Markus
Molitor Debuts Inaugural Rieslings from Domäne Serrig

BY ANNE KREBIEHL MW |&nbsp;SEPTEMBER 28, 2023After having purchased the former royal
Prussian state domain in the Saar Valley in 2016, German star winemaker and
Riesling supremo Markus Molitor now debuts the first two wines from the restored
and re-planted Serriger Vogelsang vineyard, one dry Riesling, one Kabinett.

Both wines are from the 2020 vintage and
will be sold and distributed under the Domäne Serrig label via the Place de Bordeaux. This is an unusual move
for Molitor, who is fond of vinifying countless small lots of dry, off-dry and
sweet wines from his numerous plots in Mosel and Saar. The 25-hectare monopole
site in the village of Serrig prompted the decision to make meaningful
quantities of two key and historic styles of German wine: one dry Riesling and one
Kabinett-style Riesling. Eight thousand bottles of each wine will be released
with minimum retail prices of EUR 200.00 for the dry Grosse Lage wine and EUR
100.00 for the Kabinett. The exact release date, most likely in mid-to-late
October, has not yet been announced. Further bottles will be held back for the
estate’s treasury and library releases as well as for cellar-door sales at the
domain, which will be open to the public once the building renovations are
completed.

“It was, in fact, a unique opportunity to
purchase a contiguous 25-hectare site of unique quality,” Molitor says about
his ongoing restoration project. “Never before in the history of the Mosel
region, even better, in that of German viticulture, has there been such an opportunity
to purchase such a sizeable monopole site possessing all the best attributes of
a grand cru.” Since 2017, 20 hectares of the 25-hectare monopole site in the
village of Serrig were re-planted with Molitor’s own massal Riesling selections,
with the first vintage made in 2017. Dry Riesling was made in 2017, 2018 and
2019; in 2020, both a dry Riesling and a Kabinett were made – these two wines
from the 2020 vintage are the first to be released.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1695913143637-Paradigms+of+Style+-+The+two+Inaugural+Rieslings+from+Dom%C3%A4ne+Serrig+by+Markus+Molitor_copy2+%281%29.jpg">Paradigms of Style - The two Inaugural Rieslings from Domäne Serrig by Markus Molitor. 

The vineyard rises steeply from 150 to 340 meters
on slate soils. “The cool climate in this classic steep slate slope allows for
a long vegetation period that brings forth wines of moderate alcohol levels
between 10 and 12% and aromatic abundance. This combination of lightness and
animation, paired with expressive, almost salty minerality, is unique and
inimitable,” Molitor says. “Domäne Serrig now
establishes itself as an international top estate, completely separate from
Weingut Markus Molitor,” he explains. “As such, there was no established
domestic market for the distribution of these wines. It was thus indispensable
to work with an international distribution system that is known as the best in
the world.” 

The historic domaine building, constructed
between 1904 and 1912, has also been renovated, with completion envisioned for
the coming year. So far, the wines, fermented spontaneously and aged on lees in
large wooden barrels, were made in the Molitor winery in Wehlen. Future
vintages will be made in the renovated domaine as soon as possible. Domäne Serrig was one of several Royal Prussian State domaines and the
most modern and progressive of the three domaines in the Mosel region. These
were state-funded wineries established as model estates for best practice with
an official remit to research and improve both viticulture and oenology. Domäne Serrig, for instance, boasted several kilometers of railway through
its steep vineyard to facilitate harvest, and the entire winery building was
designed according to the principles of gravity. Rather than take over existing
vineyards, the Prussian state domains often identified suitable, south-facing
slopes, which were then cleared and turned into vineyards.

Prussian state domaines existed in
Rheingau, Mosel and Nahe – and while the Kloster Eberbach with its outpost in
Assmannshausen is still owned and operated by the German federal state of Hessia,
the former state domain in Niederhausen in the Nahe has experienced a complete
revival in private hands as Gut Hermannsberg. Domäne Serrig was privatised in the 1990s. Molitor has a clear vision for
his takeover and revival of the domain in Serrig. “It is our mission to
contribute to the renaissance of Saar wines,” he says. “In doing so, we focus
on the DNA of the Saar Valley: great dry wines and filigree, finely fruited
Kabinett – two wines from the incomparable terroir of the Serriger Vogelsang.”
Both wines fit into this envisioned historical paradigm that made the region
famous, uniting unbelievable light-footedness, full-flavored depth, Riesling
freshness and absolute age-ability. While the Grosse Lage is a resolutely dry
wine, the Kabinett style should be an eye-opener for many who hitherto shunned
this category. © 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2022-rheinhessen-nahe-rain-in-the-nick-of-time-sep-2023">2022 Rheinhessen &amp; Nahe: Rain in the Nick of Time</a>,&nbsp;Anne Krebiehl MW, September 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/germany-pre-auction-reports-trier-and-bad-kreuznach-sep-2023">Germany Pre-Auctions Report: Trier and Bad Kreuznach</a>, Anne Krebiehl MW, September 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2021-mosel-and-saar-tantalizing-tingling-thrilling-jun-2023">2021 Mosel and Saar – Tantalizing, Tingling, Thrilling</a>, Anne Krebiehl MW, June 2023

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