J & H Selbach Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling 2018

Johannes Selbach and his wife Barbara and son Sebastian, manage their vineyards and winery with passion and respect for the estate’s long held traditions. Their vineyards in Zeltinger Himmelreich, Schlossberg, Sonnenuhr, Wehlener Sonnenuhr; and Graacher Himmelreich and Domprobst of weathered Devonian slate are on a steep, contiguous slope facing south-south west and represent some of the most prestigious sites in all of the Middle Mosel. In fact, the wines from these sites were valued not only by having the highest ratings on the Prussian tax maps of 1868, but also by Thomas Jefferson, who visited and praised their high quality in the 1780’s. The Selbach family’s heritage in the wine business dates to 1660: Selbach’s ancestors shipped wines down the Mosel in their own ships, the wine carried in oak barrels made by cooper Matthias Oster, the great-grandfather on the paternal side of the family. Thus, the winery developed as both a top estate producing some of the region’s best wine, and also as a négociant and brokerage firm, consolidating the production of smaller growers.

“Johannes Selbach, this estate’s winemaker and director (as well as Terry Theise’s man-on-the-ground in Germany) is on fire. His wines are top flight and yet his winemaking appears to be improving with each vintage.” – Pierre Rovani, Wine Advocate

The ambitiousness of Johannes Selbach has made this estate the region’s most prominent rising star. Johannes describes his style: “You may have noticed our wines are a bit drier the last two vintages than they used to be,” said Johannes Selbach. “We know how to make reductive fruit-bombs that get high scores and stand out in big tastings,” he continued, “but the problem is everyone writes about those wines but nobody drinks them. We want to make wines for food, that people can use in their everyday lives.”