Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed from 10 to 35 years from the vintage release, as its intense sweetness and vibrant acidity harmonize into a complex, petrol-and-honeyed masterpiece.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Spicy Sichuan or Thai cuisine, rich blue cheeses such as Roquefort, and classic fruit tarts or pear galettes.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Markus Molitor’s Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese is a breathtaking expression of one of the Mosel’s most dramatic and legendary vineyards. The 'Wurzgarten' (meaning 'spice garden') is famous for its dizzyingly steep slopes and its striking, iron-rich red volcanic and slate soils, which stand in stark contrast to the blue slate found elsewhere in the region. This unique terroir imparts a famously exotic, spicy, and tropical character to the 100% Riesling grapes. Molitor, a master of precision, employs meticulous hand-harvesting—often in multiple passes to select only the finest botrytized or highly ripe grapes—followed by slow, spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in traditional, large oak Fuder casks. The resulting Auslese is a masterclass in tension, balancing luscious richness with a piercing, mineral-driven acidity that reflects centuries of Mosel winemaking heritage.
🍾 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.