Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Classic blue cheeses such as Roquefort, rich duck pâté or foie gras, and moderately spiced Asian dishes like Thai green curry.
✨ Technical Specifications
Markus Molitor's Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese is a sublime testament to the steep, slate-laden slopes of the Middle Mosel. Molitor, often referred to as 'Herr 100 Points' for his uncompromising pursuit of perfection, crafts this wine from 100% Riesling grapes grown on the devonian slate soils of the Bernkasteler Badstube. The name 'Badstube' historically refers to the medieval bathhouses of Bernkastel. Molitor's signature approach involves meticulous hand-selection of botrytised or extremely ripe berries, spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts, and slow maturation in traditional neutral oak Fuder casks. This produces an Auslese of extraordinary tension, balancing rich, honeyed stone fruit and exotic citrus notes with a laser-like, mineral-driven acidity that reflects the unique Mosel terroir.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 1984 when twenty-year-old Markus Molitor assumed control of his family's winemaking legacy, Weingut Markus Molitor has evolved into an undisputed titan of the Mosel. Based at Haus Klosterberg, Molitor manages over 100 hectares encompassing premier steep-slope crus along both the Middle Mosel and Saar, including Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Prälat, and Scharzhofberg. Viticulture is strictly manual on precipitous gradients of weathered Devonian blue, red, and grey slate. Molitor pursues an uncompromising philosophy centered on sustainable farming, late selective harvesting, native yeast fermentation, and prolonged aging on fine lees in traditional wooden Fuders carved into subterranean slate cellars. Renowned for its singular capsule coding system—white indicating dry, green denoting feinherb (off-dry), and gold designating noble sweet expressions, often tiered with asterisks—the estate crafts crystalline, hyper-mineral Rieslings of monumental depth and aging potential, alongside site-expressive Pinot Noir and Weissburgunder.