Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Auslese ** Gold Capsule
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Extremely long-lived; typically peaks between 15 to 40 years from the vintage, though it can easily cellar for half a century under ideal conditions.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Blue cheeses such as Roquefort, rich duck liver pâté, and fruit-based desserts like apple tarte tatin.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Crafted by the visionary Markus Molitor, who took over his family winery in 1984 with a mission to revive the golden age of Mosel Riesling, this Auslese ** Gold Capsule is a monument to the steep, slate-laden slopes of the Zeltinger Himmelreich ('Kingdom of Heaven') vineyard. Composed of 100% Riesling, the wine benefits from the vineyard's fine Devonian blue slate soils and optimal south-southwest exposure. Molitor's meticulous hand-selection of botrytised grapes, marked by the two-star (**) designation for exceptional concentration and the Gold Capsule denoting a noble sweet style, results in a wine of breathtaking complexity. Fermented slowly with wild yeasts in neutral oak Fuder casks, it seamlessly marries luscious, honeyed tropical fruit with a piercing, slatey minerality and vibrant acidity that defines the historic Mosel style.
🍾 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.