Graacher Himmelreich Riesling TBA 1*
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Extremely long-lived; typically best enjoyed 15 to 50+ years from the vintage, though it can easily cellar for a century under optimal conditions.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Roquefort or other high-quality blue cheeses, artisanal fruit tarts (especially apricot or peach), and rich foie gras terrine.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Markus Molitor’s Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) 1* is a monument to the extreme viticulture of the Middle Mosel. The 'Himmelreich'—or 'Kingdom of Heaven'—vineyard features steep, south-southwest-facing slopes composed of deep, weathered blue Devonian slate, which imparts a distinctive, crystalline minerality and vibrant acidity to the Riesling grapes. Under the obsessive guidance of Markus Molitor, who revived his family's estate in 1984, grapes are harvested by hand in multiple meticulous passes to select only the most perfectly shriveled, botrytized berries. The '1*' designation signifies a highly refined, elegant expression of TBA, where the intense sweetness is balanced by a piercing, electric acidity. Fermented slowly with native yeasts in neutral oak Fuder casks, this rare nectar represents the pinnacle of Mosel sweet wine craftsmanship, marrying rich honeyed complexity with ethereal lightness.
🍾 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.