Summary
Weingut Ansgar Clüsserath in Trittenheim is one of the smaller but particularly fine addresses of the Mosel. The Clüsserath family has been growing vines here since 1670 – today around 5 to 6 hectares of steep slate slopes, planted almost exclusively with Riesling. The face of the estate is Eva Clüsserath-Wittmann, who runs her parents Ansgar and Elsbeth's business in the current generation and was named Winemaker of the Year by Falstaff in 2022. Her Rieslings are the opposite of loud: taut, precise, deeply mineral and built for long ageing. The wines are made with a great deal of patience – spontaneous fermentation in traditional Mosel Fuder casks, long lees ageing and a deliberately late release. The heart of the estate is the Trittenheimer Apotheke, one of the most famous steep sites of the Middle Mosel.
History
The roots of the estate go back to 1670 – the Clüsserath family has been making wine in Trittenheim for more than 350 years. The Clüsserath name is deeply rooted in the village; several estates carry it, but the estate of Ansgar Clüsserath has earned a reputation of its own over the past decades. Ansgar Clüsserath and his wife Elsbeth shaped the business for many years and committed early on to nature-oriented viticulture on the steep slopes.
The decisive turning point for today's style came with the next generation. Eva Clüsserath-Wittmann graduated from Geisenheim in 2001, initially worked for the VDP in the Pfalz and then took over responsibility for the wines of her parents' estate in the early 2000s. She is married to Rheinhessen winemaker Philipp Wittmann from Westhofen and has commuted between the two estates ever since – around 150 kilometres separate Trittenheim and Westhofen. Her parents remain actively involved on site, so the estate has stayed a genuine family business to this day.
Under Eva Clüsserath-Wittmann the estate has steadily gained profile: the wine guides rated it higher year after year, and in 2022 came the most prominent accolade so far, the title of Falstaff Winemaker of the Year.
Location & Terroir
Trittenheim lies on the Middle Mosel, in one of the most striking river loops between Trier and Bernkastel-Kues. The village is surrounded by the Mosel on three sides, and on the steep slopes opposite lie the two great Trittenheim sites, Apotheke and Altärchen. The Apotheke is one of the most famous steep sites of the entire region – facing south to south-west, extremely steep and dominated by grey to blue Devonian slate.
The slate is the key to the character of the wines: it stores the sun's warmth during the day and releases it to the vines at night, while forcing the roots deep into the rock. The result is Rieslings with noticeable minerality, clear fruit and a fine, supporting acidity. Some of the vines are very old – certain parcels have been in place for around 80 to 100 years – which means small yields, dense aromatics and depth.
Alongside the Trittenheim sites, the estate farms parcels in the Neumagener Rosengärtchen and the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen, also classic slate steep sites of the Middle Mosel. Almost all the vineyards have to be worked by hand – laborious, but the foundation of the quality.
Style & Philosophy
Eva Clüsserath-Wittmann sees herself less as a winemaker than as a companion of the wine. Her philosophy is shaped by patience and restraint: quality is created in the vineyard, and in the cellar as little as possible is interfered with. The family has worked in a nature-oriented way on the steep slopes for decades.
The vinification deliberately follows Mosel tradition. The grapes are lightly crushed and remain on the skins for several hours before pressing. The musts ferment spontaneously with their own yeasts in the classic Mosel Fuder, the 1,000-litre wooden cask that has been used in the region for centuries. The wines then mature on the fine lees for a long time – until the late summer of the following year – and are filtered only once. Release also happens later than at many other estates, because the wines need time to open up.
Stylistically, the Rieslings are taut, finely structured and elegant: not powerful, but precise wines with a firm core, clear slate spice and great ageing potential. This applies to the dry wines as well as to the fruity-sweet Prädikat wines, where the balance of sweetness, acidity and minerality takes centre stage.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is compact and clearly tiered – from estate wine to single-vineyard wine, plus the classic Prädikat wines:
- Riesling 'Vom Schiefer' dry – the entry point to the estate, a Riesling that shows its slate origin unadulterated and, according to critics, is a benchmark in its segment
- Riesling 'Steinreich' Trittenheim dry – the village wine from the stony steep slopes of Trittenheim
- Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling dry – the estate's great dry single-vineyard wine, regularly among the highest-rated dry Rieslings of the Mosel
- Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese – fruity-sweet Prädikat wines with decades of ageing potential
- Beerenauslese from the Apotheke – nobly sweet rarities in suitable vintages
- Wines from the Trittenheimer Altärchen, the Neumagener Rosengärtchen and the Piesporter Goldtröpfchen
Many regard the Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling dry as the estate's signature wine, while the Kabinett from the same site has repeatedly finished at the very top in Kabinett tastings.
Awards
The greatest honour came in 2022: the roughly 150-strong jury of the Falstaff WeinTrophy voted Eva Clüsserath-Wittmann Winemaker of the Year. In the leading German wine guides the estate has been firmly established in the Mosel's top group for years – with four stars from Falstaff and Eichelmann, four grapes from Gault&Millau and four and a half stars from the Vinum Weinguide and from Der Feinschmecker, which counts the estate among the 500 best wineries in Germany.
The wines also convince internationally: the Wine Advocate rated the dry Apotheke Riesling and the Spätlese from 2020 at more than 90 points, James Suckling awarded 96 points each to the Auslese and the dry Apotheke Riesling of the 2023 vintage, and even 97 points to a Beerenauslese from 2017. At Der Feinschmecker's Riesling Cup the dry Apotheke Riesling made the top 10 several times, and the 2018 Kabinett from the Apotheke won the 2020 Kabinett Cup of Gourmetwelten and came second in the Falstaff Kabinett Trophy.
