Master of the thousand vineyards: Our tasting at winery Markus Molitor
There are different kinds of heroes in the winemaking business: the trendsetters and the youngsters, the price champions and the quality masters, the traditionalists and the innovators. But there is one special category that needs to be opened for winery Markus Molitor from the Moselle area. We would like to call it “Master of the thousand vineyards”.
We have already seen many parts of the Riesling business around the world. But we have never seen a variety of Rieslings as broad as Markus Molitor does it. One by one he acquired new vineyards along the Moselle and Saar. Today, he produces more different types of Riesling than any other winemaker in the world.
Usually, when the range of wines gets broader several things might happen. Sometimes the quality goes down across the board. Sometimes the quality levels start to vary very much in case the winemaker focusses on some favorites. Sometimes the Rieslings start to taste basically the same and the individuality of the single vineyards get lost.
Not with Markus Molitor. When you go to a winetasting at his winery be prepared for a tough piece of work. Tasting the complete variety of Molitor Rieslings means to taste 70 wines from 17 different vineyards. If you do more vintages you easily get to 150 wines. Some of them are legends already – like his Berncasteler Doctor which can only be bought via auction. Many of them got 98, 99 and also 100 Parker points.
When you did it you will realize three things:
Markus Molitor is a winemaker with extraordinary dedication. All wines are made with great character. No matter which terroir every Riesling has its own individual character. Every late autumn you will find him handpicking the raisins for his unbelievable Trockenbeerenauslesen.
Markus Molitor is a quality hero. If anyone ever asks you to recommend a Riesling below 10 Euros just pick Molitor. The basic wines have an amazing quality already and it goes up, up, up through the quality level. An amazing collection from bottom to top. And do you know another winemaker who gets 100 Parker points for his dry wines as well as his sweet wines?
Markus Molitor is an entrepreneur in the winemaking business with a great sense of building strong teams. Starting from basically zero 30 years ago, buying vineyards step by step in itself is a great story. But achieving the highest quality standards across the board can only be done with a perfect combination of team members with passion and talent.
We have picked some favorite Rieslings from our tasting. It’s just examples – the list is just too long… One last word: This tasting was truly impressive. Whatever style of Riesling you love, you will find it here.
White capsule (dry style wines):
Haus Klosterberg 2016:
One of the best dry Riesling under 10 Euros! Fresh, citrus, green apples, crisp acidity, nice spices, mouthwatering with a lemon peel, citrus finish.
Kinheimer Hubertuslay 2016 Auslese**:
On of the fine and herbal ones, red slate and loam minerality, fine citrus and grapefruit peel, great herbal finish.
Ürziger Würzgarten Kabinett 2016:
Smooth nose, mineralic, mint, great freshness, palate with delicious green apple and grapefruit, fine minerality.
Graacher Himmelreich Auslese*** 2012 and 2016:
The 16 with a fresh herbal passion fruit nose, spicy slate minerality, on the palate great acidity, juicy minerality. The 12 comes with tight and crisp acidity on the palate, slight honey, nuts and wood.
Erdener Treppchen Auslese*** 2011:
Ripe, dense fruit nose, spicy, stonefruit and exotic fruit, voluminous, the palate is spicy, very elegant acidity, great minerality.
Green capsule (off-dry wines):
Zeltinger Himmelreich Kabinett 2016:
Stone fruit nose, apple, pear, fresh-fruity. A very fruity and smooth Kabinett. Perfect for summer evenings outside.
Kinheimer Rosenberg Auslese*** 2016:
Stone fruit nose, powerful and elegant at the same time, floral, slight vanilla. Palate is a perfect fruit-spice-balance, animating acidity, floral-spicy finish.
Bernkasteler Badstube Spätlese 2015:
Herbal, spicy nose, yellow fruit with peach and apricots. Palate juicy, smooth acidity, spicy finish.
Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese*** 2016:
Exotic, slate minerality nose. Palate is super smooth and full bodied, powerful. A bomb!
Golden capsule (sweet wines):
Saarburger Rausch Auslese*** 2016:
Spicy pineapple nose with pear, lively acidity. Palate is fresh and spicy, pineapple, passion fruits, animating finish.
Kinheimer Hubertuslay Auslese*** 2016:
Floral, spicy, fresh in the nose with exotic fruit, palate super smooth with passion fruit and pineapple.
Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese 2016:
Nose floral and fruity, stone fruit with apricots and plum, also banana and yellow apples, palate fruity and juicy with well integrated minerality, dense stone fruit and apple finish.
Trockenbeerenauslesen and Eiswein:
Wehlener Sonnenuhr TBA*** 2013:
Nose with caramel, honey, smoky wood, dried fruits. Great palate that is super smooth, caramelized fruits, oily, dried mango, powerful and voluminous. Outstanding.
Brauneberger Mandelgarten Eiswein 2016:
Juicy nose, fruity and sweet, harmonic. The palate surprises as one of the liveliest ice wines we ever had, elegant and juicy with lots of stone fruits like plums and apricots.
Zeltinger Schlossberg TBA 2006:
Spicy, smoky raisins, dried plums, dried exotic fruits like mango and pineapple. Palate is dense with dried fruit, honey, floral notes and caramel.
Visit winemarker: Markus Molitor