Dr. Lippold Riesling Estate, Ürziger Würzgarten – Premier and Grand Crus parcels
Wines from Ürziger Würzgarten are generally amongst the highest rated Rieslings from the middle Mosel and considered as world class wines. The wines under the label Dr. Lippold are the result of bringing together the exceptional terroir of formerly Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards with the fruit of very old vines by artisanal vinification.

The mystic red slate terroir
Since centuries the "Würzgarten" has been considered as one of the best vineyard sites on the Mosel.In 1804, when "La Moselle" was part of the French Empire under the reign of Napoleon, the parcel "Weltersberg" was classified as a "Grand Cru" at par with the Grand Crus in Burgundy such as Corton-Charlemagne, Batard-Montrachet etc. The parcel “Neuberg” was considered “Premier Cru”.

Due to the very steep slope arena close to the river with straight Southern exposure the microclimate of the Würzgartenis already exceptional. In the parcel  Weltersberg, today just a tiny part of the whole 55 ha  Würzgarten, the growing conditions are even more favorable. Year after year this small plot of 1 ha produces nothing  less  than  Spätlese  and  higher  quality  levels. The “nanoclimate“ in the Weltersbergallows long vegetation periods during which the old vines generously accumulate the minerals from the unique red Devon slate soil.

While  the  Mosel  vineyards  are  generally  planted  on  grey  or  blue  slate  dominated  soils,  the Würzgartenis in fact the only place with red slate. Particles of this red slate are transformed into a highly aromatic „spicy“ profile, showing predominantly flavours of ripe mango, flanked by yellow fruits, mint, petals and mineralic notes.

The old vines
To show the maximum expression of this unique terroir in the wine, the plants, which are subject to an intense  caring program during the year, have to be old  and of 100% genetically pre-phylloxera Riesling material. The small sized berries are the fruits from genuine rootstock vines of an average age of 60 years with very deep roots and very low yield.

The vinification philosophy
The goal for the minimalistic-artisanal winemaking is to protect as much as possible the terroir and vintage character of the grapes, which requires a lot of attention and experience.

In the naturally cold cellar no cooling system is required, the small stainless steel vats (max.1.000 liters) are directly filled with juice from the press above by gravitation. After a long, cool fermentation the young wines are kept usually until
late July on the lees, from time to time a battonage is applied. Whatever is good for the final wine is done – no rush and as natural as possible. After bottling, the wines remain for a year or much more in the cellar before the first release.

By this this „no-interfere“ vinification, wines can be created for longevity, utmost terroir expression and vintage character. Each batch stands for something very individual: A true antipole to the world of uniform mass or „winemaker´s wines“.

For most of the connoisseurs the charm of a classic Mosel Riesling entails some gentle  fruit  sweetness  complimenting  gracefully  the  acidity  and  the  filigrane mineralic structure as backbone. Therefore none of these wines are extremely
dry nor sweet. With their natural yeasts they ferment in respect of centuries´ old principles to a balanced, harmonious style.

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