10 Year Old Mosel Feinherb Under $20 Plus a 2012 Spatlese Under $20

I was drinking the 2007 Martin Muellen Krover Paradies Spatlese "Deare" with a dear friend and

colleague the other night and it just had a remarkably complex showing; when you can get two wine geeks to turn their heads, that's quite an achievement. Martin is surely among the most old school and traditional Mosel producers (he actually uses a basket press).  The wines have a "something" that no other Mosel wines have; a moxy, a je ne sais quoi, a somewhereness, an indescribable character that makes these wines so special and sacred to me and to many of you who cannot get enough of them. Martin, who is obsessed with old Mosel maps and classifications, is not a master of marketing; he does not have the well appointed tasting room of his more well known colleagues. If his wines were marketed with the same force and style of say Katharina Prum, they would be in the top echelon of the Mosel.  These are the wines that Mosel winemakers order in restaurants. They're no dummies; who else sells wonderfully well made ten year old plus wines at the cost of newly released wines?

I am offering a young wine and a somewhat older wine from a vintage in the Mosel that is drinking out of its mind now. The first wine is the 2004 Martin Muellen Krover Paradies Kabinett Feinherb, which can be had for as little as $19.99. These are the absolute best values in the Mosel. $19.99 for a 10 year old Riesling! 2004 is a great, nervy vintage in the Mosel. It is forgotten because of all the hullabaloo about the uberripe 2003's but 2004 is like a skoche less ripe version of 2002 (anither forgotten vintage due to the perfect compact 2001's), with electric acidity, pure juicy fruit and wonderful mineralic site character. Like all Muellen wines, no matter what the age, they need as much air as you can give them. I think he is a master of the Kabinett feinherb style which is essentially dry (just ripe enough)with a textural oomph because of the hint of sugar. The wine has the telltale Muellen acidity but is so balanced and out of this world pure. It can easily be open and IMPROVE for up to a week. Remember these wines are eternal. The fruit is tropical, citrusy, tangy and oh so long.

The second wine is the 2012 Krover Kirchlay Spatlese for $19.99 on the 4 pack; this is one of Martin's glorious sweet wines. Man, they are glorious. The Kirchlay is a vineyard like many of Martin's that was top of its class in Mosel classifications of the last century but had fallen into neglect until Martin tirelessly revived it. The loop between Krov and Trarbach has the highest concentration of top sites in all of the Mosel according to the old tax maps. It is a high elevation red slate site so that means it has a lot of spice and as 2012 and Muellen collide, a true Spatlese, not a masquerading Auslese has been crafted. Beautiful pineapple fruit with wonderful ripping Muellen acidity and that 2012 completeness make this wine a ridiculous value. The creamy richness offset by the acidity is what marks, for me, Martin's sweet wines.

Martin's sweet wines, for me, are as exciting as anything in the Mosel that is not Prum or Schaefer. His off-dry wines are in a league of their own and he is so proud to be preserving a style that is waning in popularity in Germany and has not really caught on here. His dry wines are just crazy. They are incomparable. They age forever, are always so fresh no matter what the age, and they are amazing values for the quality and character in the bottle. The mineral driven character of his sites in Krov and Trarbach are so compelling and it's so great to taste things that are not Graach, Wehlen and Brauneberg on a regular basis. Now that I import Muellen, I get to really study the wines. The dazzling depth and purity and sometimes stubbornness (they need air and age) of these wines make Martin's wines near and dear to my heart. He has always has such an array of styles and vintages that it is always an impossible decision what to offer. His winemaking is beyond old school. Ambient yeasts for every wine and he uses an old basket press that can take as much as 20 pressings for one lot. He would not have it any other way and as a result you get Mosel wines with impossible depth and soul.

Shipping Update
We are gearing up for shipping now. Amedeo, our warehouse, is stacking the wines and getting them ready to ship. We expect to commence in early October as WEATHER DICTATES. We will contact you when ready with ample time to make shipping decisions. 

2004 Martin Muellen Krover Paradies Kabinett Feinherb - $21.99 

($79.96 a 4-pack)

2012 Martin Muellen Krover Kirchlay Spatlese - $21.99 ($79.96 a 4-pack)

Mix and match on 4 bottles