Clemens Busch Riesling Marienburg GG ‘Falkenlay’ 2022

The Wine:
As the German name suggests, Falken ('hawks') nests are found even today in the gaps among the stones that surround the site. The warmer, wind-protected parcel is the main source for sweeter wines, but the dry wines are intense, powerful, and fruit-driven. 

If you think you know what peaches smell like, think again - beautiful ripe white peach, with a saline minerally backbone, some lifted spice, a touch of bread, wild rose, jasmine, and ginger.

The Winemaker:
The Busch family has lived in and around the Mosel village of Pünderich for many hundreds of years. Clemens and Rita still live in the ancient family house on the banks of the Mosel, constructed in 1663. The family have biodynamically farmed around 11 hectares of vines since 2004, 8 of which are situated on the Marienburg Erste Lage, (Premier Cru) whose steep slopes lay opposite the village. 

Grapes are picked very late. This, along with the Marienburg's favourable south facing exposition, allows Clemens to make 80+% of his production into dry wines. Winemaking is non-interventionist, bordering on natural, with spontaneous ferments in ancient wooden fuder, long lees aging and a low sulphur regime.