2021 Markus Molitor Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese Off-Dry Green Cap, Mosel

The 2021 Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese (Green Capsule) is the most reductive of the feinherb Spätlesen at Molitor. Its flavors are bright and precise and beautifully intertwined with the weathered slate aromas and fresh citrus notes. Round and savory on the palate, with a ripe, crunchy and refined mineral acidity, this is a highly delicate and intense Spätlese with a persistently complex finish. Still young, this is a 2021 that will benefit from further bottle aging. It is a Spätlese that could also have been marketed as an Auslese. 9.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in May 2023.

Markus Molitor doesn't know bad vintages; at most, there are difficult ones. Almost each vintage has its challenges, plus the size of Weingut Markus Molitor—which hasn't been talked about for many years but should be more than 100 hectares, the 25-hectare Domaine Serrig in the Saar not included—can also cause difficulties. In truly challenging vintages, such as 2021 and also 2022, a big crowd of pickers can't be everywhere at the same time, so Molitor had to give up parcels weeks before the harvest. In the end, the list of the current collection, with the focus on the 2021 Rieslings and the 2019 Pinot Noirs, is still impressive. Even after the reduction, I had 88 wines to taste here. Although the 2021 vintage brought Molitor's very first Scharzhofbergers, it is the first vintage since I began reviewing his wines for the Wine Advocate (starting with the 2013 vintage) that doesn't include a 100-pointer so far. The Hubertuslay Beerenauslese * was very, very close, and the TBAs are still fermenting... The "lack" of a 100-pointer in the 2021 vintage is not really surprising, though. The late-ripening vintage was dramatic in terms of rainfall and cooler temperatures throughout the vegetation period, and the pickings had to be very selective. The Molitor team did a great job again, and the nature of the vintage is mirrored in the lineup: I had 34 dry whites to taste, of which 31 were Riesling—five were Kabinett, seven Spätlese and 10 were Auslese quality (six two-starred, four three-starred), and the rest are sold without predicate as Qualitätswein. Only seven wines were green-capsuled, which means feinherb or off-dry (one Kabinett, one Auslese (one star), four Spätlese and one without predicate). The second big group of the list are the 31 gold-capsuled sweet wines, of which 13 are Auslese (two one-starred, three two-starred, eight three-starred) and two one-starred Beerenauslesen. Three top crus come as dry quality wine without predicate. As usual, they are Erdener Prälat, Scharzhofberger and Bernkasteler Doctor. This is quite sensational for a producer who insisted for decades on the Prädikatswein system for dry wines as well, including the grands crus. The estate and village dry wines have been an exception for a while; but for the most prestigious crus of the portfolio, this is breaking news. "The vintage simply wasn't ripe enough for the very top quality," Molitor explained, and he said this will also be the case for the 2022 vintage. The renunciation of the predicate, no matter which one, enabled Molitor to slightly improve the musts in order to be able to give the wines the desired (and probably also expected) body. The grands crus Prälat and Doctor and probably also Scharzhofberger are, after all, exceptionally expensive wines by German standards. Collectors who spend 700 to 1,500 euros for a bottle of Riesling may indeed expect a certain amount of power and concentration on the palate, even if the vintage did not voluntarily give these characteristics. Molitor has never sold his three top wines under the Auslese label, at least not among the dry-fermented versions. Will 2021 and 2022 bring about a change? Molitor has no final thoughts on this yet, but simply selling the wines under their site name, as their colleagues in Burgundy do, is a serious consideration. Other news might be that Molitor for the first time revealed in our conversation (but not on the label) that three of his 2021 top dry (white-capsuled) Rieslings were vinified exclusively in "alternative" vats: the Ockfener Bockstein Auslese ***, the Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese *** and the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** were all vinified in a concrete egg and in clay amphorae. None of the wines have been released yet, and there is no schedule for them. The wines are fabulous and represent all the energy and vibrancy of the 2021 vintage, particularly their terroirs. Molitoir's finest 2021s are the sweet (gold capsuled) Erdener Prälat Auslese *** and the Hubertuslay Beerenauslese *, the Erdener Treppchen Auslese ***, the Zeltlinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (sweet and dry AP 92 from the amphora), the Scharzhofberger Spätlese and, last but not least, the dry Scharzhofberger. There is also an impressive gold-capsuled Kabinett of the Scharzhofberger, yet no wines of this iconic site have been released yet. We will probably have to wait for the auction either this or next year.

94 points SR robertparker.com

Very large, steep southwest-facing slope of decomposed slate and clay soils. The wines are very elegant, feminine, and racy with good structure. Mandarin, citrus peel, and sweet floral aromas. Tropical fruit, exotic spice on the palate, searing acidity balanced by sweet honey and fine herbal notes.