2024HofgutFalkenstein,NiedermennigerHerrenbergKabinettfeinherb1.5LMagnum,Saar,Germany

<p>The Riesling grapes are gently pressed whole bunch, and their musts are left overnight to settle naturally, before being racked and fermented with ambient yeasts in 1,000-liter <em>Fuder</em> casks (<em>Fuderfässer</em>) and a couple of 500-liter <em>Halbfuder</em>, the traditional fermenting and aging vessels for Mosel wine.</p><p>Most of their vineyards are located on various south-facing slopes, including Niedermenniger Herrenberg—listed as “Zuckerberg” on Franz Josef Clotten’s 1868 <em>Saar und Mosel Weinbau-Karte</em>—and the once highly rated Euchariusberg. The soil is primarily iron-rich gray slate, with some quartz and quartzite-bearing sandstone, along with diabase intrusions in the choice western flank of Krettnacher Altenberg (called Silberberg in the mid-20th century). The father-and-son team of Erich and Johannes Weber don’t use herbicides and believe in low yields—just one short “flat” or non-arched cane (<em>Flachbogen</em>) per vine—to produce an array of dry (<em>trocken</em>), off-dry (<em>feinherb</em>), and fruity Saar wines, which represent true cask-by-cask bottlings.</p>