Weingut Schmitges Treppchen Riesling Auslese / 2011 / 375mL
Description:
“An ambitious and inspiring young vintner ... Schmitges is gradually expanding his acreage
(including his share of old vines, rarities nowadays in Erden), rendering wines of purity and refinement and setting himself up to become a reference point for Erden riesling and one of the beacons of quality on the Mosel. He continues to display healthy ambition, which is fortunately justified by excellent wines that keep getting better.”
David Schildknecht
Product Overview
The small town of Erden, where the Schmitges family has been making wine since 1744, is tucked neatly into one of the Mosel River’s many dramatic bends that give the vineyards their unique microclimates. The slopes are steep, with a gradient of up to 67 degrees. Andreas Schmitges took over the family estate from his father Heinrich in 1990. Joined by his wife Waltraud, they were determined to turn the then fairly unknown weingut, with its excellent vineyard holdings, into one of the Mosel’s top estates.
Winemaking Notes
The vines are grown organically and yields are kept low in order to let the wines speak of their place. At harvest, the grapes are handpicked, gently pressed with pneumatic presses and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. After fermentation the young wines spend time on their lees before they are filtered and bottled. Andreas’s goal is to intervene as little as possible during the vinification process.
Tasting Notes
The Mosel region with its contributors Saar and Ruwer is one of the classic European wine regions. As early as 2000 years ago the slopes of these valleys were used to cultivate vines. The Mosel region is probably the oldest German wine region especially characterised by its steep slope vineyards. It is this distinctiveness that the makers of this wine want to express.
Other than the Grauschiefer grapes, these grapes grow on the lower parts of the slope, on the oldest layers of rock, in other words on primary rock, 400 Million and more years old. These soils will guarantee Riesling wines with its unique filigree character. Its flavour is wonderfully fresh and mineral. Mosel – pure. Savour now until 2019.
**Reviews
Uwe Kristen, an independent German wine expert, writes on his riesling-dedicated site derkellermeister.com:
“Today the Weingut Schmitges is one of the finest in the Middle Mosel. The wines show clean, refreshing fruit but for me it’s their crisp acidity along with the pronounced mineral character that makes these wines stand out.”
David Schildknecht on the 2009 Herrenberg Eiswein, harvested at -16C (301g/l r/s, 12.5g/l acidity, 60g/l dry extract):
“This audacious eiswein finishes neither cloyingly sweet nor jarringly acidic. What’s more, it evinces a salivary gland-milking and further invigorating salinity. It should show well for at least a decade. 93 points.”
