Müller
“The discovery of the year comes from the Mosel region, more precisely from the Saar. 28-year-old Stefan Müller is a young man, but he makes wines like an old hand. He invents nothing new and yet is resolutely modern. With wines that tell of craftsmanship and origin, he brings the unknown terroir of the Saar into the spotlight... This young winegrower will belong among the greats in ten years.”
— Gault Millau Wine Guide Discovery of the Year 2017
"The 2017 collection completely wipes out anything he produced so far. Simply put, [Muller] produced one of the finest collections of the vintage."
— Mosel Fine Wine Review
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.
Image | PRODUCT | Description | Country / Region | Region | Materials |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() DB3505-17 Sustainable |
Riesling Spätlese Krettnacher Euchariusberg 2017 |
Riesling 61g RS and 10.5g acid. Harvested at a comparatively low 86° Oechsle in the Wawerthal, a west-facing sector of this cool, steep vineyard... Read More |
Germany | Mosel | |
![]() DB3504-172 Sustainable |
Riesling Kabinett Alte Reben Niedermenniger Sonnenberg 2017 |
Riesling 53g RS, 9.9g acid. Harvested at 84° Oechsle from 50-year-old vines (planted in 1967). Fantastically dense and minerally with a super-sexy,... Read More |
Germany | Mosel | |
![]() DB3503-17 Sustainable |
Riesling Kabinett Feinherb Niedermenniger Herrenberg 2017 |
Riesling 31g/l RS, 9.3g acid, 9.5% alc. From 45-year-old vines, vinified in steel. Truly the quintessential Saar Kabinett. Racy, delicate and ultra-... Read More |
Germany | Mosel | |
![]() DB3501-172 Sustainable |
Riesling Trocken 2017 |
Riesling 8.1g/l RS, 10.5% alc. From 50-year-old vines harvested in the Niedermenniger Herrenberg (red slate) and vinified in barrel with wild yeasts... Read More |
Germany | Mosel | |
![]() DB3506-17 Sustainable |
Riesling Auslese Krettnacher Euchariusberg 2017 |
Riesling 80g RS, 10.4g of acid. Harvested at 94° Oechsle with a touch of bortytis in the exceptional Gross Schock section of the vineyard. Vinified... Read More |
Germany | Mosel |