Clemens Busch Riesling Marienburg Spätlese 2020

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

“The personable family produces mainly Riesling with the main focus on expressive, full-bodied, dry or medium-dry grands crus harvested as late as mid-November and characterised by their depth, density, concentration and complex (merciless) minerality”
Stephan Rheinhardt, The Finest Wines of Germany

About Clemens Busch

I had the incredible pleasure of meeting Clemens Busch just prior to the 2020 pandemic hitting Australia. Tasting with him and listening to his carefully thought out responses to my typically probing questions was exhilarating. We may have been in a pokie, slightly stuffy room, his wines still transported me to another place.

A maker of mostly dry wines in the Mosel is not common. Historically those I have tried, even at GG level, have generally lacked that something special, the spark that takes you from solid to stunning.

I’ve often thought it to be in the élévage, the wines have been too raw, unfinished, lacking harmony.

Clemens wines were a revelation! Crystalline & translucent with incredible depth and length, elegance and refinement, yet wines of substance of flavour and texture. Sophisticated, yet, worldly.

They are a wonderful contrast to the richer styles from regions like the Rheinhessen, once again showing the diversity of styles Riesling offers.

Clemens started working in his father’s 2-hectare estate in 1975. He stopped using herbicides in 1976, then in 1984 he and wife Rita converted to organics. They were among the first in Germany to begin consciously growing grapes this way and they became instrumental in the movement establishing an association of organic growers in 1986. While farming organically they began using various preparations from the biodynamic toolkit, finally converting entirely in 2005. Today Clemens is recognised as pioneer of both the organic and biodynamic winegrowing movements in Germany and has mentored many other young growers, including his son Florian who now works with him and Rita.

Since Clemens and Rita assumed responsibility of the estate it has grown significantly and now comprises 18 hectares. 16 of those are on the ‘First Growth’ Marienburg vineyard that rises steeply from the Mosel, opposite the town of Pünderich. Vine age ranges from 35 to over 100 years, the single site Grosses-Gewächs (GG) range is produced exclusively from vines older than 65 years. The Marienburg vineyard comprises all three types of Mosel slate – red, blue and grey – and several unique parcels within the vineyard. This allows them to make a large range of distinctively different, site-driven Rieslings which are distinguished using the traditional names of the parcels. These names were largely abandoned in the ‘70s after the new German Wine Laws brought in the über-vineyard name of Marienburg. Thanks to the clear-cut differences between the individual sites; the wines are a great exercise in the transparency of Riesling, especially for the dry cuvees.

The estate is unique among its middle-Mosel peers as it produces around 80-90% dry wines, although many are now following Clemens’ lead. The traditional production methods are thoughtfully adjusted according to the vintage and include late harvesting, maceration before pressing, long slow natural ferments and extended lees aging in ancient 1000l fuders (the youngest of which is 57 years old!). The wines are unfined and unfiltered with small doses of sulphur just before bottling. All this ensures that these are among the richest, most concentrated, textural dry Rieslings produced in the Mosel today.  They retain great purity, striking acidity, deeply concentrated fruit, with nervosity and off-the-chart minerality.

In the Vineyard

Before you can work the vineyard, first you must become a skilled mountain climber! Everything here is done by hand!

In the Winery

It’s all pretty simple. Grow good fruit. Nudge it here or there during the making process. Pay attention to the details and get it into bottle in one piece! Large old oak, wild ferments, and a touch of sulphur at the right time. Job done. It’s as hard as that.

The 2020 Vintage at Clemens Busch

Clemens Busch admits being surprised by the quality of 2020: “The vintage started well with one of the finest springs on record. This led to an early outbreak and flowering. However, we were affected in our basis vineyards by the late frosts of May. The summer proved very dry but we got just enough rain, one in June and one in July, to avoid grapes getting stressed from dryness. The warm summer led us to expect an early harvest and we did indeed start mid-September … to immediately decide to stop and wait as the sugar levels were good but the ripeness was simply not there. We did start in earnest then at the beginning of October and finished rather quickly, in 3-3.5 weeks. The high levels of humidity meant that there was a great pressure from rot. We had to be very cautious and, honestly, at that stage, I was not really sure about the quality of the vintage. After tasting the wines this spring, it became clear that 2020 was really a vintage made for dry Riesling and for Kabinett and Spätlese.”

The Estate was able to produce its normal portfolio of wines in 2020, including a full range of dry and dry-tasting wines from its different terroirs in the Pündericher Marienburg. However, on the sweet side, things stopped at the Spätlese GK: “There was simply not a lot of good botrytis to go for anything higher, one has to accept what nature gives us” was the simple comment of Clemens Busch. The Estate will release a special cask of 2020er Marienburg Kabinett and of 2018er Marienburg TBA via this year’s VDP Auction in Trier.

Once again, Clemens Busch underlines the quality now reached by his Estate. The 2020er collection is simply superb. Its dry wines have the lightness and elegance of past days packed with the intensity of modern vintages. In particular, the Fahrlay, Fahrlay Terrassen, and Felsterrassen are, once again, among the finest dry Riesling to be bought anywhere in Germany. But also, its “simple” village wines would put many high-end “GGs” to shame. The fruity-styled wines are delicately light and lovers of subtly exotic yet racy sweet Riesling should plunge onto the Estate’s Spätlese GK. While there is no noble-sweet wine in 2020, lovers of the Estate may want to bid on the special bottling of 2018er TBA which will be released via the Auction in November: It is sheer wine perfection.

Where in the World is Clemens Busch?

Clemens Busch is in the middle-Mosel with the majority of his production coming from the Pündericher Marienburg vineyards.

The German VDP has an excellent interactive map covering the wine growing regions of Germany. Clink on the Map to go to the live version. For context, Pünderich is much further north up the Mosel from the vineyards of Whelen and Graach.