Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling Spätlese 2025

A delicately sweet Spätlese at 7.5% vol. that puts its origin ahead of the fruit: pure slate and an intense, stony minerality define the wine, while smoky nuances give it nobility and complexity. For now it remains youthfully reserved and needs air in the glass or time in the bottle.

The Enkircher Ellergrub is a terraced, steep vineyard on the Middle Mosel, planted with 80 percent ancient, ungrafted vines. Here the Riesling grows on blue and grey Devonian slate, the slopes reaching inclines of up to 70 percent, with every step of the work done by hand. Konstantin Weiser and Alexandra Künstler farm four hectares of steep vineyards around Enkirch and Traben-Trarbach organically.

Pure varietal Riesling, mostly from ungrafted vines, many of them over 100 years old and never grafted onto American rootstocks. The wine ferments spontaneously in a 500-litre stainless steel tank, without clarifying agents and without fining; racking also takes place in stainless steel.

In the glass, pale straw yellow with distinct green reflections. With oxygen, fine citrus notes, green apple, lemon balm and elderflower emerge. Then delicate sweetness, refreshing acidity and delicate citrus and apple fruit; the gentle 7.5% vol. keeps the wine effortlessly drinkable. Patience pays off, as the wine will continue to develop over the coming years.

Weiser-Künstler have been working on the Mosel since 2005, without any family tradition behind them. From 1.8 hectares, the estate has grown to four, managed entirely by the couple themselves, from the morning check in the vineyard to labelling. They belong to the Klitzekleiner Ring, an association for preserving old Riesling vines. A wise owl watches over the antique-blue Schlegel bottles.