Product Description
TOP GERMAN PRODUCER IN A ‘NEAR-PERFECT’ VINTAGE
HUGE SALE
"This is one of those rare, once in a blue moon offers you will not want to miss out on. We have the opportunity to offer one of the top German producers in a phenomenal vintage for Riesling at a huge discount compared to our previous prices! Müller-Catoir has been making some of the finest Rieslings in Germany since the 18th century, and their sweet Rieslings are particularly exceptional. The secret to the success of their wines begins with their unique vineyard sites which lie on a variety of soils from mottled sandstone to loamy gravel. They were also pioneers in the Pfalz region in introducing a more reductive style of winemaking, resulting in balanced wines that exhibit complexity and richness in harmony with bright acidity. At this new low price, I do not anticipate this wine being available for long, so don’t hesitate! I will certainly be snapping up some of this for myself." – Jim Knight, The Wine House (3/22/17)
"2015 is not just a near-perfect vintage for dry wines, but also for noble sweet wines, especially Rieslings." – Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
FROM THE WINERY
Tasting Notes:
Concentrated green and herbal aromas of eucalyptus and fresh hay herbs characterise the bouquet of the Rieslaner Auslese. The finish of its velvety body has a delicate minerality.
Technical Details:
Harvest: Handpicked with careful selection (dried up parts only)
Winemaking: Cool fermentation in stainless steel
Region: Pfalz
Vineyard site: Haardter Herzog
Soil: Meager gravel
Vines: 6-23 years
Residual Sugar: 130.1 g/l
FROM THE IMPORTER
Family owned since 1774 with 9 generations tending the vines, the winery is now run by Philipp David Catoir. Martin Franzen, hailing from the Mosel, with experience as head of operations at Schlossgut Diel in the Nahe and Gut Nagelsforst in Baden, took over winemaking responsibility from Hans-Günther Schwarz in 2001. In an effort to showcase terroir and varietal character, Müller-Catoir has adopted the following philosophy of winegrowing: "Vines were grown by natural methods with organic fertilization, permanent green cutting that gets more and more radical every summer, and ever-greater selective harvesting with hand-picking of grapes for even the most "basic" kabinett wine – all these measures cannot help but produce only a small yield of wines with a mineral note, a filigree acidity structure and exotic fruit aromas." The estate began an organic conversion in 2007 and completed their first organic vintage in 2009. The vineyards in Haardt are composed of primary rock (urgestein) and sandstone, with an increasing proportion of gravel lower on the slopes. Vineyards of Gimmeldingen contain more loess and sand, while the vineyards of Mussbach are the most gravelly. Müller-Catoir also bottles several "micro parcels"; one of which, the Breumel in den Mauern, is a monopole inside the Burgergarten which was first planted 700 years ago, and is also one of the oldest vineyards in the Pfalz.
Müller-Catoir was a pioneer of reductive winemaking in Germany. The estate implements a gentle crush, a long skin contact, slow gentle pressing, and then ferments at warmer than customary fermentation temperatures in stainless steel. The wine is racked only once and very late. Müller-Catoir produces wines of outstanding transparency and density, and remains emblematic of Riesling at its most sophisticated.