Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
blue cheese, foie gras, spicy Thai curry
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the legendary steep slopes of the Middle Mosel, the Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese by Selbach-Oster is a masterclass in the balance of sweetness, acidity, and mineral depth. The 'Domprobst' (Cathedral Provost) vineyard, named after the historical church dignitaries of Trier who once claimed its tithes, is renowned for its deep, water-retaining blue Devonian slate soils. This unique terroir, combined with a sheltered microclimate, yields 100% Riesling grapes of extraordinary concentration. Hand-harvested at peak ripeness with a selective inclusion of botrytis-affected berries, the juice is fermented naturally, often in traditional large oak Fuder casks. The resulting Auslese is a luscious, multi-layered wine where rich stone fruit and honeyed notes are brilliantly juxtaposed against a spine of electric acidity and a distinct, smoky slate minerality.
🍾 About the Producer
Weingut Selbach-Oster represents over four centuries of winemaking heritage along Germany's Middle Mosel, with family viticultural roots established in 1661. Based in Zeltingen-Rachtig, proprietors Johannes and Barbara Selbach, alongside their son Sebastian, steward approximately 23 hectares of precipitous, south-facing slopes. Their historic holdings encompass quintessential Grand Cru sites including Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Zeltinger Schlossberg, Zeltinger Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and Graacher Domprobst. Characterized by weathered Devonian blue and grey slate soils, over half the estate's vines are ungrafted, centenarian rootstocks farmed with rigorous sustainable and low-intervention methods. In the cellar, Selbach-Oster champions unhurried native yeast fermentations carried out in neutral German oak Fuder casks and temperature-controlled stainless steel. The resulting wines—spanning bone-dry Grosses Gewächs bottlings, nuanced Feinherb styles, and pristine Prädikat sweet wines—epitomize classical Mosel tension, showcasing crystalline acidity, wet-slate minerality, pristine orchard fruit, and exceptional longevity.