2019 Clemens Busch Vom Blauen Schiefer
Clemens Busch was the rockstar iconoclast of the Mittelmosel. Young, wild-haired, forward-thinking, he snatched up parcels on the Pündericher hill in the 80s, when riesling growers were despairing over the state of the international riesling market, dominated as it was by expectations of exceedingly cheap, cloyingly sweet, crap in a tall bottle. The Pündericher hill has 17 hectares under vine. Clemens now owns 11 of them.
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These days there is still much misinformation about riesling, from its sugar content (usually dry), to its cost (expensive), to its provenance (who can pronounce these German words?), so it usually takes a good intro bottle to at least spark some interest. For that, I frequently turn to Clemens' wines.
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This 2019 has a lush round nose, nectarine and honeycomb, headier floral characteristics as it opens up, with jasmine and white flower, and is very flinty. The palate is sour honeycrisp apple and nectarine, with a hint of fresh rubber. Finish has sharp minerality, like licking wet stones, and slatey like the soil.
Producer: Clemens Busch
Name of Wine: Vom Blauen Schiefer
Vintage: 2019
Region: Mosel, Germany
Appellation: Mosel
Varietal(s): 100% riesling
Agriculture: certified organic and biodynamic
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Vineyard/Winery Location: Pünderich, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Vineyard Name: Fahrlay (Pündericher / Marienburg)
Vineyard Size: 1.4 hectares
Soil Type(s): blue slate
Altitude: 110-150 m / 360-500 ft
Exposure: south
Age of Vines: 25-75 years
Harvest: hand harvested / late October, early November
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Yeasts: native yeasts
Alcoholic fermentation: 8-10 months in large oak barrels
Élevage: in large 1000L oak barrels on the lees
Fining/Filtration: no / light filtration
Sulphur: <30 mg/L free
Alcohol: 12.5%
Closure and bottle: natural cork, 750 ml, Alsatian bottle
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Service Temperature: 45-52 F
Drink: now to 2028
Decant: no
Pairing: fresh fish / sushi / spicy Asian cuisine / pork