Weingut Müller-Catoir - Muskateller Haardter Kabinett Trocken 2016 (750ml)
Price: $39.99
| Producer | Weingut Müller-Catoir |
| Country | Germany |
| Region | Pfalz |
| Varietal | Muscat |
| Vintage | 2016 |
| Sku | 200517 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Weingut Müller-Catoir Description
Family-owned since 1774, Müller-Catoir is now owned by Philipp David Catoir, the 9thgeneration. Philipp David works alongside Martin Franzen, who is responsible for both vineyards and cellar. Martin originally comes from the Mosel, bringing experience as head of operations at Schlossgut Diel in the Nahe and at Gut Nagelsforst in Baden. Franzen joined the winery in 2002, taking over from legendary winemaker Hans-Günther Schwarz, who made Catoir a household name in Germany and abroad. Hans-Günther had a reputation as a great and friendly mentor to two generations of some of the best winemakers in Germany, Austria, and Alsace. Martin has continued this tradition and has become one of the most respected winemakers in Germany.
This is also one of the most beautiful wineries in Germany: a sandstone manor house, built in the 1890s, into the hillside in the village of Haardt. The beautiful estate overlooks some of the very finest vineyards in the Pfalz, in the villages of Haardt, Gimmeldingen, Mussbach and now Neustadt.
Vinous: 92 Points
Pennyroyal, basil, peppermint, bay laurel and lemon zest on the nose anticipate this wine's pungent and piquant yet cooling performance on a palpably dense yet lightly waxy palate. The superbly sustained finish remains generously juicy as well as invigoratingly pungent, piquant and incisive, while adding a saliva-liberating dose of marine mineral salts. I'm confident that this wine will give pleasure to some of us Muskateller fans, anyway for longer than a decade, but I placed a 10-year cap on my cellaring prognosis based on how long it is likely to remain the juicy, bracing sort of wine you might sip on its own as an aperitif. "The berries [of Muskateller] have to retain their spring and elasticity at picking, observed Franzen, "otherwise you don't get this combination of invigoration and juiciness. Having applauded the VDP's willingness to accede to a site-specific bottling from Scheurebe, I suspect though Franzen did not directly confirm this - that the organization's unwillingness to extend the same charity and bring comparable empirical evidence to bear on Muskateller is a prime reason why we don't have a Bürgergarten bottling this vintage. But never mind; for decades there was only a single bottling of Müller-Catoir Muskateller; all of the grapes come from the Bürgergarten; and the present instantiation profoundly and delightfully perpetuates that proud tradition.
