The whole trip was a great Riesling experience

and has shown how great are Moselle Rieslings, which others can hardly reach, simply because the terroirs of the Moselle are ingeniously suitable for Riesling. And what Rieslings can do in maturing! Hardly any white variety is more suitable, which also is wonderful with residual sweetness. No wonder that ripe, fine-sweet Moselle Rieslings were among the most expensive wines in the world in the times about 1900.

About the foundation of DER RING Mosel 1899

They set themselves high quality standards, the seven founding winemakers, and wanted to auction home-pressed and home-grown (ready-to-drink) wines themselves. So on April 29, 1899 they founded the "Association of Vineyard Owners of the Middle Moselle". The first auction of the community took place on April 23, 1901 in Bernkastel. In principle, it was not an emergency birth, because Moselle wines, especially Spätlese and Auslese wines with natural residual sweetness, were in great demand at these times and also achieved high export prices. The aim was to make themselves a little more independent of the wine trade that was dominant at the time and to take sales more into their own hands. Now they are celebrating 125 years!

Why auctions? 

Committed to quality

Today, the association has 39 members along the Moselle between Trier and Koblenz as well as the Saar. In order to take account of the larger area, from January 1, 2024 it will no longer be called Bernkasteler Ring but DER RING Mosel 1899. High quality standards are already set in the original statutes, and so the members submit at least six wines annually for internal quality control, which are tested internally. It is a valuable self-control in which the members also advise each other.

Grosses Gewaechs GG (Great Growth)

Grosse Gewaechse has been offered since 2005. They are exclusively dry Rieslings or Pinot Noirs, grown on internally classified steep and very steep slopes, which have been determined over years on the basis of internal tests. Selective hand harvesting, maximum yield 50 hectolitres/hectare, Auslese quality, gently matured, at least 12 months of wood barrel maturation and strict testing by a neutral expert commission are the prerequisites. Rieslings may only be sold from 1.9. of the following year and Pinot Noir from 1.9. of the second year, each with the GG logo on the bottle (with or without ring). Some of the rules are even stricter than the legal ones for Grosses Gewaechs, which have been in force since 2021 for all wineries.

A real treasure trove for wine lovers

Unfortunately, the time for longer notes was often too short, so some of the introductions are only in telegram style:

Rieslings dry

1. 2021 Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Alte Reben dry, 12,5%, Wine Estate Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler; Bernkastel-Kues: finely smoky, tells a story about its terroir - 95 bonvinitas points

2. 2023 Merler Stephansberg Riesling dry, Wine Estate Kallfelz, Zell-Merl, 12,5%: finely ripe fragrance with citrus notes; on the tongue great fruit with minerality and a lot of glaze, accompanied by pepper notes; very harmonious, high-volume finish – a lot of future– 95 bonvinitas points

3. 2020 Braunberger Juffer Riesling Reserve dry, 12,5%, Wine Estate Martin Conrad, Brauneberg: very fine differentiated fragrance; highly interesting body, complex, mineral, equally complex finish – a wine with great personality; a good 20 years of future – 96 bonvinitas points

4. 2023 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling of true-ruted vines Kabinett Praedikatswein dry, 11% Wine Estate Rebenhof Johannes Schmitz, Ürzig: Very intense, spicy aroma based on notes of ripe apples and dried apricots; on the tongue a lot of backbone and structure, as well as mineral notes that rise again from the fruit in the finish, slightly salty; Future a good 8-10 years – 98 points, green = category 1, dry up to and including 12%

Johannes Schmitz

Other wines of his were also great, and he is a true original, originally from the vine refinement: "Our terroirs are simply ideal for Riesling, because the water on the steep slopes of the Moselle drains quickly or seeps into the slate soils, and the mountains are not so high that much more is coming. The Riesling is happy about this, because it doesn't love wet feet and needs significantly less water than, for example, Burgundy varieties. I have no problems with ungrafted vines. You have to treat and fertilize them in such a way that there is good root growth. Then the stick compensates for any phylloxera damage. This basically also applies to grafted ones with American roots, because phylloxera mutates and is also active there, but hardly anyone is talking about."

5. 2018 Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Alte Reben Saar, 12,5%, Wine Estate Reverchon in Konz-Filzen: As soon as you pour it, the spice of the bouquet flows towards you, which breathes a lot of citrus and minerality when you take a closer nose; on the tongue powerful elegance from which the minerality rises again, entertainingly finely salty, which subtly transforms into white pepper, from which a fine glaze rises at the end - 98 bonvinitas points

Grosse Gewaechse - Great Growth

6. 2021 Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling dry Grosses Gewaechs, 12,5%, Wine Estate Ludwig in Thörnich: noble fragrance; on the tongue very multi-layered with glaze – 95 bonvinitas points

7. 2020 Erdener Treppchen Riesling dry Grosses Gewaechs, 13%, Wine Estate Rebenhof Johannes Schmitz, Ürzig: intense anticipatory fragrance based on candied lemon peel; wonderfully ripe, mineral, round on the tongue, which raises further expectations and leads to a wonderful finish, a marriage of subtle residual sweetness and minerality – 96 bonvinitas points

8. 2018 Bercasteler Doctor Riesling Grosses Gewaechs, 12,5 %, Wine Estate Dr. H. Thanisch, Erben Müller-Burggraef, Bernkastel-Kues: Very steely fragrance with notes of lemon zest; very complex and highly individual on the palate, tells a story about its terroir that continues well into the long finish. Great wine! - 96 bonvinitas points

9. 2019 Bremmer Calmont Fachkaul Riesling Grosses Gewaechs, 12%, Wine Estate Franzen, Bremm: great wine, wonderfully mineral with a lot of glaze – 97 green bonvinitas points – mean category 1 up to and including 12%.

Off-dry Rieslings

10. 2023 Erdener Treppchen Riesling off-dry, 12,5%, Wine Estate Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler; Bernkastel-Kues: On the nose notes of citrus and kumqua, on the tongue earthy, slightly smoky - great wine - 95 bonvinitas points. Orange = Category 3, wines with residual sweetness

11. 2017 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Prädikatswein Kabinett golden capsule fruity-sweet, 7,5%, Wine Estate Markus Molitor, Bernkastel-Wehlen: Very nice and at the same time very interesting, entertaining wine, which already tells something about its terroir, in the nose with fine mineral notes; wonderfully coated fruit sweetness on the tongue, which makes the wine seem almost dry – 95 bonvinitas points

12. 2016 Drohner Hofberg Riesling Prädikatswein Kabinett off-dry, 10%, Wine Esrtate Loersch, Leiwen: fine honey notes on the nose, very rich on the palate with a lot of elegance, which also makes the wine seem almost dry – 96 bonvinitas points

13. 2005 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese Prädikatswein green capssule off-dry, 11%, Wine Estate Markus Molitor, Bernkastel-Wehlen: deep, multi-layered fragrance from herbal notes to candied lemon peel; on the palate a whole mouth of fruit, and all with great elegance. A really great top wine that shows the treasures that first-class Moselle Rieslings produce with maturation, and a big praise to Markus Molitor for having patience with such wines and offering them - 98 bonvinitas points

delicately fruity

 

14. „URGESTEIN“ 2023 Merler Fettgarten Riesling, 11%, Wine Estate Kallfelz, Zell-Merl: ripe aroma with hints of candied lemon peel and orange peel; on the palate very lush and yet unmistakably Riesling; vibrant finish that combines opulence with elegance – 96 bonvinitas points

15. 2018 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese Prädikatswein, 7,5%, Wine Estate Kerpen, Bernkastel-Wehlen: great drop, where the scent really jumps out at you; on the palate a great elegance enveloped by sweetness - 96 bonvinitas points

16. 2015 Bremmer Calmont Riesling Kabinett Prädikatswein, 8%, Wine Estate Franzen, Bremm: deep, full-bodied noble fragrance; elegant top class on the palate; Sweetness coated in ripe, almost dry - with lively acidity – 98 bonvinitas points

Naturally sweet and Dessert wines

Wines of great class - but I couldn't write down much shortly before the end:

17. 2016 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Auslese Prädikatswein, 7.5%, Wine Estate Lehnert-Veit, Piesport: Great class – 96 bonvinitas points – violet = category 4, noble sweet wines

18. 2017 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling alte Reben Auslese Prädikatswein, 7.5%, Wine Estate A. Gessinger, Zeltingen: noble fragrance, very interesting entertaining wine – 97 bonvinitas points

19. 2017 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese Prädikatswein, 9%, Wine Estate Meulenhof, Erden: super noble fragrance and great sweet-acid play – 98 bonvinitas points

20. 2007 Moriander Honigberg Riesling Auslese Prädikatswein, Wine Estate Markus Fries, Maring-Noviand: elegant fullness – 98 bonvinitas points

21. 2010 Bernkasteler alte Badstube am Doctorberg Riesling Spaetlese Prädikatswein, 8.5%, Winery Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler; Bernkastel-Kues: super-noble ripeness, very interesting drop due to a lot of minerality – 98 bonvinitas points

The next auction

with many top wines and rarities, to which wine lovers are also invited, will take place on November 7, 2024 at the IHK Conference Center Trier. Here more details. There, private treasure chambers can be wonderfully stocked with rarities. In the morning, the wines will be presented for pre-tasting, before the auction takes place in the afternoon. The results of 2023, for example, convey impressive results.

Text: Dieter Simon, Publisher bonvinitas (In contrast to the bonvinitas blind evaluations in groups by experts, the ratings represent my opinion. The same rating system applies to both.) Bottle photos by Dieter Simon, or as indicated.