Max Ferdinand Richter Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett 2020

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Richter’s Rizza’s have a divine harmony, and, layering to them. These are stunning Mosel wines. There is something about fermenting and ageing in old wood that works wonderfully for these wines. The gentle oxidation and fermentation kinetics bring the wines together beautifully. I guess 400 years making Rizza in the Mosel may have something to do with it too!

Despite their 400+ year legacy, Weingut Max Ferdinand Richter is a producer focused on the here and now. The winemakers at Richter believes that great wine comes from the vineyard, not the cellar. They strive for precision in their daily viticultural work, cultivating vines on the steep, slate slopes of Mosel to produce wines of complexity, finesse and exceptional longevity. This is perfectly reflected in the recent release of the 2019 vintage with a range of impressive wines that confirm Richter’s position as modern-day Mosel classic.

About Max Ferdinand Richter

Weingut Max Ferdinand Richter has been producing Riesling in the Mosel since 1680. The Richter wines exude great class and breeding along with their classical Mosel raciness, fruitiness and mineral complexity. This Estate relies purely on must weight for the quality and grip which makes Richter not only one of the most exciting estates in Germany, but one of the finest exponents of Riesling anywhere in the world. They ferment in old oak demi-muids and assemble the finished wine in an inert vessel following stabilisation and prior to bottling. The noble Riesling grape is amazingly resilient on the steep slate slopes of the magnificent Mosel, a run of great vintages has witnessed Mosel Riesling climbing back onto the mantle were it so deservedly belongs.

In the Vineyard

The winemakers at Richter believe that great wine comes from the vineyard, not the cellar. With this in mind they strive for precision in their daily viticultural work. The challenge of cultivating vines on the steep, slate slopes of Mosel is overcome by fastidious handwork, small crop sizes, all-natural fertilizers and sustainable farming practices. Additionally, all harvesting is done by hand.

Max Ferdinand Richter’s 48 steep acres are spread out in the Middle Mosel Valley between Erden and Brauneberg. Plantings consist of 95% Riesling and 5% Pinot Blanc grapes. The average age of Richter vines is 40 years.

In the Winery

Vinification starts with gentle pressing and slow temperature controlled fermentation in traditional old oak barrels (fuders). This careful, deliberate process preserves the vineyard-grown quality of the grapes, develops the unique character of the single-vineyard cuvees, and to gives Richter wines exceptional longevity.

When possible, they utilize natural yeasts and eschew chemical fining agents.

The German System

Wow, even the most dedicated wine geek often has trouble getting their head around the German naming systems, something they’ve been working on simplifying!

When it comes to wines containing some level of grape sugar, the Germans have a classification that dictates ranges of sugar levels grapes for a specific wine must be picked at, in essence establishing a framework for the ripeness, amount of Bortytis and shrivel / raisoning the fruit should have when picked. The amount of grape sugar left in the wine after it has fermented, is up to the maker.

All of this super detailed information is interesting to know.

At the end of the day the most important thing is whether the wine meets those standard criteria for good wine. During Riesling Down Under it was great to hear winemakers from around the world, all saying they don’t care much for the numbers, they picked their fruit on flavour and made their wines to achieve balance and harmony.

The following is courtesy of Dr Loosen, who sums up German Riesling styles with sweetness beautifully

The Versatility of Riesling

Riesling is one of the few grapes that is capable of producing a complete spectrum of wine styles, from bone dry to lusciously sweet. The key to maintaining top quality throughout this broad range lies in a rigorous selection process. As the harvest progresses, we make daily decisions about each vineyard parcel based on the maturity of the fruit and the prevailing weather conditions. Healthy grapes are painstakingly separated from botrytis-affected fruit, and the various selections are vinified separately.

Classic Wines with Sweetness

Our traditional wines, with residual sweetness, are selected from the harvest according to their ripeness and flavour development. The finest lots from our classified vineyards are bottled with their corresponding single-vineyard name and ripeness (Prädikat) level. For the non-botrytis wines, there are two Prädikat levels, Kabinett and Spätlese.

Beyond the lightly sweet Kabinett and Spätlese bottlings, made without botrytis, there are three Prädikat levels of botrytis-selection wines that get progressively sweeter: Auslese, Beerenauslese [berry selection] and Trockenbeerenauslese [dried berry selection]. In addition, when vintage conditions allow it, we produce Eiswein from grapes that have frozen on the vine.

The picture from Dr Loosen above is a great illustration of the different conditions of grapes at harvest and the styles they are destined to make. You can see the level of Botrytis and shrivel / raisining increasing as we move through the styles from Kabinett to Trockenbeerenauslese. The Botrytis or Noble Rot, imparts wonderful flavours and textures to the wine, and is to be revered like the blue moulds of Rocquefort and the washed rind cheeses of Munster in Alsace, appropriately both cheeses marry beautifully with a glass of Riesling.

Note how the buckets are colour coded according to the end destination of the fruit and how little of the Trockenbeerenauslese is produced. The skill of pickers and willingness to pass through the vineyard several times to ensure all grapes are picked at the optimal time is the key to success.

The freshest style is Kabinett and as you move up the scale you’ll see additional complexity added by botrytis and other winemaking influences in addition to greater levels of sweetness. Each style whether Kabinett or Eiswein being perfect for consumption on different occasions with different foods. The Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, and, Eiswein being exceptional dessert wines. Kabinett and Spätlese being suited to table wine consumption. The standard line for the German’s being that where the English offer tea to guests in the afternoon the German’s offer Kabinett or Spätlese wines, more akin to a table wine. That said I devoured a Wagner-Stemple Kabinett, with pasta and cheese on a 38°C day in Melbourne, perfection! Auslese sitting on either side depending on the style the estate makes.

This intense sorting process is beautifully articulated by Ernie Loosen from 2min 25sec in the vineyard below.

The 2020 Vintage at Max Ferdinand Richter

Constantin Richter immediately sets the tone of the vintage: “This is firmly a Kabinett vintage! The growing conditions were hot and warm, and we saw some water stress in July, as so often now. A bit of rain in August helped us through the summer. But the harvest season made for a complete contrast as sugar levels hardly bulged from September 20 until the end of our harvest around October 20. We started our harvest on September 13 with Kabinett but then decided to stop when the rain started to fall at the end of the month. We brought in our Spätlese fruit then after the rain. Little botrytis developed and we only made two Auslese. We did leave out some grapes for an Eiswein, but the result was not to our satisfaction, so we simply discarded them. Overall, the vintage is really split into three: before the rain, during the rain, and after the rain. In this respect, it reminds us of 1982, where something similar happened. Overall, the result is really great: 2020 is a classic Mosel vintage driven by not overpowerful Oechsle degrees. In many aspects, it reminds me of 2004 and 2008 although comparisons become really hard to make nowadays.”

The Estate produced its usual collection of dry (right up to its two GGs from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr and the Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr), offdry wines (including a new Elisenberg Alte Reben), and fruity-styled wines (a full range of Kabinett and Spätlese) as well as (only) two noble-sweet wines. It will also release its second vintage of Pinot Noir as well as from its Alter Satz (made from a field blend of old grape varieties).

The Richters are known for their playful wines and they did not disappoint in the filigreed 2020 vintage. The whole collection shines through beautifully light-footed expressions of slate-infused Mosel Riesling, which has made the reputation of the region. The star of the collection is undoubtedly the Veldenzer Elisenberg Spätlese, possibly the finest wine we have ever tasted from this vineyard and one of the finest ‘light” expression of Spätlese. But also, the superb set of Kabinett wines have a light-footed intensity rarely seen even by the great standards of this Estate. In particular, the Brauneberger Juffer -4- and Wehlener Sonnenuhr bottlings are textbook ambassadors of their respective terroirs. While the Max Ferd. Richter wines were often quite open in recent vintages, this is much less the case in 2020 and readers are well advised to let these beauties rest before enjoying them. But patience will be rewarded!

Dirk Richter & Constantine Richter’s Vintage Report

Where in the World is Max Ferdinand Richter?

Max Ferdinand Richter is in the middle Mosel.

The Mosel River Valley is probably the most famous and arguably the most admired wine region in Germany. In its wider sense, it includes the adjacent Saar and Rüwer (hence Mosel-Saar-Rüwer), both tributaries of the Mosel River, however, it is the middle Mosel (mittelmosel), in particular between and including the towns of Bernkastel-Kues and Erden that the most brilliant wines tend to be produced. Bernkastel, Grach, Wehlen, and Zeltingen are some of the most famous wine towns here.
You can see just how incredibly steep the vineyards of the Mosel can be and how dominant the slate rock is, often driving the root systems meters into the hillside.

The best vineyards of Germany’s Mosel Valley are incredibly steep, south-facing slopes with mineral-rich slate soil and a favourable position near the river. Excellent drainage and the heat-retaining quality of the rocky slate soil also help to produce fully ripe, concentrated wines. The combination of these elements results in racy, mineral-inflected Rieslings that are fruity, crisp and very refreshing to drink.