STEFAN MULLER NIEDERMENNIGER SONNENBERG ALTE REBEN RIESLING KABINETT 2021

“The Müller estate consists of 10 hectares, mostly Riesling (90% of their holdings) and a little Pinot, both Noir and Blanc. Everything is hand-harvested on rolling hillsides teeming with life and vegetation. The vines see no herbicides and no pesticides—only some fungicide when needed. In addition, Stefan Müller is a neighbor and close friend with Johannes Weber at Falkenstein, and they share several vineyards in the Saar. The labels depict topographical maps of each vineyard. The most well-known site they have is Krettnacher Altenberg—mainly blue slate and the local green slate known as Diabas (cf. Zilliken’s vineyards)—but their largest holding is the Euchariusberg (pronounced oy-sharius-berg) where they have 5 hectares of vines planted in 1944 and 1964. The parcels in Niedermennig are red slate and contain many old, ungrafted vines. In the cellar, Müller also follows a surprisingly ad hoc usage of barrels and tanks, with no strict design for which wines go in what vessel; however, once a wine starts fermentation in one tank or barrel, it ages in that same vessel until completion. There is no chaptalization, and all wines ferment with wild yeast; sulfur is only added at bottling. In other words, Stefan skews organic at his small estate, but does not adhere strictly to the regimen that word implies: he is, in a word, pragmatic. The wines at Müller are exquisitely balanced, succulent, wildly aromatic, unapologetically ripe, and true to the Saar.”