(Alter)native Riesling
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed within 2–8 years of the vintage release to appreciate its vibrant natural character and evolving textural complexity.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted pork belly, aged hard cheeses, spicy Thai curry
✨ Technical Specifications
The (Alter)native Riesling by Clemens Busch is a captivating departure from traditional Mosel winemaking, representing a bridge between ancient techniques and modern natural wine philosophy. The name itself is a clever double entendre: 'Alter' (meaning 'old' in German) pays homage to ancestral, skin-contact white winemaking, while 'alternative' highlights its status as a low-intervention, avant-garde expression. Sourced from biodynamically farmed parcels in the steep, slate-rich slopes of the Pündericher Marienburg, this skin-contact (orange) wine undergoes extended maceration and spontaneous fermentation in traditional oak Fuder casks. Bottled without filtration, fining, or added sulfur, it reveals a deeply textured, amber-hued side of Riesling, rich with herbal complexity, dried stone fruits, and a vibrant, mineral-driven structure that challenges and redefines the classic Mosel archetype.
🍾 About the Producer
Situated in the picturesque village of Pünderich along the dramatic slopes of Germany's Middle Mosel, Weingut Clemens Busch has been led by Clemens and Rita Busch since taking over the historic family estate in the 1980s. Regarded as pioneering trailblazers of organic and biodynamic viticulture in the region, the estate is dedicated to natural, low-intervention winemaking that deeply respects the ecosystem. Their work centers around the legendary, south-facing Pündericher Marienburg hillside, where varying sub-parcels of gray, red, and blue slate are vinified separately to showcase pure terroir expression. Clemens Busch is internationally acclaimed for profound, textured, and mineral-driven dry Rieslings—most notably their Grosses Gewächs expressions like Fahrlay, Falkenlay, and Rothenpfad—alongside exquisite noble sweet and sparkling wines.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Riesling
🍷 Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
11.5-12.5%