The Mäushöhle is one of the last terraced vineyards in the Palatinate.
Michael Andres tends 0.45 hectares there on steep slopes that others abandoned long ago. Since 1993 he has farmed his 7-hectare estate in Ruppertsberg, certified biodynamic since 2006, and today he does so together with his daughter Elena. His wines are born from red sandstone sites of the Mittelhaardt – shaped by hand labour, wild yeasts, and the renunciation of everything superfluous.
Terraces Others Abandoned
The Deidesheimer Mäushöhle lies where the Mittelhaardt turns steep. While the terraced vineyards around it were levelled or abandoned, Michael Andres has held on to his 0.45 hectares.
Red sandstone with a south-easterly exposure, one of the highest sites in the region. The
Mäushöhle am Kirchenberg shows what this site can do: a
Riesling of mineral precision that tastes of wet stone and lemon zest.
N as in No Compromise
The
N line stands for Natural, No Filtration, No Limits, Next Level. Here Andres experiments with small batches, wild yeasts and
spontaneous fermentation without additives. Some of these wines come across as oxidative, some are shaped by tannin, others are reductive and closed. The
Reiterpfad Hochseel -N-, from a single plot in the Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad, sums up this philosophy: unfined, unfiltered, alive.
Seven Hectares, One Winemaker
Michael Andres founded his estate in 1993 and has deliberately kept it small.
Seven hectares in five single vineyards: Reiterpfad, Herrgottsacker, Mäushöhle, Kieselberg and Leinhöhle. He works with his daughter Elena and the family, knows every vine and picks by hand. For him, the biodynamic farming he has practised since 2006 means horsetail tea against fungal disease, horn manure in spring and the lunar calendar at harvest – without esotericism, with pragmatism.
Sekt with a Partner
Alongside his still wines, Michael Andres runs the Sekt estate
Andres & Mugler together with Steffen Mugler. Their traditional-method sparkling wines spring from the same approach to quality:
precision over volume, character over easy appeal. Sharing ideas with his partner pushes both of them forward. His daughter Elena now also works at the estate – the next generation is ready.
Michael Andres's wines are anything but mass-produced. They taste of work, of conviction, of
red sandstone and wild yeast. The
Chardonnay -N- carries this signature over to the Burgundy varieties: unvarnished, vibrant, with a tension between fruit and minerality.
