Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese Nr11
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2040
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, roasted duck, apricot tart
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the precipitously steep, south-facing slopes of the Zeltinger Schlossberg, this single-vineyard Riesling Auslese represents the pinnacle of traditional Mosel winemaking. The Zeltinger Schlossberg vineyard is renowned for its deep, heat-retaining Devonian slate soils, which impart a profound, smoky minerality to the grapes. The 'Nr 11' designation historically refers to a specific, prized Fuder (large oak cask) or select parcel harvest that yields an Auslese of exceptional concentration and elegance. Crafted from 100% Riesling, often with a delicate touch of noble rot (botrytis), the wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts in traditional oak casks. This hands-off approach preserves the pristine, vibrant character of the fruit, balancing luscious sweetness with a spine of electric acidity. The Selbach family's stewardship, dating back to the 17th century, shines through in this wine's harmony of rich stone fruit, honeyed complexity, and intense slate-driven 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.