2021 Riesling, Kabinett Trocken, Niedermenninger Herrenberg, Mutter Anna, Hofgut Falkenstein, Mosel, Germany [01 22]

Hofgut Falkenstein

Located in the heart of the Mosel wine region of Germany, Hofgut Falkenstein is known for producing high-quality wines from grapes grown on steep vineyard slopes along the Mosel River. The winery primarily focuses on the production of Riesling wines.

As a family-owned winery, Hofgut Falkenstein has a long history of winemaking, with a deep sense of tradition, passion, and dedication to their craft. The family has embraced sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in their vineyards and winemaking processes.

The Mosel region’s unique terroir, characterized by slate soils and steep slopes, imparts distinct mineral notes and a sense of place to the wines produced by Hofgut Falkenstein.

Due to the challenging terrain and handcrafted approach, the estate’s production is limited compared to larger wineries. This exclusivity can contribute to the desirability of their wines. However, the estate has gained recognition and praise from wine critics and enthusiasts for the consistent quality of its Riesling wines.

Riesling

Riesling's twin peaks are its intense perfume and its piercing crisp acidity which it manages to retain even at high ripeness levels.

In Germany, Riesling constitutes around 20% of total plantings, yet it is responsible for all its greatest wines. It is planted widely on well-drained, south-facing slate-rich slopes, with the greatest wines coming from the best slopes in the best villages. It produces delicate, racy, nervy and stylish wines that cover a wide spectrum of flavours from steely and bone dry with beautifully scented fruits of apples,apricots, and sometimes peaches, through to the exotically sweet flavours of the great sweet wines.

It is also an important variety in Alsace where it produces slightly earthier, weightier and fuller wines than in Germany. The dry Rieslings can be austere and steely with hints of honey while the Vendages Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles are some of the greatest sweet wines in the world.

It is thanks to the New World that Riesling is enjoying a marked renaissance. In Australia the grape has developed a formidable reputation, delivering lime-sherbet fireworks amid the continental climate of Clare Valley an hour's drive north of Adelaide, while Barossa's Eden Valley is cooler still, producing restrained stony lime examples from the elevated granitic landscape; Tasmania is fast becoming their third Riesling mine, combining cool temperatures with high UV levels to deliver stunning prototypes.

New Zealand shares a similar climate, with Riesling and Pinot Gris neck to neck in their bid to be the next big thing after Sauvignon Blanc; perfectly suited is the South Island's Central Otago, with its granitic soils and continental climate, and the pebbly Brightwater area near Nelson. While Australia's Rieslings tend to be full-bodied & dry, the Kiwis are more inclined to be lighter bodied, more ethereal and sometimes off-dry; Alsace plays Mosel if you like.