The top bottlings of Auslese***, all at up to 15% off
There may be no more ambitious winemaker in the world than Markus Molitor. His determination and drive to make the best possible wines has made him a towering figure in the Mosel, with an impressive, modern winery and holdings in almost every important vineyard in the region. This drive also means there are a lot of different bottlings—Molitor believes that every single sub-parcel and selective pick should be vinified to its utmost potential. The critical praise backs this up— Markus Molitor’s wines are some of the most celebrated in the world.
Most winemakers would pick a vineyard once or twice and vinify the lots together—it’s easier and the wines are good. Molitor, though, asks what each parcel and pick would be like on its own—treated as if it were a wine of distinction rather than a blending component. This is a lot of extra work and requires time and space that most winemakers would rather not spend, but the result is a dizzying number of bottlings that all strive toward perfection.
We’re taking perfection incredibly seriously in the limited time sale we’re presenting today. We’re only going to feature Molitor’s top wines (Auslese***), effectively some of the GREATEST rieslings that exist on the planet, and we’re going to mark them down by up to 15% off based on quantity ordered. This is your chance to acquire and taste arguably the finest dry, off-dry, and sweet rieslings that are being made in the Mosel today. Many of our Molitor bottlings have gracefully aged in the winery’s cellar and our temperature controlled storage, bringing you a unique opportunity to taste these wines in an even more complex state.
Before you place your order, let’s recap some of the details on how Molitor clasifies his wines and what makes these Auslese*** bottlings so special.
Capsule Color:
White capsule wines are made in a dry tasting style, with imperceptible residual sugar and lean mineral intensity. Green capsules reflect what Germans refer to as a ‘feinherb’ or just slightly off-dry style, usually with 15-20g or more of residual sugar per liter. This is probably the most classical of all Mosel wine styles, where the sugar and acid interplay is so delicate and balanced that the overall taste is dizzyingly complex. Lastly, gold capsules indicate a truly off-dry and fruity style of Riesling with lush concentration and a fruit spectrum that spans all the way from orchard to tropical. All three of these styles can age beautifully for many years.
Quality Designation:
This is extremely straightforward. With Molitor, more asterisks on the bottle = higher quality designation (up to a maximum of ***). This sale is focused exclusively on the Auslese*** bottlings, which we have determinedly acquired across a myriad of top vineyard sites and vintages. These are Molitor’s abolute best wines….and given he’s already one of the absolute best winemakers in Germany, these bottles represent the pinnacle of what Riesling can achieve.
5% off any 3-5 in-stock bottles of Molitor Auslese***
10% off any 6-11 in-stock bottles of Molitor Auslese***
15% off any 12 or more in-stock bottles of Molitor Auslese***
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Sale ends Wednesday, November 19th at 9 am Pacific.
We have a diverse selection of Molitor’s Auslese*** wines on sale now, including:
Markus Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese *** Trocken (White Capsule) 2019 750ml Displayed Price: $119, that’s $113.05 at 5% off, $107.10 at 10% off, and $101.15 at 15% off, 14 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 98+ points “The 2019 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (White Capsule) offers a deep, ripe and highly intense yet refined and noble bouquet of ripe (tropical) stone fruits such as mango, golden passion fruit and persimmon, finely crushed and flinty slate as well as iodine notes. Rich and intense yet highly refined and crystalline on the palate, with vibrant yet finessed acidity and lots of elegant or even subversive power, grip and tension, this is a highly elegant, multilayered and endlessly salty as well as frisky Sonnenuhr that delivers all the charm and complexity we may expect from this praised grand cru but rarely had in our glasses as perfectly as it comes here. This is a sustainable Sonnenuhr that I have rarely tasted with such a firm and serious structure and initial austerity. The wine has salt and tannic grip on the finish, but it has to be aged for another 8-10 years at least. One day this might be another giant from the Molitor category of “physical drinking.” Tasted from AP 52 20 in May 2021.” Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese *** Trocken (White Capsule) 2019 750ml Displayed Price: $128, that’s $121.60 at 5% off, $115.20 at 10% off, and $108.80 at 15% off, 9 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 98+ points “The 2019 Zeltlinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (White Capsule) is deep, pure, fresh, fine and substantial on the nose that reveals rich and perfectly ripe (tropical) fruit intertwined with exciting flint notes of crushed slate and lemons. Full-bodied, rich and intense, with great ripeness and concentration yet also purity, finesse and lingering, crystalline acidity, the three-starred ZSU reveals a beautifully balanced yet highly complex palate with lots of power and concentration and generous, fully ripe fruit paired with vibrant mineral freshness and tension. This 2019 Sonnenuhr is another three-starred Molitor Riesling that has to be aged for at least a decade. Without any doubt, this is another stellar wine of the vintage in the Mosel and all of Germany, and it hasn’t yet reached its destination. Compared to the finessed and energetic Welhener, the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr is richer, more physical and powerful. Two different characters yet both fantastic Rieslings on their way to eternity. Tasted in May 2021.” Markus Molitor Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese *** Feinherb (Green Capsule) 2016 750ml Displayed Price: $99 that’s $94.05 at 5% off, $89.10 at 10% off, and $84.15 at 15% off, 12 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 98 points “The 2016 Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Auslese *** (Green Capsule) is deep and complex on the nose, though discreet in its fruit expression straight from the bottle. However, the fruit is beautifully flinty, fresh and really fine. Lush and round on the palate, this is a full-bodied, ripe and intense yet well-balanced and elegant Himmelreich whose sweetness of roughly 30 grams per liter is still prominent at this young age. However, the wine is intense, long, firmly structured, very mineral and provided with serious tannins and a lot of stones. I am tasting it far too early (and straight after the three-starred Rosenberg Auslese), but it’s a highly promising Riesling from a great vintage for the Mosel. Bottled in September 2017; tasted March 2018.” Markus Molitor Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese *** Feinherb (Green Capsule) 2019 750ml Displayed Price: $119, that’s $113.05 at 5% off, $107.10 at 10% off, and $101.15 at 15% off, 22 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 99 points “The 2019 Graacher Himmelreich Auslese *** (Green Capsule) opens enormously deep, intense and complex on the nose that immediately indicates the wine is in an exceptional class on its own. Only with lots of aeration does the wine become more and more pure and fresh and develop a flinty lemon note with the finest perfume. On the palate, this is a rich, round and complex, sweet, wide and mouth-filling, very generous, free and easy-flowing Himmelreich of exceptional finesse and beauty. The finish is so stimulating, salty, pure and crunchy in its slate character, whereas the crater dug by the piquancy is filled in by the perfectly ripe and healthy fruit with lush intensity. The 2019 Himmelreich Auslese *** is sensational and the finest I have ever tasted from Markus Molitor. Tasted from AP 1 20 in May 2021.” Markus Molitor Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese *** Feinherb (Green Capsule) 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $99 that’s $94.05 at 5% off, $89.10 at 10% off, and $84.15 at 15% off, 12 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 99 points “The 2017 Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (Green Capsule) opens with an oaky, pretty Burgundian aroma, leading to a deep, pure, concentrated, wonderfully aromatic and elegant bouquet of subtle crunchy slate scents, great intensity and mineral freshness. This has a mind-blowing nose, and it gains more lime zest and lemon confit aromas as it takes more air. The palate is silky, lush and enormously piquant, with firm tannins and highly stimulating citrus concentration. This is a very rich, round, generous and beautifully concentrated Auslese with an endlessly juicy, salty-piquant, tensioned and crunchy finish. A sleeping giant, this three-starred Zeltinger Sonnenuhr is richer and sweeter than the glorious Graacher Himmelreich. For my taste, it needs at least 10 years in the cellar, but for many readers, this will already be perfect to drink today. Tasted four times in March and April 2019.” Markus Molitor Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Auslese *** Feinherb (Green Capsule) 2016 750ml Displayed Price: $89, that’s $84.55 at 5% off, $80.10 at 10% off, and $80.10 at 15% off, 22 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 97 points “The 2016 Riesling Kinheimer Rosenberg Auslese *** (Green Capsule) offers a super fine raisin and refreshing slatey/flinty bouquet that indicates great purity, finesse and crunchy/slatey freshness. The fermentation stopped at 34 grams of residual sugar per liter (11% alcohol), and the resulting wine is highly delicate, pure, lush and piquant on the palate. It is quite sweet and shows celery flavors as well as great tension that is neither rustic nor challenging but really fine, giving vibrancy, grip and energy to the lush and generous but always precise and elegant Riesling fruit. This is an exciting wine, and Markus filled it as a three-starred Auslese for the first time because he was convinced the wine deserves it. Tasted March 2018.” Markus Molitor Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Auslese *** (Gold Capsule) 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $99, that’s $94.05 at 5% off, $89.10 at 10% off, and $84.15 at 15% off, 14 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 99 points “The 2017 Riesling Kinheimer Hubertuslay Auslese *** (Golden Capsule) is clear and concentrated, on the deep and complex nose with stewed peach aromas intertwined with spicy notes of a fleeting kiss of oak and nougat. It has a highly elegant, refined and salty-piquant palate with fine grip and mineral tension. This Hubertuslay is rich, lush and sweet, with remarkable concentration but also weightless finesse and a lean, salty-piquant finish that tickles the palate. Lemon chutney flavors intertwined with the crystalline salinity characterize the long finish of this beauty. Tasted at the domain in April 2019.”
Markus Molitor Kinheimer Hubertuslay Riesling Auslese *** (Gold Capsule) 2019 750ml Displayed Price: $119, that’s $113.05 at 5% off, $107.10 at 10% off, and $101.15 at 15% off, 24 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 97+ points “The 2019 Kinheimer Hubertuslay Auslese *** (Golden Capsule) is utterly intense as well as refined on the subtle, finely slatey and crunchy nose. Piquant and fresh on the first attack, this is a crystalline, finely grippy and lingering salty Auslese with great tension, finesse and terroir expression. This is an Auslese to keep for another 5-10 years. This is very precise and piquant and still grippy, but it will smoothen with time. Tasted in May 2021.” Markus Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese *** (Gold Capsule) 2019 750ml Displayed Price: $125, that’s $118.75 at 5% off, $112.50 at 10% off, and $106.25 at 15% off, 17 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 99 points “The 2019 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (Golden Capsule) opens with an immediately attractive bouquet, with perfectly ripe peach aromas intermingled with very fine crunchy and flinty slate notes. Lush and intense yet weightless, with an enormously salty, finessed and elegant but also generously fruity palate lifted by crystalline and mouth-salivating acidity, this is a filigreed, transparent and immaculate Auslese of mind-blowing finesse and elegance and the sexiest expression of complexity. Tasted in May 2021.
Markus Molitor Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese *** (Gold Capsule) 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $119, that’s $113.05 at 5% off, $107.10 at 10% off, and $101.15 at 15% off, 19 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 98+ points “The 2017 Riesling Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese *** (Golden Capsule) is a very intense and concentrated yet pure and fruity Auslese provided with refreshing crunchy, herbal and iron-rich, clayey slate aromas. This displays perfect botrytis on a bright, pure, fresh and delicate bouquet full of ripe stone and citrus fruits as well as notes of crushed stones. It is fascinatingly fresh and salty-piquant on the palate, with pronounced acidity; this is a sweet but weightless Auslese with acidity that cuts through fruit and slate and tickles the tongue. This is a highly stimulating and crystalline Auslese that is impossible to spit out. Simply amazing! Tasted at the domain in April 2019.”
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