Graacher Himmelreich Auslese 1* Gold Capsule
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2050
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Rich blue cheeses such as Roquefort, classic foie gras or savory duck terrines, and moderately spicy Asian dishes like Thai green curry.
✨ Technical Specifications
Markus Molitor's Graacher Himmelreich Auslese 1* Gold Capsule is a monumental expression of Mosel Riesling, born from the steep, blue Devonian slate slopes of the Graacher Himmelreich (meaning 'Kingdom of Heaven') vineyard. Markus Molitor, renowned for his uncompromising pursuit of quality, employs extremely selective hand-harvesting to capture the ideal balance of botrytis and pristine fruit. The Gold Capsule denotes a wine of noble sweetness and extraordinary concentration, while the single star (1*) signifies a specific tier of selection and refinement. Fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in traditional neutral oak Fuder casks, this 100% Riesling marries the intense, smoky minerality of Graach's slate with luscious stone fruit, exotic citrus, and a laser-like acidity that keeps the wine remarkably fresh and weightless despite its richness.
🍾 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.