Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese 2*
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2050
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Classic blue cheeses, rich savory dishes like pan-seared foie gras, and aromatic, moderately spicy Asian cuisine.
✨ Technical Specifications
Markus Molitor’s Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese 2* is a masterclass in steep-slope viticulture from one of the Mosel’s most iconic vineyards. The Erdener Treppchen, or 'little staircase of Erden,' owes its name to the stone steps carved directly into the sheer cliffside by Roman-era viticulturists to navigate the treacherous slopes. Unlike much of the Middle Mosel's blue slate, the Treppchen is characterized by iron-rich red slate soils, which impart a unique, fiery minerality, exotic spice, and deep stone-fruit complexity to the Riesling grapes. Molitor’s meticulous 'two-star' (2*) designation indicates a highly selective harvest of exceptionally ripe, partially botrytized grapes. Fermented with wild yeasts in large, neutral oak casks, this Auslese beautifully balances intense concentration, rich texture, and the electric, crystalline acidity that defines world-class Mosel Riesling.
🍾 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.