Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Auslese 3* White Capsule
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2050
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Pan-seared turbot or Dover sole in a rich butter sauce, roasted pork belly with crackling, and aged hard cheeses such as Comté or Gruyère.
✨ Technical Specifications
Markus Molitor took over his family winery in 1984 with a singular mission: to restore the Mosel region to its historic golden age of winemaking. This exceptional dry Riesling hails from the Bernkasteler Lay, a vineyard whose name derives from the old Celtic-Germanic word for slate ('Lay'). Situated on steep, south-southwest-facing slopes along the Mosel River, the vineyard is characterized by deep, weathered blue Devonian slate. Molitor's unique coding system uses a 'White Capsule' to signify a dry style, while the '3 Stars' (***) represents the ultimate selection of highly ripe, hand-harvested Auslese grapes. Fermented spontaneously with wild yeasts in large, traditional oak Fuder casks and aged on its fine lees, this wine showcases an extraordinary harmony of rich, concentrated stone fruit, intense crystalline minerality, and vibrant, laser-like acidity.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded upon an eighth-generation family viticultural heritage, Weingut Markus Molitor was transformed in 1984 when twenty-year-old Markus Molitor took over the estate at Haus Klosterberg with the dedicated mission of restoring Mosel Riesling to its historic world-class stature. Situated in Bernkastel-Kues in Germany's legendary Mosel region, the winery meticulously cultivates precipitous slate vineyards across renowned grand cru sites such as Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and Erdener Treppchen. Molitor practices low yields, ultra-selective late hand-harvesting, and gentle spontaneous fermentation in ancient, deep vaulted cellars with minimal intervention. The estate is globally celebrated for its site-expressive Rieslings—distinguished by white, green, and gold capsules indicating dry, off-dry, and botrytized sweet styles—as well as remarkably complex, structured Pinot Noir.