Falkenstein, AP11 Niedermenniger Herrenberg Spatlese Feinherb, Mosel 2025 1.5L

Meyer Nepal (AP 11): raspberry, spicy, icy, and spritzy.

The Weber family of Hofgut Falkenstein farms about 13 ha in the Konz Valley. They hand-harvest all the grapes, gently pressing them whole-bunch. Their musts are left to settle naturally overnight before being racked and fermented with ambient yeasts in old 1,000-liter Fuder casks and a couple of 500-liter Halbfuder casks.

Their vineyards are located on various south-facing slopes, including Niedermenniger Herrenberg (listed as “Zuckerberg” on Franz Josef Clotten’s 1868 Saar und Mosel Weinbau-Karte), Niedermenniger Sonnenberg, Krettnacher Altenberg, Krettnacher Euchariusberg, and Ockfener Bockstein. The soil is primarily iron-rich gray slate, with some quartz and quartzite-bearing sandstone, as well as diabase intrusions in Krettnacher Altenberg. Erich and Johannes Weber, a father-and-son team, eschew herbicides and systemic fungicides and favor low yields—just one short “flat” or non-arched cane (Flachbogen) per vine—to produce an array of dry (trocken), off-dry (feinherb), and fruity Saar Rieslings. Most of these wines are bottled individually by cask.