Weingut Mönchhof Ürzig Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2021

The grapes come from the staircase-steep amphitheatre shaped vineyards of Ürziger Würzgarten, which translates as Spice Garden. The volcanic rhyolitith soils are derived from volcanic eruptions over 200 million years ago and are layered with red slate. Due to the southern exposure and the protective rocks, Ürziger Würzgarten is one of the warmer microclimates, producing opulent, aromatic, spicy Riesling with a typical zesty finish. The Spätlese Trocken is made from ungrafted vines that were planted in the 1920s in the exceptionally rocky part of the Würzgarten that locals refer to as Kranklay. The old vines (Alte Reben in German) produce low yields of berries with great concentration and elegant finesse and are trained with the traditional single-pole training system, characteristic of the Mosel. 100 years ago, all the vineyard work was exclusively manual and this system allowed for easy access to the vines to cultivate them. It allows for a greater planting density encouraging deep root stocks some reaching depths of 15 metres. As the vineyard is manually cultivated, the soils are loose and healthy and can readily absorb rainwater. The grapes are hand-harvested.

The fruit was immediately crushed, pressed and clarified by sedimentation and the must was pumped into 1,000-litre stainless steel tanks where cold fermentation with selected yeasts lasted for 35-40 days. The Spätlese spent four months on the fine lees.