The Dream Of The 1890s Is Alive In The Mosel
6/05/15 -
There is nothing quite like the light, bracing, barely off-dry style of Riesling in which the Mosel particularly excels. In the 1890s and the first decade of the 20th Century, it was this unique character that grabbed the public's attention and affection, and Mosel Rieslings enjoyed a status not seen since. The current German labeling laws fail to properly account for this style, and some winemakers call it feinherb, some just add a village or vineyard name, and some label it as something else altogether. Regardless of labeling terms, somewhere between a sweeter Kabinett and an austere bone-dry Trocken, there is another dimension which is a specialty of the Mosel.
The changes brought by the 20th Century to German wine were myriad, but on the technological side the introduction of the sterile filter ushered in a new style of sweeter wines – before this, high levels of residual sugar were prone to re-fermenting in the bottle. Eventually these sweeter wine styles were codified by law in 1971 as the Prädikat system, which uses the ripeness categories of Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, etc. However, the less-sweet, latter-day style of the Mosel's heyday is re-emerging - and for good reason. The marriage of tangy, cool-climate acids with lower residual sugar levels is stimulating and refreshing, while alcohol levels around 10% make these wines supremely sessionable (i.e. suitable for a lengthy drinking session). Most of these wines are free of botrytis, which allows for more purity and expression of minerals and Mosel slate.
They are also famously versatile: from oysters to grilled sausages to all things spicy, none of the wines below will be out of place. Many have swooned for Florian Lauer's Barrel X for all the reasons above, but as we wait for the next shipment of 750s to arrive (we do have a few magnums left), why not explore a few others? When all these other producers can show off this classic style with their own unique panache and terroir, it's an invitation to start down a delicious, thirst-quenching path that leads to the historic soul of the Mosel. Jonathan Kemp
