Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Nr13
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2042
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, glazed roasted duck, fruit-based tarts
✨ Technical Specifications
The Zeltinger Sonnenuhr (Sundial of Zeltingen) is one of the Mosel's most legendary grand cru vineyards, characterized by its incredibly steep, south-facing slopes of weathered blue Devonian slate. The vineyard takes its name from the historic sundial erected in 1620 by Abbot Jodocus Bodemann to help vineyard workers keep time. Selbach-Oster's Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Nr13 represents a specific, highly prized cask or lot selection of this iconic site. Crafted from 100% Riesling, often sourced from extremely old, ungrafted vines, the grapes are hand-harvested with a meticulous selection of botrytised berries. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in traditional large oak Fuder casks, this Auslese strikes a breathtaking balance between rich, honeyed tropical fruit, candied citrus, and a piercing, stony minerality, showcasing the pinnacle of traditional Mosel craftsmanship.
🍾 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.