Summary
Weingut Matthias Müller in Spay is one of the best-known addresses of the Mittelrhein – that narrow, steep growing region along the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn which ranks among the smallest wine areas in Germany. On around 14 to 17 hectares, roughly 88% of them Riesling, the family makes wines from the steep slopes of the Bopparder Hamm. The estate has been a VDP member since 2007, and six of its parcels are classified there as Große Lagen (Grand Crus). What sets the estate apart is a style that is as precise as it is approachable: Rieslings with clear fruit, fine slate spice and lively acidity – in every degree of sweetness from dry to nobly sweet.
History
The Müller family's winegrowing tradition in Spay goes back around 300 years. For a long time the business was – like almost every farm on the Mittelrhein – a mixed agricultural holding in which wine was only one source of income among several. Only for the past three generations has the family focused exclusively on viticulture.
The decisive turning point came around the turn of the millennium, when Heinrich and Hilde Müller handed the estate over to their son Matthias and his wife Marianne. The young couple grew the business from around four hectares to its present size and placed Riesling firmly at the centre. In 2007 came admission to the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) – a special distinction for an estate from the small Mittelrhein.
In 2012 the wine guide Gault&Millau crowned the Müllers' work with the title Winegrowers of the Year. That same year the family opened its new wine shop in the middle of the historic half-timbered ensemble of Spay. Today the next generation is involved: son Johannes after training and studies in Geisenheim, son Christoph from the business side.
Location & Terroir
Spay lies at the northern end of the Bopparder Hamm, the spectacular bend of the Rhine between Spay and Boppard that counts as the largest contiguous steep slope of the Mittelrhein. The river describes such a tight curve here that the vineyard slopes face almost entirely south – a rare stroke of luck in an otherwise cool, northerly growing area.
The soil is shaped by Devonian slate, formed over millions of years from marine deposits. It stores the warmth of the day and releases it back to the vines at night, forces the roots to grow deep and delivers that salty, smoky minerality that gives the wines of the house their signature. Then there is the Rhine itself: as a vast heat reservoir it softens late frosts and extends the growing season. The Bopparder Hamm is therefore regarded as one of the warmest sites in the region and produces wines with substance and power.
The flip side is the labour. Gradients well above 50% in places make machinery impossible. Almost every step – pruning, canopy work, harvest – is done by hand.
Style & Philosophy
The guiding motto of the estate is Rhein.Schiefer.Riesling (Rhine. Slate. Riesling). It describes a triad: the mild climate by the river, the slate of the steep slopes and the grape variety that translates both most clearly. The wines are meant to show their origin – true to site, with pronounced fruit, fine spice and that taut acidity which makes Mittelrhein Riesling so long-lived.
The range deliberately covers the whole spectrum of taste: dry estate, village and single-vineyard wines, off-dry Rieslings, classic fruity-sweet Prädikat wines and, in suitable vintages, nobly sweet rarities from botrytis-affected grapes. The programme is rounded out by the Pinot family – Grauburgunder, Weißburgunder and Spätburgunder – and by a dedicated sparkling wine line under the umbrella of the Momentum Sektmanufaktur.
Sustainability is not a side note: the estate is certified to the Fair'n Green standard, which assesses social and economic criteria alongside ecological ones.
Notable Sites & Wines
All the core sites of the estate lie in the Bopparder Hamm. The VDP lists six of them as Große Lage – the highest tier of its classification:
- Bopparder Hamm Feuerlay – warm and powerful, often the densest wines of the estate
- Bopparder Hamm Fässerlay – finely drawn and taut
- Bopparder Hamm Mandelstein – spicy, with a marked slate note
- Bopparder Hamm Ohlenberg – deep and long-lived
- Bopparder Hamm Engelstein – elegant and fruit-driven
- Bopparder Hamm An der Rabenlei – strikingly mineral
The range is classically tiered: from approachable estate wines through village wines to the single-vineyard wines from the parcels named above. Added to these are the Prädikat wines – Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese – plus nobly sweet peaks in suitable vintages.
Awards
The most important honour was the title Winegrowers of the Year 2012 in the Gault&Millau wine guide. Since then the estate has featured regularly in the leading German wine guides and is counted by the trade press among the flagships of the Mittelrhein; the wine shop in Spay has also been recognised for its design. Admission to the VDP in 2007 marks recognition by the industry – on the Mittelrhein the association counts only a handful of members. Together with a few other producers, the Müller family has contributed significantly to the Mittelrhein being perceived once again as a Riesling origin in its own right.