The western German region of Mosel which follows a valley that heads directly into the intersection where Germany meets Luxembourg and France, is the most well-known wine producing region in Germany. Along the banks of the Moselle River are steep slopes where some of the best Rieslings around the world are produced. And one such highly regarded producer is Weingut Selbach-Oster.

Grape picking along the Mosel. 

Selbach-Oster is a family-owned and operated middle Mosel estate that dates all the way back to the 1600's. The family has a long standing tradition of producing a range of traditional Rieslings from dry to sweet, with over 24 hectares of vineyards across the Zeltinger (Himmelreich, Schlossberg and Sonnenuhr) and Graacher (Himmelreich and Domprobst) areas - much of which covers the Grand Crus of Mosel. While one side of the family has served as a negociant under the J & H Selbach brand, producing wines from both its own vineyards and from fruit produced by other growers, a separation in the 1960's has led one part of the Selbach family to independently produce its own wines under the name Selbach-Oster.

The Selbach-Oster family traces its lineage to the Selbach's who have been winegrowers for generations, while the Oster's have acted as coopers. In fact, the family's legacy had been for the Selbach's to grow their fruit on the steep Devonian slate slopes along the river, which they would then ship the wines down the Mosel river in oak barrels made by the Oster's. Today the estate, which is home to some incredible ancient vines many of which are over 100 years old, is run by Johannes and Barbara Selbach, as well as their children, Sebastian and Hannah, with Sebastian helming vineyard and cellar operations.

The Selbach family!

Their goal - and is what they are best known for - is to create wines that are naturally fruity first rather than sweet, and to offer balance and elegance, where the fruitiness is contrasted against the crispness. "Like when you bite into a ripe fruit with firm skin and flesh" as per Johannes Selbach, is the ideal, where there is tension between fruit, acidity and minerality. This is achieved through pressing the grapes at low pressure, allowing the juice to settle naturally via gravity and then fermented in naturally cool cellars at low temperatures in traditional oak Fuder with the use of wild yeasts.

An aspect that stands out about Selbach-Oster's estate is its practice of producing en-bloc wines - where fruits is harvested from a single picking with no selections being made and all fruit is picked together regardless of ripeness - which allows the wine to reflect a complete and holistic picture of the speficic terroir for that particular vintage. This was inspired by Johannes' father whose belief was that engaging with the vineyards en-bloc was the only way to prevent losing the terroir. As there is so much focus on showcasing the terroir, this is only done on three old parcels from Selbach-Oster that the estate considers its best - Rotlay (Zeltinger Sonnenuhr), Schmitt (Zeltinger Schlossberg) and Anrecht (Zeltinger Himmelreich).

Yet, in order to allow fans of the estate to enjoy a spectrum of Rieslings ranging in flavour profile, Selbach-Oster also produces three styles according to the official German Prädikat system - Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese. For Selbach, the Kabinett, which is the lightest style of Riesling, is like biting into a perfectly ripe apple, the Spätlese (or late harvest) is like a peach or apricot, and the Auslese (or select harvest, and generally sweeter and closer to dessert wines) should taste like a ripe tropical fruit. This is achieved in opposite of the en-bloc process, where success passes are made in the vineyards, where fruit for the Kabinett expressions are selected first, followed by the Spätlese, and for the Auslese, fruit is picked along the way across these successive passes whenever it's deemed ready.

And so with all that said, today we're going to try Selbach's Kabinett Riesling from the Himmelreich vineyards.

Let's go!

Selbach Oster, Selbach Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett - Review

Tasting Notes

Color: Gold

Aroma: Gentle and elegant notes of light elderflower and honeysuckle, it has a buttery texture that is reminiscent to cultured butter, with a bready quality of brioche. Also a subtle rustic barnyard quality that comes through as hay and horse hide. There's a bone minerality outline to it that gives it some dryness as well.

Taste: More full bodied here, definitely sweeter, with more on honeysuckle and elderflower florals and some bready brioche. It's incredibly silky and smooth, almost syrupy, with fresh apples and pears. It's always decked out in flower blossoms. It's gently sweet with a great richness and thickness, supported by light carbonation and a light acidity.  

Finish: Alittle more dry here, but just ever so slightly, more of those lightly sweet honeysuckle in the aftertaste. Still incredibly buttery and mouthcoating, with the pears and apples persisting into the finish.

My Thoughts

An absolutely stellar example of a Riesling Kabinett! Through to form, it does very much give off the sensation of biting into a ripened apple! Other than that it comes in the form of this rich, almost syrupy, cordial that is deliciously thick and mouthcoating. Served chilled, it delivers all these white floral blossoms and fresh orchard fruits with just a trace of acidity. It's incredibly butter, gently sweet with refreshing crispness.

This is especially perfect for a midday luncheon, and those who prefer sweeter and fuller wines will definitely enjoy this. At under $30 SGD (or US$22) for a full bottle, the quality to price ratio here is simply off the charts.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot