- A Genius Sprung Forth from the Head of Zeus
- Making Elite, Top Scoring Wines from 3 Distinct Regions
- 140 -200 Bottlings Each Year
- Revered Among German Winemakers
- A Legend in His Own Time
- Took Over a Tiny Winery at Age 20...
- And Turned It into a Dominant Force in German Winemaking
- Wines from All of the Great Mosel Vineyards
- Top 5 Producer in Germany for Dry Riesling, Sweet Riesling, Off-Dry Riesling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc
The Style
- Brilliant Almost Supra-Realistic Precision
- Brisset, Roulot, Roumier, Keller
- As Elite and Refined as Any Wines on Earth
- So Powerful, Yet So Graceful
2017 Markus Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese (Gold Capsule)
- 95+ Points from Stephan Reinhardt
- Not The Super Sweet Style of Today
- Zesty, Racy, Barely Sweet, Spatlesen
- A Wonderful Reflection of a Place
- Nose: So Complex and Alluring
- Confectionary Green Apple. Tree Bark. Slate.
- Intense Minerality
- Palate: Sappy, Complex and Concentrated
- Electric Acids
- Some Foie Gras Notes
- Finishes DRY
- Balance is Superb - The Work of a Master Craftsman
- What a Pure, Stunning Example of Elite Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese
- A Brilliant, Complex Crescendo of a Finish
- Case Pricing at $36.99
"The 2017 Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese (Golden Capsule) is very intense on the clear, spicy, crunchy-slatey and nicely reductive nose. Lush and piquant on the crystalline, precisely defined palate, this is a highly elegant, complex and densely textured Spätlese with a long, complex and persistently salty-mineral finish. Ripe peach and mirabelle notes intermingle with salty-piquant slate flavors on the aftertaste. This is a great Spätlese from a great terroir. Tasted in April 2019." 95+ Points Stephan Reinhardt
I've been chatting with many clients about Markus Molitor and even seasoned Riesling veterans seem overwhelmed. It's understandable but I'm not sure I've explained the dominance of Markus Molitor on the German wine scene and specifically the Mosel. The sheer number of the wines and how well rated they are by all the critics is unheard of.
No one comes close. You likely need to add up the next 3-4 producers below to get to the output of Molitor in one vintage. It is a dominance that is hard to comprehend and the only way to comprehend it is to lean into it. You need to embrace his dominance and accept it and look to me as your humble servant who sifts through the bottling and figures out what to bring to you. But you need to understand how dominant he is.
Gretzky
Among sports fans everyone loves to discuss who's the GOAT (Greatest of All Tmr). Jordan Vs Lebron? Tom Brady? Rafael Nadal? Mickey Mantle? These debates go on endlessly and there really is no true victor because if you add one name into the mix the debate ends and that's that. That name is Wayne Gretzky. Wayne Gretzky is the most dominant athlete in any sport ever. It is not close. His numbers are so absurd that it will make you laugh. He has so many elite statistics where he is the top guy you can spit out endless amounts of insane Gretzky statistics. Here are a few of my favorites. All of these are from an article online about Gretzky by Matt Larkin of SI.com. Pick your poison. They are all so bonkers it's beyond comprehension. He was so much better than his peers from a pure numbers perspective that the stats are just beyond.
"He won his 10 scoring titles by an average of 49 points. He won eight consecutive Hart Trophies as league MVP. If he never scored a single goal, he'd still easily be the NHL's all-time leader in points. Picture Barry Bonds hitting 90 homers, not 73, with a .420 batting average and driving in 200 runs per season - for seven or eight years in a row. That's how absurd No. 99's brilliance was relative to his own peers."
"Gretzky won the scoring title by more than 70 points - six times.
The past six NHL scoring races were decided by a combined 60 points. Only one non-Gretzky player has even won the scoring race by more than 30 points. That was Mario Lemieux by 31 points in 1988-89."
"Gretzky won eight consecutive MVPs at one point. In the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB, no other player has won more than four consecutive MVPs."
"Gretzky is the only player to record a 200-point season, and he did it four times."
"If you only counted Gretzky's seasons after turning 30, he'd still rank fourth all-time in points per game. " - Matt Larkin, SI
These are absurd. Laugh out loud absurd. Look at just 2018 below.
2018 Scores (Wine Advocate - Stephan Reinhardt)
- 100 Points - 2 Wines
- 99 Points - 6 Wines
- 98+ Points - 2 Wines
- 98 Points - 7 Wines
- 97+ Points - 3 Wines
- 97 Points - 4 Wines
- 96+ Points - 4 Wines
- 96 Points - 8 Wines
- 94/95+ Points - 22 Wines
The Wine
Today I've got a stunning wine that is also a stunning value. This is like a 10pt Gretzky game against the
Nordiques on a quiet Tuesday night in Quebec. It's the 2017 Markus Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese (Gold Capsule) for $37.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and $36.99 on a 12 Bottle Case. This got 95+ points from Stephan Reinhardt. There are dozens of wines in 17 and 18 that are higher scoring and dozens right around this level as well. That's how Molitor rolls. This is a gold capsule which means it is a pradikat classically styled sweet Mosel Riesling.
Nordiques on a quiet Tuesday night in Quebec. It's the 2017 Markus Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese (Gold Capsule) for $37.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and $36.99 on a 12 Bottle Case. This got 95+ points from Stephan Reinhardt. There are dozens of wines in 17 and 18 that are higher scoring and dozens right around this level as well. That's how Molitor rolls. This is a gold capsule which means it is a pradikat classically styled sweet Mosel Riesling.
But this is Hot Tub Mosel Riesling Time Machine. Get off my lawn because they don't make them like anymore. This is Spatlese that I cut my teeth on. Today's Spatlese are riper and sweeter than 20 years ago. It's just a fact. Kabinetts can taste like Auslese and Spatlese can taste like Beerenauslese. But Markus, whose dry wines are not punishingly dry, also makes sweet wines that are not in the ultra ramped up sweet style of today. These are zesty, racy, barely sweet, spatlesen that are wonderful reflections of a place. I fell so hard for this wine and the Wehlener Sonnenuhr is elite elite terroir and Markus has a stunning parcel. And the wine is just barely sweet and is just teeming with energy. I love this style of Spatlese which is a relic of the past.
What a nose. Confectionary green apple. Tree bark. Slate. So complex and alluring. Some light spice and such intense minerality. Some gorgeous vulcanized rubber and insane apple juice. lt's God's apple juice.
Palate is a dream. Sappy, complex and concentrated and the key is this is more akin to the Spatlese of 25-35 years ago than today's sugar bombs. It finishes dry and almost with some foie gras notes. Tingling and electric acids and such a brilliant, complex crescendo of a finish. And it finishes DRY. But it's so obviously a Spatlese. Amazingly clean wine. Palate is 2/3 minerals and 1/3 fruit. The balance is superb. The whole thing is just beautiful. Wow acid and structure increase after many hours open and the length increases. So so good. What a pure, stunning example of elite Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese. Genius.
"The 2017 Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese (Golden Capsule) is very intense on the clear, spicy, crunchy-slatey and nicely reductive nose. Lush and piquant on the crystalline, precisely defined palate, this is a highly elegant, complex and densely textured Spätlese with a long, complex and persistently salty-mineral finish. Ripe peach and mirabelle notes intermingle with salty-piquant slate flavors on the aftertaste. This is a great Spätlese from a great terroir. Tasted in April 2019." 95+ Points Stephan Reinhardt
2017 Markus Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese - $39.99
($151.96 4-Pack, $443.88 12 bottle Case {$36.99!})
(Including Tariff of *4.06)
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