In the Mosel Valley, this year, we visited 5 winemakers on the Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours:
Reinhard Löwenstein, Weingut Heymann Löwenstein in Winningen;
Markus Molitor, Weingut Markus Molitor in Haus Klosterberg;
Gernot Kollmann a Weingut Immich-Batterieberg in Enkirch;
Oliver Haag at Weingut Fritz Haag in Brauneberg;
Carl von Schubert at Weingut Maximin Grünhaus in Mertersdorf; and
Maximilian von Kunow at Weingut von Hövel in Oberemmel.
We started with Reinhard Löwenstein, owner/ winemaker, Weingut Heymann Löwenstein and did this before visiting the Ahr Region. We then continued with the other Mosel producers. The reason for the special treatment of Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein is that Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein is located in Lower Mosel, just 15 minutes from Koblenz, where the Mosel river joins the Rhine river. The other producers we visited are located in the Middle and Upper Mosel.
Owner and Winemaker Reinhard Löwenstein was our host.
Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein
Reinhard and Cornelia Heymann-Löwenstein founded this wine estate in 1980. However the Heymann-Löwenstein family can look back on more than 500 years of winemaking. Reinhard is the 13th generation winemaker carrying on the family name. Today the winery has 40 acres under vine, with 98 % Riesling and 2 % Pinot Noir. Reinhard harvests late - at around 160 days of hangtime after flowering – to achieve physiological ripeness of the grapes.
Terrassenmosel
The winery is located in the Lower Mosel. The vineyards of the Lower Mosel are by far the steepest of the Mosel region on soil composed of blue devonian slate, red slate and quartzite. Some have an inclination of 60 °. The bewitching slate slopes with terraces have made the Lower Mosel area also known as “Terrassenmosel”. This part of the Mosel produces a higher proportion of dry wines than the rest of the region.
Barry Bros & Rudd: Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein
Reinhard Löwenstein created his estate in 1980, spending the early years identifying top sites, before settling on five hectares of prime, precipitous Winningen (Lower Mosel) slate slopes. Since then, the estate has grown to 15 hectares, incorporating sites in the Von Blauem, Kirchberg, Stolzenberg, Röttgen and Uhlen vineyards.
This landscape is both wild and beautiful and is made up of a patchwork of soil types, many of which influence the characters of the wines. Their grower is an eccentric perfectionist and his passion lies in expressing the personality of each of his myriad slate soils. He believes that good “energy” in the vineyard and winery will result in good wine. In an effort to create this, the winery is filled with the soothing sounds of running water and windpipes.
On a more practical level, the fruit undergoes meticulous sorting in the vineyards; then the juice is given 24 to 48 hours skin contact, before fermenting to as close to full dryness as possible Crucially, Reinhard aims to incorporate between 10 and 20 percent botrytised fruit to his dry wines, imparting complexity and richness. The wines usually achieve around 12 percent alcohol, as they aren’t bottled until well into the summer, unlike more classical Mosel styles, which are bottled in March or April. The result is wine with great personality and energy, just like its grower.
Reinhard Löwenstein: Unique Landscape
Reinhard Löwenstein: “The genesis of our vineyards began 400 million years ago. At that time, the Devonian Period, present-day Europe was in the tropics, south of the equator. Near the shores of the Panthalassic Ocean (‘global ocean’), various sediments of the Old Red Continent collected and mixed with alluvial deposits from the sea. Fine clays and sands, shells, coral banks... These hardened to form slate during supercontinental collisions during the Permian Period. In the course of millions of years, in the wake of earthquakes, volcanic activity and mountain-building, new land formations were created. In the Mosel Valley, slate was uplifted to form the steep cliffs that line the river. What a tremendous feat our ancestors performed in laboriously breaking up the rocks by hand and building walls and terraces. It is a unique man-made landscape. Quasi a sublime medium for for growing vines in the stony soil. There’s a taste of the ‘global ocean’ in every sip of these wines.”
The Wines we Tasted
2015 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Schieferterrassen
2015 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein von blauen Schiefer
2015 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Kirchberg GG
2015 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Stolzenberg GG
2015 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Röttgen GG
2015 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Uhlen Blaufüsser Lay GG
2015 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Uhlen Laubach GG
2015 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Uhlen Roth GG
Bye-bye
Many thanks Reinhard for a spectacular cellar tour, vineyard tour and tasting.
Postings: Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours: Quintessential German Riesling and the Northernmost Pinot Noir (Posted and Forthcoming)
Germany-North Tour 2017 by ombiasy WineTours: Quintessential German Riesling and the Northernmost Pinot Noir
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Dinner with Wine Pairing the Restaurant of Weingut Kruger-Rumpf in Münster-Sarmsheim, Nahe, with Corenlia, Stefan and Georg Rumpf
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