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2014 Markus Molitor Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (White Capsule) |
Markus Molitor 
A Riesling Dry White Table wine from |
| Germany, Zeltlingen, Mittelmosel / Bernkastel, Mosel, Germany |
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Source
eRobertParker.com #223
Mar 2016 |
Reviewer
Stephan Reinhardt |
Rating
98 |
Maturity
Drink: 2024 - 2050 |
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Sourced from the terraces and "dissected like a TBA" (Molitor), the 2014 Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (White Capsule) is extremely deep, intense and concentrated on the nose, and reveals smoky and slightly nutty flavors along with ripe peach, lemon and crushed stone notes. Is this Meursault? Full-bodied, very rich and intense, with power, finesse and purity, this is an extraordinary dry Riesling. It structured by its mineral depth and fine tannins, and reveals a great purity, finesse and elegance in the highly complex, endlessly salty finish. No more words to bother. Devotion. But most of all: patience!
2014 has been one of the most demanding harvests in 30 years for Markus Molitor. He started with some pre-selections in late September (though not with the Burgundian grape varieties Pinot Blanc and Noir, which were still in a good shape); but he had to speed up at the end of the first week of October due to the advanced ripeness of the Rieslings in the Middle Mosel, as well as the rainy weather that had been forecast for the second week of October. Since the Rieslings in the Saar valley were still robust, Molitor and his 60-head-team concentrated on the top vineyards in the Middle Mosel first (mainly on the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr where MM holds seven hectares), but also saved the Pinots in Brauneberg, Graach and Wehlen. The big rain on October 7 and 8 and the following warm temperatures were extremely challenging, and Molitor had to organize his big team because everything turned overripe and diluted at the same time, especially in the warmer top sites where the ripeness was already advanced and the grape skins were even more sensitive to burst. "Acid rot was a really great problem in 2014 and our team members had to inspect each grape meticulously and discard everything that wasn’t perfect,“ Molitor explains--dramatizing by saying that the Mosel isn’t a region like Bordeaux where the mash can be kept for weeks. "We have to process our grapes as soon as they come in, especially in an autumn like 2014 when we were forced to press straightly." Chez Molitor's all dry top Rieslings (i.e. the Spätlese and Auslese categories) and all the sweet wines are basket-pressed for 3.5 hours. This requires perfect ripeness of the seeds and stems, but filters the must in a natural way and also macerates more complex aromas. "We have continuously pressed 24 hours per day for six weeks, and when we had finished the Rieslings, we pressed our Pinot Noir," says Molitor. He finished harvesting in the beginning of November in the Saar when his colleagues were long finished and had already bound their vines.
However, he did it but with extremely low yields (20 hectoliters per hectare). Molitor produced his usual portfolio of styles (dry, off-dry and sweet) and predicates, and even managed to select three Beerenauslesen and probably two TBAs from both Zeltinger and Wehlener Sonnenuhr and the Bernkasteler Lay. These wines were still in the casks in January 2016 (along with BAs and TBAs from Molitor’s exciting 2013 vintage); I will report on the results later this year. Although Molitor admits he had never before invested so many thoughts and tasting hours for such a small collection (most of the wines stood on the table 20 times until Molitor decided which wines should be bottled under which label), he finally bottled 35 wines (32 Rieslings) from the 2014 vintage (in August and September). Add the three Pinot Blancs and the five Pinot Noirs from the 2012 vintage and the collection 2015/2016 is completed (40 wines). The group of dry (13) and sweet (currently 11) Rieslings is almost even, but the most remarkable news is that there are only five Spätlesen (next to eight Kabinett wines), but no less than 12 Auslesen of which all have either two ("highly fine") or three stars ("most fine"). This is an outstanding figure, or should I better say, this is monstrous!? The wine qualities are mind-blowing again, but let’s start with a general impression.
Markus Molitor's 2014 portfolio reflects the vintage and its unique style that displays darker toned fruit aromas on the nose (stewed stone fruits, tropical fruits), and comes along with rather light-bodied, filigreed and delicate wines that taste fresh, mineral and very digestible.
Molitor’s new collection has many highlights ,though seems to be more heterogeneous than in the years before. The Pinot Blancs are rich, very elegant and fruity, as well as round and smooth on the palate because of their high extracts and the malolactic fermentation they underwent. These Pinots have a big success in Germany, though from a stylistic point of view, they perhaps lack a bit of tension (at least at this early stage) and come along very, very charming.
The dry entry-level Rieslings and Kabinetts of 2014 are light, bright and lean, but lack a bit of precision, concentration and tension compared with other vintages, though fuder six is again one of the finest dry-styled Kabinett wines you can find in the Mosel. The off-dry and fruity-sweet Kabinetts are more convincing, as are the Spätlesen of which the white-capsuled dry Zeltlinger Sonnenuhr is simply great Riesling--and probably even more complex than the corresponding gold-capsuled sweet one.
Molitor’s Auslesen are absolutely world class Rieslings and worth any effort to find at least some bottles of these stunning beauties. I hazard the risk claiming that in all Germany, no better dry Rieslings have been produced in 2014 than Molitor’s three star Auslesen from the Saarburger Rausch, the Zeltinger Schlossberg and the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. Also Molitor’s three starred sweet Auslesen from the Ockfener Bockstein, Saarburger Rausch and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr are unrivaled in their combination of sweetness, richness and concentration on the one hand--and their lean and digestible character due to the light alcohol, the present acidity and stimulating minerality. And then the BAs and TBAs yet to come… I assume nobody in the Mosel is sorting grapes as fussy as Molitor does. On our website we have included some photographs proofing what the MM team is doing in the late evening after the grapes have been picked. Dozens of helpers are sorting single berries several times until classifications can be made. Only the very finest is to be used for starred Auslesen or higher predicates.
Molitor's 2012 Pinot Noirs are the very best you can buy in this category in Germany. In terms of complexity, concentration, structure and longevity, but also elegance and finesse, only Fürst in Franken can compete--though the wines from Paul and Sebastian Fürst are less powerful. Molitor's Pinots are grown on slate (Fürsts are from sandstone), which results in pretty powerful wines that need a lot of aeration but are never fat or opulent. Try the most "simple" Pinot Noir Molitor is bottling (Haus Klosterberg) and you are already in the upper class of German Pinot Noir. His three starred Pinots are mind-blowing and can compete with prestigious Grands Crus from Burgundy.
Beyond his current collection, here are is more top news. Molitor, who already cultivates more than 60 hectares in the Middle Mosel and the Saar, has planted another 65,000 vines in 2014/15 on 8.5 or nine hectares, mainly behind the estate in the Wehlener Klosterberg located in a side valley of the Mosel. Molitor will also be cultivating a respectable plot in the Bernkasteler Doctor starting with the 2016 vintage. Last but not least, he is going to replant four hectares in the formerly prestigious Ockfener Geisberg in the Saar, probably this year. Together with Roman Niewodniczanski (Van Volxem) he has bulldozed the scrubby steep, south-facing slope behind the Ockfener Bockstein last year and is looking forward to bringing it back to the former reputation when Geisberger Rieslings reached prices almost as high as a Scharzhofberger.
Mind the following color codes at Markus Molitor: white capsule: dry or dry styled Riesling; green capsule: medium-dry Riesling; golden capsule: fruity-sweet or noble sweet Riesling. |
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