20213041_WGDE2021_ENGL

MOSEL | A PORTRAIT OF THE REGION
especially in China, still prefer residually
sweet and nobly sweet Mosel wines.
Especially the 2019 Kabinett wines with
their crystalline acidity, minerality and fine
fruit will thus score well in export markets.
In recent years, however, the image of the
region has started to change. The old formula
of “Mosel = sweet, steep, slate” has now
been extended to include terms like “dry”,
“innovative” and “unconventional” – at
least in the top segment.
Speaking to sommeliers, buyers and merchants
in London, New York or Tokyo,
many emphasize the increasing importance
of dry Riesling. “Ten years ago, our clients
primarily bought the Prädikate of the Mosel,”
says Zigmars Grinbergs, sales manager of the
on-trade Riesling specialist Howard Ripley in
London. “The young generation of sommeliers
now demands dry Riesling.”
Winemaker Ernie Loosen confirms this trend.
He notes that it is especially in the Grosse
Gewächs category that much has happened –
even if a great international breakthrough
has not happened yet. However, he notes the
distinct potential “when consumers
experience the freshness of a 15-year-old
Grosses Gewächs, for instance.” Alongside a
more accessible “hedonistic style” of the drier
wines, Gernot Kollmann, who runs the
Immrich-Batterieberg estate, notes another
One of Germany’s top winemakers: Ernst
Loosen, Weingut Dr. Loosen
important factor in the changing way the
region is perceived; the winemakers
themselves. Next to names like Haag,
Grünhaus, Löwenstein, Müller, Molitor,
Zilliken and others, the young, unconventional
producers increasingly change the image of
the Mosel for buyers and consumers alike.
Julian Haart, for instance, does not only
cause a stir on the London wine scene with
his focused, mineral Rieslings. Here are
further examples of quality-focused
Photos: Shutterstock, provided, Hans Georg Merkel Landau
Winemaker Gernot Kollmann on the steep slopes
of his Weingut Immich- Batterieberg
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