Erdener Treppchen Auslese 3*** GK
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 15 to 40+ years from the vintage release, though it possesses the structure to cellar gracefully for over half a century.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Classic blue cheeses such as Roquefort or Stilton, rich duck liver pâté or foie gras, and traditional caramelized fruit tarts like Tarte Tatin.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Hailing from the dizzyingly steep slopes of the Middle Mosel, Markus Molitor's Erdener Treppchen Auslese 3*** Goldkapsel is a monument to extreme viticulture. The vineyard's name, meaning 'little staircase of Erden,' refers to the stone steps carved directly into the sheer red slate cliffs centuries ago to allow workers access to the vines. This wine is crafted from 100% Riesling grapes, painstakingly selected berry-by-berry to capture the perfect expression of noble rot (botrytis). Markus Molitor's three-star designation represents the absolute pinnacle of his selection process, while the Gold Capsule (Goldkapsel) denotes a luscious, noble sweet style. Fermented spontaneously with wild yeasts in traditional, large neutral oak Fuder casks, this wine beautifully balances opulent, honeyed tropical fruit and botrytis spice with the electric, vibrating acidity and intense smoky minerality characteristic of the Erdener red slate terroir.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Taking over his family's estate in 1984 at just twenty years old, Markus Molitor set out to restore the Mosel region's historic prestige through uncompromising quality and traditional craftsmanship. Based at the historic Haus Klosterberg in Bernkastel-Kues, the winery meticulously farms steep, slate-rich vineyards across the Mosel and Saar, utilizing extremely late hand-harvesting and spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak Fuder casks. Molitor is globally renowned for his precise, mineral-driven Rieslings—distinguished by white, green, and gold capsules indicating dryness levels—as well as his structured, elegant Spätburgunder. This obsessive dedication to terroir has earned the estate numerous perfect 100-point scores, cementing its status as an icon of German winemaking.