Clemens Busch

  • Mosel, Germany
Clemens Busch
  • "The wines are exquisite, and each of the various Marienburg parcels is different: they shimmer aromatically, are alluring and profound, intense yet streamlined. Truly one of the Mosel’s best."

    —Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous

    Rita and Clemens Busch are long establishing the organic domain among the finest Riesling producers in all of Germany. The recent three vintages are full of highlights again, namely among the dry wines, which are all sourced from old vines in different sections of the Pündericher Marienburg with its many different parts, expositions, altitudes and soil colors. The wines are authentic, expressive and have an inimitable identity that represents the particular origin of which the terraced parts with the often ungrafted vines can give unforgettable drinking experience (Fahrlay Terrassen, Felsterrasse, Raffes). These are not wines to enjoy quickly or even thoughtlessly. I'd rather recommend to drink them slowly, not too cool and with all the time they need and you are ready to give them."

    —Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

We are honored and excited to be working with Clemens and Rita Busch, biodynamic practitioners in the Marienburg vineyards of Pünderich. Clemens is the fifth generation winemaker at this estate (all the previous ones were also named Clemens; ever the iconoclast, he named his son Florian). Clemens started working in his father’s 2-hectare estate in 1975 and has spent his career expanding the acreage and breadth of his holdings to 18 hectares, almost all on the slopes of the Marienburg. He stopped using herbicides in 1976, then in 1984 he and wife Rita converted to organics. They were among the first in Germany to commit to organic viticulture and led the movement establishing an association of organic growers in 1986. The estate converted to biodynamics entirely in 2005, earning certifications from the EU and Respekt-Biodyn. Clemens holds a permanent place in history as a role model and beacon of change among German winemakers.

Location is crucial to mention here. 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. The three main colors of slate (blue, red and grey) are all found here, dominating different parcels along the slopes across the river from the village. In spite of multiple slate profiles and expositions varying throughout the area, the German government in 1971, in a bureaucratic decision of breathtaking short-sightedness, 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.

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. In numerous ways, these are some of the most iconoclastic wines we have ever tasted. More information is available on the Clemens Busch website.

 

Image Producer PRODUCT Description Country / Region

DB8408-22
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling Vom Roten Schiefer
2022
Riesling
Alcohol: 11 % VolResidual sugar: 6,7 g/lAcidity: 6,4 g/l“Vom roten Schiefer“ translates to „on the red slate”. The grapes for this wine...
Germany

DB8407-22
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling Vom Grauen Schiefer
2022
Riesling
Alcohol: 11 % VolResidual sugar: 8,1 g/lAcidity: 6,9 g/l“Vom grauen Schiefer“ translates to “on the grey slate”. The grapes for this wine...
Germany

DB3610-22
Biodynamic
90WA, 94WS
Clemens Busch Riesling Vom Blauen Schiefer
2022
Riesling
The blue slate entry in Clemens' "slate series," identified by its steel blue capsule. Usually released later than the grey and red slate...
Germany

DB8406-22
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling Trocken
2022
Riesling
8.3g acid and 4-5g RS, all grown in grey slate from multiple parcels in the Marienburg (including the portions that lie across the river,...
Germany

DB1034-22
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling Spätlese Marienburg
2022
Riesling
Alcohol: 7.5 % VolResidual Sugar: 77.9 g/lAcidity: 8.1 g/lFrom the grey slate portion(s) of the Marienburg hill, facing south, southwest,...
Germany

DB1033-22
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling Kabinett Marienburg
2022
Riesling
Alcohol: 7.5 % VolResidual Sugar: 73,7 g/lAcidity: 9,3 g/lFrom biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. From the estate: "...
Germany

DB0897-22
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling GG Marienburg Rothenpfad
2022
Riesling
Alcohol: 12 % Vol Residual Sugar: 7.4 g/lAcidity: 5.8 g/lThe Big Red One. The Rothenpfad (red path) is the terminus of an iron- and copper-...
Germany

DB0235-18
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling GG Marienburg Fahrlay
2018
Riesling
A Bowler favorite, year after year. Clemens’ only parcel of blue slate on the Marienburg, which imparts luster, florality, sizzling acids...
Germany

DB0908-22
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling GG Marienburg
2022
Riesling
From 40+ year-old, mainly ungrafted vines on gray slate in the main part of the VDP. Grosse Lage, Pündericher Marienburg, the flagship...
Germany
DB8794-20
Biodynamic
Clemens Busch Riesling (alter-) Native
2020
Riesling
A new cuvée! Previously this all went to Quebec, but we will get some for NY this year. Grown in grey slate on the Marienburg....
Germany