Melsheimer ‘Rurale’ Pétillant White 2019

Location: Germany, Mosel

Winemaker: Thorsten Melsheimer

Grapes: Riesling

Soil: slate

Winemaking: aged a minimum of 18 months on the lees in barrel

From the Producers: The Melsheimer family—that’s five generations of growing almost exclusively fine Riesling wines on the steep slopes surrounding the beautiful village of Reil on the river Mosel. To care for and develop our vineyards with an ecologically sound approach has been a top priority as winemakers for a long time.

The Mosel is marked by many steep slopes. Among them, only 5% are very steep slopes and thus particularly valuable cultural assets. Approximately half of our sites are on these very steep slopes: We grow almost exclusively Riesling here, since the Mosel has been famous for wines made from this grape variety for centuries—and many wine lovers think that Riesling vines produce their best results in the Mosel region.

We put our heart and soul into our work, using elaborate methods to create elegant and subtle still wines of great aromatic complexity as well as superb sparkling wines. Since 1995, we have been recognized as a winery devoted to ecological winegrowing, and in 2013, after having gone completely biodynamic, we were awarded the Demeter certification.

Our sparkling wines are a product of pure passion. Since the beginning of the 1980s, we have made our own sparkling wines, applying the traditional method, riddling the bottles by hand. Only the best wines—primarily from the Mullay-Hofberg vineyard—form the base for our sparkling wines. We disgorge only small lots after they have spent a long time on lees (a minimum of 18 months) in order to achieve maximum freshness. Currently, nearly 10% of our entire harvest is dedicated to this passionate pursuit. Natural must clarification, spontaneous fermentation of the base wines and traditional ageing in large wooden barrels are integral parts of the process.