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Weingut Andreas Schmitges

Vineyard area: 10 ha
Best sites: Erdener Treppchen, Erdener Prälat, Erdener Herrenberg, Zeltinger Himmelreich
Viticulture: Grapes are hand-picked

The small town of Erden, where the Schmitges family has been making wine since 1744, is tucked neatly into one of the Mosel river's many dramatic bends, which give vineyards their unique microclimate. The slopes are steep, with a gradient of up to 70 degrees. Andreas Schmitges, took over the family estate from his father Heinrich in 1990. Joined by his wife Waltraud they were determined to turn the then fairly unknown Weingut with its excellent vineyard holdings into one of the Mosel's top wine estates. The vines are grown organically and yields are kept low in order to let the wine speak of its place. At harvest, the grapes are hand-picked, gently pressed with pneumatic presses and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. After fermentation the young wines spend time on their lees before they are filtered and bottled. Andreas Schmitges' goal is to intervene as little as possible during the vinification process.

The Erdener Prälat vineyard
Photo courtesy of Weingut Schmitges

Today the Weingut Schmitges is one of the finest in the Middle Mosel. The wines show clean, refreshing fruit but for me it's their crisp acidity along with the pronounced mineral character that makes these wines stand out.

The Riesling Grauschiefer is a fairly new wine in Schmitges' portfolio. The 2006 vintage is the fifth year in which Andreas Schmitges blends grapes from his elevated vineyards: 85% are from the Erdener Herrenberg (200-300m), the rest is from the Erdener Treppchen (110m). The Herrenberg accounts for the minerality in the wine, the Treppchen for its fruit. The Grauschiefer is a perfect match for a wide range of food.

Riesling Grauschiefer Trocken 2006

Pale lemon color. Youthful nose, very refeshing like a breeze of sea air with a distinct flinty aroma, lemon peel and fresh tarragon slightly smokey. Dry palate, medium(+) acidity, medium body and alcohol. Pronounced intensity of minerality with red apple and lemon. Medium length with ground pepper on the finish.

Wonderful delicate nose, an array of different aromas, light and playful. But it is on the palate where this wine shows its real character: a distinct minerality, which gives the wine an exciting crispness. Andreas Schmitges knew why he named this wine after the type of soil it was grown in. Grauschiefer means grey slate and a flinty minerality is indeed the backbone of this wine. It's so pure, so clear in its flavor structure that one seems to drink liquid crystal. I had it with a roast chicken (stuffed with homegrown rosemary and parsley), potatoes and brussels sprouts. The Riesling was a perfect match for the chicken and matched particularly well with the rosemary flavor. The Grauschiefer is ready to drink now but should improve over the next 5 years. At $17 this is a fantastic value.

Very good

Alc: 13%.
Price: $17
2000 cases made
Tasted: November 2007

Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2004

Medium straw color. Developing nose with a medium(+) intensity of ripe apple , strawberry, gooseberry. Distinct aromas of minerality and iron, with hints of citrus and the smell of cut branches of a bush. Dry on the palate, high acidity, medium alcohol and body. Medium intensity of grapefruit, minerality and white pepper. Medium length.

Reading my tasting notes I wonder if they convey the character of the wine as I have experienced it in the glass. Although there is a lot of berry fruit on the nose, it is nevertheless the minerality that leaves the biggest impression. Particularly on the palate. Not a round pebble stone minerality that softly coats the palate, more like the sensation of a porous, weathered stone. Quite beautiful, actually.

Good - very good

Alc: 12%
Price: 10 €
Tasted: July 2008