Martin Müllen Trarbacher Hühnerberg Spätlese* Feinherb, 3te Terrasse
€ 35,00 INC. VAT
Martin Müllen Kröver Kirchlay Auslese
€ 29,00 INC. VAT
€ 22,00 INC. VAT
This is a stunning Moselle Spätlese! Not because it is lush, but because this masterpiece of vitality shimmers like a great diamond. Fantastic balance of juiciness and wet-stone-freshness in the dangerously expressive finish. 96 pts
12 in stock
The vineyard:
The Trabener Würzgarten is oriented to the southwest. The wines of this location are characterised by a special elegance and a fresh and typical Riesling character. Also in the Trabener Würzgarten you will find slate, which gives the wines their typical Moselle character.
| Vintage | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Begin consume | 2023 |
| End Consume | 2042 |
| Size | 750ml |
| Color | White |
| Variety | Riesling |
| Closure | Cork |
| Alcohol % vol. | 8,5 – 9,5% |
| Category | Sweet |
| Producer | Martin Müllen |
| Designation | 3651, Spätlese *** |
| Vineyard | Trabener Würzgarten |
| Country | Germany |
| Region | Mosel |
| Sub-Region | Unknown |
| Appellation | Unknown |
| Typification | Regular |
| SKU | 4504666 |
| Categories | Dessert Wine, Regular |
Overripe pear and lychee on the nose take on a syrupy impression on the polished, soft, subtly creamy and delicate palate. The finish accentuates the impressions of vanilla and liquid lily perfume that were already noted in this year’s "two-star" Hühnerberg Spätlese. And here, too, there is enough juiciness that the caressingly sustained, lush finish doesn’t become cloying. Müllen would certainly take issue with my assessment of ageworthiness, but while it’s going to take a long time for this wine’s superficial sweetness to back off, I am not convinced that the wait will pay significant dividends in complexity. Müllen is currently much enamored with the evolution of his vintage 2003 Spätlesen and Auslesen, with their softness of feel, prominent sweetness and confectionary, caramel-tinged character. Oenophiles who share his high opinion of those traits in Mosel Riesling may well feel rewarded by patient cellaring of a 2018 like this one. (Yet-riper sweet wines from the Hühnerberg – along with other nobly sweet wines from Müllen’s vintage 2018 collection – will be tasted in late 2020 and reviewed as part of a subsequent report.)
From the uppermost of Hühnerberg’s three broad terraces, this one-star Spätlese leads delightfully with ripe white peach and mirabelle garlanded in diverse flowers, including the orange blossoms that Müllen considers typical of wines from that terrace. The delicate, tender, polished midpalate adds a hint of raw almond, leading to a lusciously lingering finish admirably transparent to shimmering wet stone as well as mouthwateringly mingled with mineral salts. Here’s one Müllen 2018 that I don’t have any worries about recommending for extended cellaring. Amusingly, he says it is one of several wines that he wanted to go dry – but I’m happy that it had other ideas. The situation was actually unusual, as Müllen related: “By late February or early March it seemed that this just didn’t want to ferment any further. But I thought, maybe if I just give it some time… So it lay nearly five months on the lees, naturally without SO2, but it never budged. And when I detected a slight hint of oxidation in the wine as sampled from the top of the cask, I knew which way its full contents were headed and that it was time to bottle.” Why award this wine just a single star? I can only conclude that Müllen doesn’t quite share my high opinion of it.
This marries fruit from the uppermost of Müllen’s four terraces in Hühnerberg with fruit from below the terraced section (the same steep sector that yielded this year’s impressive “no star” Spätlese trocken). Pineapple, white peach and mint mingle on the nose with site-typical suggestions of woodsmoke. The silken palate is at once soothingly cooling and tinglingly invigorating, with sweetness supportively judged without trying to become a dominant player in its own right. Hints of quince and caramel point to advanced ripeness (with a trace of botrytis) and are gorgeously complemented by the wine’s textural richness and subtle sweetness on a lusciously lingering finish. The balance of richness with fresh fruit juiciness and the impeccable balance of sweetness are features I have generally missed in residually sweet Müllen bottlings of past vintages. (Whether or not this wine’s vineyard origins or the fact that it is the collection’s sole sweet Hühnerberg Spätlese account for its being labeled without stars, don’t let that mislead you – even if Müllen encourages this – to anticipate less than top quality.)
Pale golden yellow with a greenish tinge. Rich, smoky aromas of yellow plum, quince and sweet herbs. Unctuous apricot fruit given shape by bright, salty minerality. Juicy, generous and crisp on the persistent finish. At once rich and vibrant, this is one of the finest off-dry rieslings.
