Clemens Busch

The wines are exquisite, and each of the various Marienburg parcels is different: they shimmer aromatically, are alluring and profound, intense yet streamlined. Truly one of the Mosel’s best. — Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous Media

 

The wines are authentic, expressive and have an inimitable identity that represents the particular origin of which the terraced parts with the often ungrafted vines can give unforgettable drinking experience (Fahrlay Terrassen, Felsterrasse, Raffes). These are not wines to enjoy quickly or even thoughtlessly. I'd rather recommend to drink them slowly, not too cool and with all the time they need and you are ready to give them. — Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate

 

People |

Rita & Clemens Busch

Focus |

Stalwarts of biodynamic farming, natural wine making, bottling single vineyard, single soil type Riesling. Mostly dry, with some outstanding sweeter wines.

 

Country |

Germany

Region |

Mosel

 

Sub Region/Village |

Punderich, at the border between the Middle and the Lower/Terrassen Mosel

 

Climate |

Cool Continental

 

Vineyards |

• Marienburg, named as such in with the 1971 wine law, lumping together 90 hectares of steep and flat sites of many soil types. Clemens has spent decades re-delineating the single vineyard names of old. He started with 2 hectares from his father in 1975 and now farms 18.

• Felsterrasse: 70 + year old vines, single staked in light gray slate with bands of iron. Reportedly this is Clemens favorite single vineyard. Needs time in the bottle.

 

• Fahrlay: the only blue slate parcel, imparting raging acidity, floral notes and concentration to age for decades.

 

• Rothenpfad: Red slate. A geologic formation of iron- and copper-rich red-colored rock that starts in the Saar (see Niedermenniger vineyards in Stefan Müller), pops up at the Ürziger Würzgarten (Merkelbach), Erdener Prälat and Enkircher Steffensberg (Immich Batterieberg, Vollenweider & Weiser Künstler) sites in the Middle Mosel, and ends at Pünderich. Signature spicy kick, exotic and ripe.

 

• Falkenlay: 65-90 year old ungrafted vines planted on gray slate. Ginger, ripe and saline. Lends itself to long term aging.

 

• Raffes: A section of the Falkenlay vineyard where the vines are sheltered from the wine, gain more ripeness and produce the deepest most concentrated wines at the estate.

 

Grape Varieties |

Riesling

 

Farming |

Biodynamic

• Clemens took over the conventionally farmed estate in 1975
• Stopped using herbicides in 1976
• He and Rita converted to organics in 1986
• Certified biodynamic by the EU and Respekt in 2005
• They are role models for biodynamic farmers around the world

 

 

Cellar Work |

Natural

• The master interpreter of natural wine in Germany
• Light skin contact, for some tannic grip

 

About the winery |

Clemens, the 5th of his name, along with wife Rita, are stalwarts of biodynamics and natural wine making, a rarity in the Mosel. Situated on the dividing line between the middle and lower Mosel, they've single handedly regained recognition for their home vineyard, Marienberg.

 

The Marienberg was collateral damage of German bureaucracy in 1971. Its 23 hectares were expanded to include 91 hectares, including flat land across the river, and its reputation quickly faded. Clemens and Rita have spent a lifetime teasing out the once recognized parcels and applying their lost names.

 

Red, gray and blue slate snake through the vineyard. Each bottle, besides being a single vineyard, is further divided by slate type with a corresponding capsule to indicate which color it was grown on.

 

These are wines for people who believe in connecting with nature, a sense of place, tradition, striving for excellence, acid and minerality.

 

What do the wines taste like?

These are powerful wines, destined for long lives and almost all are vinified totally dry. Each show shows a huge variety of flavors and textures, with the only difference in the wines being the site they come from.

 

They can be pungent and exotic with, with pronounced ripeness and great staying power. Intense enough for white wine for red meat. Or Firm, vivid, gingery, with saline with acidity that elevates to a quiveringly “alive” state of being. The luster, florality, sizzling acids center minerality above all else.

 

Wines on Offer |

Clemens Busch, Riesling (alter-) Native, 2020 $35.99 $31.67

Skin contact style Riesling from fruit grown in gray slate, the wine spends 15 months sur lie in large old German oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered and with very little sulfur (20ppm). There is some natural CO2 in this wine, coupled with fabulous acidity, modest alcohol, and piercing minerality.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Fahrlay Grosses Gewächs, 2021 $69.99 $61.59

Blue slate, very old (80+) yr old vines.

"Deep and cool nose of crisp pear, bergamot and a touch of floral honey. Bold and firmly structured, this has impressive depth, but needs some time to open up. Plenty of crushed rock minerality at the long, weighty finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. Drinkable now, but best from 2024. 93 pts" -- James Suckling



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Fahrlay-Terrasen Grosses Gewächs, 2021 $98.99 $87.11

From 110-year-old vines and biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. Fermented spontaneously in traditional oak casks from fruit harvested in a prime terraced part of the blue-slate Fahrlay sector. Full-bodied and high-toned with citrus fruit dominant at this early stage; but the slate comes down in the finish like a hammer. Very dry, very young, an impressive achievement by any measure.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Falkenlay Grosses Gewächs, 2021 $69.99 $61.59

Grey slate, high up on the hill "where the falcons fly..."

"Full peachy nose, impressive ripeness and generosity for the vintage, this is an immediately appealing 2021 Mosel riesling GG that also has the structure to age well. Still firm at the minty and earthy finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. Drink or hold. 94 pts" -- James Suckling



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Felsterrasse Grosse Lage, 2020 $113.99 $100.31

"99 POINTS -- The 2020 Marienburg Felsterrasse offers perfectly ripe and concentrated yet refined, finely slatey and perfectly ripe fruit aromas with delicate lemon juice and herbal aromas. A stunning beauty! Silky, crystalline, lush and intense yet highly finessed and elegant on the palate, this is a full-bodied, rich and very intense yet playful, saline and finessed Riesling with power and concentration and a very long, hedonistic yet always elegant and balanced finish. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022." -- Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Grosses Gewächs, 2021 $59.99 $52.79

From 40+ year-old, mainly ungrafted vines on gray slate in the main part of the VDP. Grosse Lage, Pündericher Marienburg, the flagship vineyard of the estate. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt and Demeter certification.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Kabinett, 2022 $37.99 $33.43

“2021 Marienburg Kabinett is clear, pure and intense on the reductive and slatey/saline nose. On the palate, this is a lush and round, salty, piquant and salivating Kabinett with ripe and lush fruit but a fruity rather than sweet finish. Bottled with more than 10.5 grams per liter of acidity and nearly 60 grams per liter of residual sugar. 7.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022. 93 pts” -- Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Raffes Grosse Lage, 2021 $170.00 $149.60

From ancient, predominantly ungrafted vines on gray slate from the best part of the Falkenlay terroir of the Pündericher Marienburg. What intensity and finesse! The best of the best from Clemens. Not offered every year.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Rothenpfad Grosses Gewächs, 2022 $61.99 $54.55

The Big Red One. The Rothenpfad (red path) is the terminus of an iron- and copper-rich red-colored geological slate formation that runs throughout the Middle Mosel and ends at Pünderich. Clemens’ GG from here, like all wines made from such soil, is pungent and exotic with pronounced ripeness and great staying power. White wine for red meat.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Marienburg Spatlese, 2022 $43.99 $38.71

A fully sweet Spatlese from Clemens (RS north of 70g/l) balanced by juicy acids and a lattice of crystalline minerality. Teeming with orange blossoms and capped by a dollop of rainbow sherbet, this is a joyous wine.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Nonnengarten, 2019 $39.99 $35.19

The "nun's garden." From a lovely southeast facing vineyard on the right side of the Marienburg, close to the castle. Clemens considers this a 1er Cru for his estate, although the VDP recognizes the site as a grand cru. The vines are 35-40 years old. The soil here is red slate which lends its usual minty, herbal, spice garden character. In hot vintages, a smoky element emerges. The structure is always firm but more ""open"" with its fruit than most of his GGs. Dubbed the "Rheingau from the Mosel" by Clemens for its dark minerality. 300-400cs made in a normal vintage.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Trocken, 2022 $24.99 $21.99

Sourced from a blend of fruit from the slope and the flatlands around the Marienburg). Clear, clean, pale, with talc notes, apple fruit, and modest alcohol for such a dry wine. Biodynamic, spontaneously fermented, no chaptalization.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Vom Blauen Schiefer, 2022 $43.99 $38.71

The blue slate entry in Clemens' ""slate series,"" identified by its steel blue capsule. Usually released later than the gray and red slate wines, vinified in steel. A dry Riesling of length and strength. The blue slate (blauen schiefer) consistently lends firmness, incredible mineral tension, and a particularly haunting florality that drops strong men to their knees.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Vom Grauen Schiefer, 2022 $31.99 $28.15

The name means “from gray slate”. More linear, stony, and drier-tasting than the Roten Schiefer. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt and Demeter certification.



Clemens Busch, Riesling Vom Roten Schiefer, 2022 $31.99 $28.15

From iron-rich red slate soils on the Marienburg. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt and Demeter certification. More exotic, yellow-fruited and riper-tasting than the Grauenschiefer.