Two of the Best Values for Dry German Riesling Anywhere on Earth - Fass Selections Legend Martin Muellen's Trarbacher Huhnerberg

One of the Top Vineyards in Germany

Brought Back from the Dead by Martin Müllen 

 - Replanted with Ancient Vines
 - Like Hearing Mozart Played on Antique Instruments Conducted by Mozart

A Unique Wine, Two Very Different Vintages (09 and 11) of His Spatlese Trocken (Dry Riesling)
Muellen's Magnum Opus and One of My Favorite White Wines

There are many great things about working with Martin Müllen and two of those things culminate in today's offer. 

 1) As we all know, Martin has back vintages and in his case it is significant in that Martin's wines really need age and drastically improve with age yet retain an eternal youthfulness. I've never encountered this in German Riesling. 

 2) Through Martin I've learned the magic of the Trarbacher Huhnerberg. This is Martin's pet project and he completely replanted this vineyard as it was barren. It used to be on the old Mosel Prussian tax maps of the mid 18th century ranked as one of the top vineyards in the Mosel. He has replanted all of it with some ancient vines that were a selection massale from the glory days of Huhnerberg, which the old owner wrote about. It was a long painstaking process but Martin was right, the Huhnerberg is so special and deserved to be revived and lived up to its reputation. 

I've walked the Huhnerberg. It's slightly off the Mosel River and next to a road and some forest. It's the scariest steepest vineyard I've even been in. I wanted to leave as soon as we started walking in it. It's all slate rocks you're walking on as well. Amazing they make wine from this place. It is in same league as Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Domprobst and Enkircher Ellegrub. It's a top site for sure. Every time I open a Huhnerberg I get a particular type of anticipation only reserved for wines from great vineyards. 

I think the two Huhnerberg's I have today, which are the top dry wines made at the estate every year are some of the best values for dry German Riesling anywhere on Earth. This will be the third and fourth vintages of the great Trarbacher Huhnerberg Spatlese Trocken* from Martin. The one star is the key as this is a small batch of what he believes are the best barrels in the cellar. I've got precious few of each. But both are beautiful wines and starting to drink now but will last 15+ more years easy. All Muellen wines need some serious air as he uses ancient and reductive winemaking practices. They also last open longer than any other wine besides Madeira. 

Up first is the 2009 Trarbacher Huhnerberg Spatlese Trocken* (One Star) for $37.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. That is a steal for an aged wine from a top site that cannot be reproduced anywhere else in the world. Martin gets huge acid in his wines even in vintages perceived to have lower than normal acidity. His 09s, '11s, '97s and '99s are some of my favorite vintages from Martin. It starts off with the classic spicey perfumed aromas of the Huhnerberg and there is also a deep slate expression. The nose is beguiling as there is also piquant fruit like blood orange, tangelo and ripe lime zest. It has a deft purity to its aromatics that only the best '09 Mosel wines have, which is mind you a great vintage. One of the top 2 of the naughts. The palate is chewy and dense, shows some 09 opulence but then snaps back with killer and ripe acids. There is a brilliant structure and intensity, as well as finesse and beautiful texture. It has it all. Bitter Huhnerberg citrus fruits and pitted fruits envelop the palate like a tidal wave and there is exceedingly complex minerality and a finish that begins when you think it will end. Stunning stunning wine. Stefan Rheinhardt tasted it a while ago and gave it 91-92. I just tasted it this past August and for me it is a better wine than that. This wine is as epic as if Lost, Twin Peaks and Game of Thrones combined for one season of television. Ok maybe that's a tad of a hyperbole. A ten episode mini season will suffice in this hyperbole. 

Below is his review. 

The Mullen "one-star" (or, he indicated he might decide to dub it "two-star" on release, just because it's so good) 2009 Trarbacher Huhnerberg Riesling Spatlese*(*) trocken is juicily, lusciously brimming with lime, grapefruit, and melons, musky, animal overtones and mouth-watering salinity adding intrigue and enticement. This Riesling's sappy, complex, and tenacious cling incorporates but overrides bitter citrus rind and fruit pit elements. I expect there to be compelling thought-provocation as well as delicious refreshment in bottles of this for the next decade at least. 91-92 Stephan Rheinhardt, The Wine Advocate

Next up is the 2011 Trarbacher Huhnerberg Spatlese Trocken* for $32.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Martin tasted me on this wine blind and I thought 12 or 10. Nope. 11. Shocked me. This is the best 2011 Mosel wine I've had. Period. End. I was shocked how great it was. Stunned actually. Of course at the usual Muellen give a way price. It shows the sleekness of 2011 once it was revealed what it was but also had a firm mineral core and the usual Müllen acids if a bit more integrated into the fruit and mineral. The nose is has the classic Huhnerberg spice and smoke. But it is effusive and expressive and just so aromatic. I think it is maybe drinking a bit better than the 09 at this point but that is splitting hairs. The fruit is a mix of the typical citrus aromas along with some yellow fruits. Very floral as well. Palate is structured and deep. Really deep. Like I can't believe this is an 11 from the Mosel deep. But it was and is. It is powerful and there is serious dry extract in this puppy. Intense, saline and super long. So juicy and so structured with terrific elegance and a top notch texture. In one word, stunning. It captures 2011 perfectly. 

2009 Martin Muellen Trarbacher Huhnerberg Spatlese Trocken* - $39.99 ($151.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)

20011 Martin Muellen Trarbacher Huhnerberg Spatlese Trocken* - $34.99 ($131.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)