vineyards over all these years has truly payed off, with healthy, mostly old vines grown on slate (red, grey, and blue in color). The majority of their hectarage lies on the Pündericher Marienburg, once the name of a specific portion of the hillside, now the designation applies to over 80 hectares in total, including flatlands. Clemens holds vineyards on steep, south to southeast-facing slopes and terraces on the Marienburg. He also chooses to use the original names of the parcels he farms: Falkenlay, Felsterrasse, Fahrlay, Rothenpfad, and Raffes, to keep focus on the unique terroir and to preserve the history of these sites.

In the cellar, wines ferment naturally, and most aging occurs in old, wooden barrels. Malolactic fermentation is not blocked, and if fermentation is stopped to retain residual sugar, it is done by cooling and filtration to reduce overall sulfur additions. Although he's been experimenting with producing wines without added sulfur since the 1980s, he finds that some is necessary to help preserve the character of Riesling grown on this particular terroir.

Part of the fun of today’s offer is the variety of vintages and styles available*; from the unfiltered, skin-contact dry Riesling '(alter) native', to Riesling Nonnengarten trocken 2015 (a parcel with red slate soils, not individually vinified every vintage). We also have some elegant Prädikat wines: the bright and lifted 2016 Marienburg Spätlese and the spectacular 2009 Marienburg Auslese in half-bottle. We hope you find something to enjoy now or put down for some time in your cellar. Cari Bernard