Clemens Busch of the world class Weingut Clemens Busch (Mosel) was in town (Washington DC) and Domestique Wine, a new wine shop focussing on natural wines, organized a Chinese dinner at Michelin-recommended Panda Gourmet.
Interestingly, Clemens poured 2 "mainstream" wines (Riesling trocken and a Grosses Gewächs) as well as 2 "non-mainstream" wines (Riesling trocken LS, a low sulfur wine, and Riesling alter (native), 60 days maceration, both wines unfined and unfiltered and sold as Landwein).
Panda Gourmet is a Michelin-recommended (assiette gourmand) Chinese restaurant serving Sichuan and Shaanxi cuisine.
Selfies with Clemens (2013 - 2019)
Here are few selfies with Clemens from the dinner at Panda Gourmet and the past years.
Invitation
Dear friends of good wine and food,
I would like to alert you to a wine dinner coming up this Thursday:
Our good friend Clemens Busch, bio-dynamic winemaker from the Mosel Valley is coming to town. Some of you might know him from a visit to his winery from previous wine tours I organized in Germany. He will pair his wines -ranging from an entry level wine to a Grand Cru wine- with great Sichuan cuisine. Clemens Busch is one of the premium German winemakers and member of the prestigious Association of Elite German Wine Estates (VDP). I particularly love Clemens’ wines: they are earthy, yet elegant, perfectly reflecting the slate terroir of the Mosel Valley.
The dinner takes place
Thursday, March 7th at 7 pm
at Panda Gourmet, 2700 New York Ave NE, Washington DC 20002 (there is ample parking!)
Tickets are 75 $ p. person and can be ordered via https://domestiquewine.com/products/clemens-busch-dinner
Panda Gourmet is a restaurant recommended in the DC Michelin Guide and I am sure that this will be an evening of fun and an exquisite wine / food pairing experience.
Best
Annette
Domestique
Domestique is a partnership between Jeff Segal and Selection Massale. We're focused exclusively on natural wines. For us, that means wines made from organic or biodynamic grapes, fermented with ambient yeasts, and with very minimal use of sulfur (if any). The wines we love are clean, terroir-driven, and transparent.
We also have a careful selection of beers, ciders, and spirits that are made with the same principles whenever possible.
We're here in service of our producers. Their bottles are available in our shop, on our website, and through our newsletter. They'll also join us for frequent tastings and events.
At the moment, we can ship wine to AK, CA, ID, LA, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OR, VA, WV, and WY. We deliver everywhere in Washington D.C. for a $10 flat fee that we waive if you spend $100 or more. If you have questions on shipping or delivery, get in touch.
Contact us at info@domestiquewine.com.
Panda Gourmet
Michelin: The name may look familiar, but don’t confuse this gem with the ubiquitous food court spot. Sure, Panda Gourmet isn’t winning any awards for its lackluster locale set amidst gas stations and fast-food chains, but you’re here for the food, not frills. And that food, well, it’s quality Sichuan and Shaanxi cuisine brought to you at great value. The heat is turned down for more sensitive palates, but there's plenty of flavor packed into these dishes. Hangzhou beef soup could feed an army with its soothing and satisfying broth, cubes of firm tofu, beef and loads of cilantro. Then rice noodles with minced pork is kicked up a notch with fiery chili oil, and may be tailed by mapo tofu, sprinkled with ground pork, green onions and spicy red chili sauce.
Weingut Clemens Busch is one of the top producers in Germany. And not only that. In a region where the humidity and extremely steep vineyards make most wine makers to rely on some level of pesticide, Clemens Busch is 100% organic/biodynamic. And: In a region where noticeable residual sugar in the finished wine and low alcohol is the standard, Clemens Busch’s focus is on dry premium Rieslings that can compete with the best dry whites in the world. But Clemens Busch also produces some off-dry wines as well as powerfully complex, nobly sweet wines.
Weingut Clemens Busch is in Pünderich in the Mosel Valley, rather far down stream. The Busch family lives near the banks of the Mosel in a restored half- timbered house built in 1663. Because flooding can occur here, the vaulted cellar, built in the 1970s, lies nearby, on higher ground, at Clemens’s parents’ home.
The business has been run by Rita and Clemens Busch since 1986, with son Florian joining the team in 2008. Clemens is the fifth generation winemaker at this estate.
Vineyard area: 10 hectares
Annual production: 55,000 bottles
The winery is since 2007 member of the VDP (Association of German VDP), the 200 or so German elite winemakers.
Clemens Busch produces mainly dry wines but also fruity-sweet wines as well as powerfully complex, nobly-sweet wines.
Organic/Biodynamic
Weingut Clemens Busch is considered by many to be the master interpreter of the natural winemaking approach in Germany. Clemens Busch began using organic practices in 1984 and more recently moved towards biodynamic. He is a member of respekt-BIODYN
Pündericher Marienburg
Most of the area under vines is situated in the Pündericher Marienburg vineyard which covers almost the entire hillside on the opposite side of the river from the village of Pünderich.
Until the wine law of 1971, the Pündericher Marienburg consisted of several small plots and not without good reason, because the wines grown in the different parts of today’s Marienburg vineyard are still very different. It is not only the different slate soils but also the special microclimates that play an important role here. To emphasize the specific differences that exist within the Pündericher Marienburg, the corresponding wines of Clemens Busch still bear the names of the old plots: Fahrlay and Fahrlay-Terrassen, Falkenlay and Raffes, as well as Rothenpfad and Felsterrasse.
Fahrlay and Fahrlay-Terrassen, directly across the river from the Busch’s house, consist mainly of blue slate, producing a Riesling with a particularly intensive mineral flavor and slightly salty notes in the finish.
Falkenlay, including the old-vine section called Raffes, is made up of grey slate, producing particularly creamy, fruit-driven Rieslings.
Wine Cellar
In the cellar, it is obvious that Clemens Busch does without high technology. After crushing, the grapes undergo skin contact and ferment spontaneously in both stainless steel and in oak Fuder (wooden casks of 1000 liters). The fermentation continues for a very long period of time (8-9 months, sometimes even 12). In addition to lees contact, Clemens Busch likes to do lees stirring to increase the wines’ fruitiness and richness. There are no additions to the wine (sugar for chaptalisation, acidity, etc) except for a very small amount of sulfur before bottling. As an exception, special yeast is used for noble-sweet wines where the sugar levels are sometimes so high that wild yeasts would not even begin to work.
The Wines Clemens Poured
Clemens Busch poured 4 wines.
2016 Weingut Clemens Busch Riesling trocken, Qualitätswein
Fine entry-level wine. Gutswein. Grown in grey slate from multiple parcels in the Marienburg (including the portions that lie across the river, which don’t make it into the GG wines), a mix of young and old vines up to 50-60 yrs old, vinified 60% in barrels and 40% INOX, and 20% of the juice sees malolactic fermentation.
2016 Weingut Clemens Busch Riesling trocken LS, Landwein
LS: Low-sulfur wine.
2016 Weingut Clemens Busch Riesling (alter) native, Landwein
A new cuvée! Grown in grey slate on the Marienburg. Spontaneously fermented, macerated extra time on the skins, then matured 15 months on the lees in Clemens’ big old (50+yr) German oak barrels. Unfiltered and unfined. A tiny amount of sulfur was added at bottling, even less than usual. Residual sugar: under 4 g/l. 11.5% alc. Hazy color; “orange wine” in spirit, but fantastically fresh, energetic and delicious.
2016 Weingut Clemens Busch, Riesling, Marienburg, GG, Qualitätswein
"Refined and mouthfilling, with an electric tension between the mouthwatering acidity and flavors of bergamot, hops and nectarine. Best from 2020 through 2028." Aleks Zecevic, Wine Spectator INSIDER, Jan 2018
Weingut Clemens Busch Wines in the USA
The Weingut Clemens Busch wines are widely available in the US. Louis/Dressner is the main American importer. In California, Dee Vine Wines (Fine German Wines) is the exclusive importer of Weingut Clemens Busch wines. I also found the Weingut Clemens Busch wines on the website of David Bowler Wine in New York.
Bye-bye
Thanks Clemens, Jeff and Panda Gourmet for a wonderful winemaker dinner.
Going Home
Going home, we passed by the Capitol.
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