Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Ur Alte Reben
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted pork belly, spicy Thai curry, pan-seared breast
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the legendary, sun-drenched slopes of the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, the 'Ur Alte Reben' (ancient vines) Riesling is a masterclass in Mosel terroir. Sourced from extremely old, ungrafted vines—some exceeding a century in age—rooted deep into the devonian blue slate soils, this wine captures the essence of a bygone era. The Selbach family employs traditional, low-intervention winemaking, fermenting the hand-harvested grapes with indigenous yeasts in classic, large oak Fuder casks. The result is a Riesling of breathtaking complexity, boasting concentrated stone fruit, intense slate minerality, and a textured, multi-layered palate that reflects the incredibly low yields of these historic vines.
🍾 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.