Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese Nr89
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Classic blue cheeses such as Roquefort, moderately spicy Asian dishes like Thai green curry, and fruit-based desserts like pear tart or apple galette.
✨ Technical Specifications
Markus Molitor's Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese Nr89 is a breathtaking expression of one of the Mosel's most singular terroirs. Unlike the typical blue slate of the region, the Urziger Wurzgarten ('spice garden of Urzig') is defined by its striking red volcanic soil and weathered clay-slate. This unique geology, combined with incredibly steep, sun-drenched slopes, yields a Riesling of intense, exotic spice and vibrant tropical fruit. Molitor, a legendary figure in the Mosel known for his uncompromising standards, practices meticulous hand-harvesting, often sending pickers through the vineyards in multiple passes to select only the most perfect, botrytis-affected grapes. Fermented with wild yeasts in large, neutral oak casks, this Auslese beautifully balances rich sweetness with a laser-like beam of acidity, resulting in a wine of profound complexity, elegance, and mineral tension.
🍾 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.