I love the way Stephan Reinhardt of Wine Advocate evokes Eva Clüsserath’s style. It captures the essence of the wines and, like the liquid itself, sets the mouth watering. Who could resist diving into this: “The wines show remarkable elegance and purity and are neither weighty nor too powerful but smooth, open-hearted and true reflections of the particular terroir.”
On the heels of a cool, wet March, summery temperatures in April led to early budbreak along the Mosel. Eva’s vines reacted with vigorous growth, which called for intense canopy management. A stable high-pressure system then settled in over Trittenheim and surrounds, ensuring warm temperatures and a striking lack of rainfall throughout the entire summer.
This led to rapid ripening from August onwards and harvest began early, on 24th September. Conditions remained warm and dry as the grapes were brought in, with the deep-rooted vines handling the lack of precipitation no problem.
“Our fully healthy, golden yellow Riesling grapes seemed like something out of a fairy tale,” said Eva. “The vintage delivered juicy wines with fantastic fruit and a marked creaminess.”
2018 Ansgar Clüsserath Vom Schiefer Riesling Trocken $40
The dry Riesling “Vom Schiefer” (literally, from slate) provides an introduction to the world of steep-site Rieslings from the Middle Mosel. The grapes for this wine are sourced from two individual sites. Trittenheimer Altärchen, on the left bank of the Mosel, with weathered, shale-based soils, brings forth Rieslings with aromas of citrus, grapefruit and orange peel. Neumagener Rosengärtchen, located north of Trittenheim, has loamy, weathered, shale-based soils. This cuvée is a sleek, sophisticated Riesling with a delicate minerality born of the internal dance between its two vineyards of origin. A spectrum of fruit flavours is on display here, from green apple to peach to grapefruit.
A pungent, zesty impression of lemon and lime is allied to one of crushed stone, almost dusty on the nose and then expressed as suffusion on a flatteringly silken, alcoholically buoyant (at 11.6%) but palpably extract-rich palate. Suggestions of almond and hazelnut lend richness; bright citric juiciness serves for animation; while a dose of mineral salts triggers salivary action on a refreshing- and invigoratingly sustained finish. The extra textural allure here is probably attributable to the wine’s having been bottled later than usual – at the end of July 2019 – and rested on its lees until just before that.
90 points. David Schildknecht, Vinous Media
2016 Ansgar Clüsserath Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Trocken $91
This is Eva Clüsserath’s top dry bottling from this grand cru site. Trittenheim’s finest individual vineyard, Apotheke, lies on the right bank of the Mosel, opposite the village of Trittenheim. Although Apotheke literally means pharmacy, the vineyard’s name does not refer to medicinal/healthful properties of its wines, but rather derives from a foundation established by the “Abtsberg” Abbey of Trier. It numbers among the top sites on the Mosel, not least due to its extreme slope of up to 78%. The southwest-facing hillside benefits from direct solar radiation well into late evening, a lengthy time during which the slate soils store heat – warmth that lengthens the ripening period. Weathered slate slopes with subterranean water veins ensure an optimal supply of nutrients and enable the vines to develop deep roots. Single-stake training is practiced in the family’s oldest parcels in this site planted with 60- to 80-year-old vines. The grapes yield wines that have great aging potential and reflect complex minerality. In their youth, the wines show finesse; as they mature, rich fruitiness reminiscent of apricot and peach.
Potent perfume of fresh flowers, ripe apple, fresh mixed citrus. The palate delivers a lot of flavour but also crisp, tart citrussy tang, green apple, mineral water-esque characters and quite a good deal of power. Complex, energetic, intriguing expression here, with great texture in tow. Super.
95 points. Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
2014 Ansgar Clüsserath Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Feinherb $54
In the case of Goldtröpfchen, nomen est omen: it literally means droplets of gold. Tremendous potential slumbers within the wines made from the naturally sweet droplets pressed out of fully ripened Riesling grapes grown in this site. It resembles a vast amphitheatre of vines, nearly all of which face due south – favourable conditions that enable Riesling to reach complete ripeness. Deep soils of weathered slate lend the wines a marked stony complexity; numerous water-bearing and -retaining substrata ensure an optimal supply of water and nutrients. Within the classic, south-facing site, the inclination of slopes varies from 30 to 70%. Even in their youth, the minerality of the wines from this site is notable. The Riesling character is harmoniously rounded out by rich aromas of exotic fruit and blackcurrant.
The 2014 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Feinherb opens with a dusty/slatey bouquet intermixed with super clear and ripe Riesling, orange and red cassis flavors. Round, elegant and intense, with a nice creaminess and delicate tannins on the palate, this full-bodied, virtually dry and complex Goldtröpfchen brings out the zesty/fruity character of the fresh red currant that which are so typical for the Goldtröpfchen cru. This is an impressively intense and elegant Riesling with a very good structure and perfectly balanced fruit. A stunning and age-worthy wine!
92 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
2018 Ansgar Clüsserath Trittenheimer Riesling Kabinett $43
The fruit for this village-designated Kabinett comes from the Apotheke grand cru, Trittenheim’s finest individual vineyard site. It lies on the right bank of the Mosel, opposite the village of Trittenheim. ‘Apotheke’ literally means ‘pharmacy’ but the vineyard’s name doesn’t refer to the medicinal properties of its wines. It in fact derives from a foundation established by the “Abtsberg” Abbey of Trier. With its extreme slope of up to 78%, Apotheke ranks among the top sites on the Mosel. The southwest-facing hillside benefits from direct sunlight well into late evening, a lengthy time during which the slate soils store heat, which extends the ripening period. Weathered slate slopes with subterranean water veins ensure an optimal supply of nutrients and allow the vines to develop deep roots. The grapes yield wines with great aging potential and complex minerality. In their youth, the wines show finesse; as they mature, they display rich fruitiness reminiscent of apricot and peach.
The 2018 Trittenheimer Riesling Kabinett is super pure, fresh and slatey on the bright, fresh and crunchy nose. Bottled with 8.5% alcohol, this is a charmingly round and fruity Kabinett. It doesn’t have the mineral-piquant thrill of the outstanding 2017, but it serves all those who like their Riesling more graceful and less challenging. Or let me put it this way: You don’t need to be a Viking to love this wine. Tasted from AP 0219 in May 2020.
92 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
2018 Clüsserath Trittenheimer Apotheke Spätlese $59
Apotheke is Trittenheim’s finest individual vineyard site. It lies on the right bank of the Mosel, opposite the village of Trittenheim. ‘Apotheke’ literally means ‘pharmacy’ but the vineyard’s name doesn’t refer to the medicinal properties of its wines. It in fact derives from a foundation established by the “Abtsberg” Abbey of Trier. With its extreme slope of up to 78%, Apotheke ranks among the top sites on the Mosel. The southwest-facing hillside benefits from direct sunlight well into late evening, a lengthy time during which the slate soils store heat, which extends the ripening period. Weathered slate slopes with subterranean water veins ensure an optimal supply of nutrients and allow the vines to develop deep roots. Single-stake training is practiced in the family’s oldest parcels in this site, which comprise 60- to 80-year-old vines. The grapes yield wines with great aging potential and complex minerality. In their youth, the wines show finesse; as they mature, they display rich fruitiness reminiscent of apricot and peach.
The Spätlese grapes are harvested after the Kabinett in order to achieve greater ripeness. It’s challenging acidity and minerality brilliantly counterbalance the ripe fruit and subtle fresh herbs of this naturally sweet beauty. As befits a premium wine, the grapes are always hand-harvested and gently pressed. The must is then fermented with native yeasts in traditional Mosel fuder barrels and left on the lees until May. 8.5% alcohol.
The 2018 Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Spätlese is deep and flinty on the precise, attractively reductive, floral and salty nose. Intense and juicy on the palate, this is a lean and precise but dense and elegant Spätlese with a stimulating grip, minty aroma and salty-piquant finish. The acidity is fine but precise as a laser sword. After the delicious 2017, the 2018 is another great, highly digestible Spätlese from Eva Clüsserath. 8.5% alcohol. Tasted from AP 04 19 in May 2020.
94 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
Apple, quince, grapefruit and pineapple inform the nose and the delicate, subtly creamy, yet brightly juicy palate of this impeccably balanced (in particular, not overly sweet) Spätlese. Tang of pineapple core and piquancy of apple seed serve for welcome invigoration on a refreshing finish admirably transparent to underlying wet stone.
91 points. David Schildknecht, Vinous Media