2021 'Ur' Alte Reben Zeltinger Sonnenuhr
Riesling Spatlese Feinherb
93-94WA
Selbach-Oster

$44.99 on 3+ (code: 3saves5)
$49.99 reg

93-94 pts - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

From vines planted in 1900, the 2021 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese feinherb "Ur-alte Reben" opens with an intense but elegant and flinty bouquet of crushed blue slate. Lush and fleshy on the palate yet still refined and very elegant, this is a pure and crystalline, straight and linear, also complex and textured, even juicy Spätlese with a long and intense finish. Very promising. Tasted as a sample ready to be bottled in July 2022.

The Zeltinger Sonnenuhr site is the downstream continuation of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr. In Zeltingen, the barrage increases the water surface. The Sonnenuhr ends at the church in Zeltingen. It is one of the most famous Mosel sites, a steep slope with many protruding slate cliffs. The topsoil consists of coarse Devonian slate boulders, the subsoil of soft, weathered slate, resting on primary rock. Of our six top locations, this is the most rocky, driest soil. The vines are located in pure south exposure between 110 and 230 meters above sea level.

A list favorite over the years and one of my all time favorite Rieslings from the Mosel, this wine delivers year in and year out so consistently and just 1-2 fuders are made in a vintage!

2021s from the Mosel are mostly out now, with 2022s coming in this year (or have arrived in some markets). 2021 is said to be one of the best years that harkens back to the classical years of 2001 with the filigree, minerality, acidity, and crystaline fruit that vintage was so well loved for when they were released. This wine is usually a later release so it is not a surprise to see it this late.

One of the perennial riesling stars we try to sell every year, of almost EVERY vintage since I started 5 + years ago, the UR Alte Reben (old vines planted in 1900!), Zeltinger Sonnenuhr is also one of my favorite Mosel wines. It delivers the goods every vintage (thanks to the old vines) and is always a great price to buy a few of.

The “sundial” of Zeltingen is the steepest of the three sites in the village and has the poorest soils. Vines here are rooted directly into Devonian slate. The vineyard has different subsections, including Kakert, the slate terraces with 120 year old vines that the Uralte Reben bottling comes from as well as Rotlay has the rockiest, shallowest and therefore driest soil as can be seen by the massive cliffs that hang over the vineyard and partially to its side. The Ur-Alte Reben (“Ultra old vines”) were planted around 1900, hence the Roman numerals “MCM” on the label. These 120 year old vines produce between one and two fuders each year and the quality here is undeniable. This is one of thee crown jewels of the Feinherb category.