Clemens Busch
Clemens Busch
Mosel, Germany
Clemens Busch
COUNTRY
Germany
REGION
Mosel
sub Region
Pünderich
Appellation
Mosel Valley
Climate
Cool Continental
WineMaker
Clemens, Johannes Busch
FARMING PractICes
Organic, Biodynamic
Since taking over his family winery in 1984, Clemens Busch and his wife Rita have shaped it into one of the most iconoclastic estates in the Mosel.
The History
Clemens and Rita are firm believers that natural practices in the vines allow for the truest expression of terroir. Together with their youngest son Johannes, the Buschs maintain and manage the steep slopes of the famous Marienburg at the beginning of the Terrassenmosel.
Pünderich lies essentially at the dividing line between the Middle and Lower Mosel, the wilder and more remote northern section of the Mosel river system. The geology here is unique, based on a volcanic formation hundreds of millions of years old, manifested in a long, undulating cliff face that is nothing short of epic.
In spite of multiple slate profiles (blue, grey and red) and expositions varying throughout the area, the German government in 1971, in a short-sighted and illinformed bureaucratic decision lumped all these parcels together under one vineyard name, the Marienburg. Furthermore, they expanded what was a 23-hectare geographically coherent site into a 90-hectare politically drawn one, which even includes a series of flat sites on the opposite side of the river!
Clemens has devoted his career to rectifying this mistake, identifying the different terroirs of the original hillside on his labels by their historical names: Fahrlay, Falkenlay, Rothenpfad, Felsterrasse, and Raffes. He further delineates his wines by their soil type, using an ingenious method: the color of the capsule on the bottles indicates the type of slate (blue, gray or red) that dominates the source from which each wine comes.
Most of the wines at the Busch estate are vinified dry, and they are rich, complex and often powerful. They age very beautifully, gaining in complexity and texture. However, the sweet and noble sweet wines from the estate are also impressive, ranking among the finest wines made anywhere on the Mosel.
The Philosophy
It is important to note there are not a lot of committed "natural" winemakers in Germany in the sense that we know it from France and elsewhere; Busch is considered by many to be THE master interpreter of that philosophy in Germany.
The domaine’s ultimate goal is to produce wines of the highest quality and individuality. They aim to achieve this through respectful interaction with the environment.
Conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity are for us the essential foundation. A vine grown in a biodiverse environment can resist adverse circumstances and sicknesses better than a weak one. Encouraging vitality and strengthening the vineyard’s collective immune system are therefore a primary focus.
Clemens Busch is certified Biodynamic and they use various teas and herbal mixtures to strengthen the vineyard’s microbiome. In lieu of synthetic fungicides and herbicides they use sulfur and copper.
WINES FROM THIS PRODUCER
150+ Producers worldwide
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