Nearly a half century has gone by since the 1971 and 1975 Mosels established the standard of greatness for an entire generation of German wine lovers. And now our generation has its gold standard in the Mosel: 2015.

The most influential voice today for German wine—The Wine Advocate’s Stephan Reinhardt—places seven 2015 Auslesen above all the rest, at 99 points or higher. Two are Egon Mullers that sell for over $1000 a bottle. The rest are from Markus Molitor, including Molitor's 3-star Zeltinger Sonnenuhr and Wehlener Sonnenuhr gold capsules.

We can offer this magical duo for just $225 the pair, which works out to $112.50 a bottle, that is, very simply, a gift.

Jewel in the Crown
Over the past decade, Molitor has been absolutely on fire, but what he accomplished in 2015 is simply mind-blowing. These gold caps, in this historic vintage, are jewels in the Molitor crown and among the purest expressions of late-harvest Riesling you’re ever likely to encounter.

At the root of what Molitor has achieved with these 2015 Auslesen GK is what David Schildknecht calls his “almost frightening ambition, indefatigability and exacting quality standards,” applied to two of the Mosel’s greatest terroirs.

Molitor's holding on Zeltinger Sonnenuhr's Devonian blue-grey slate is so steep that it held Phylloxera at bay while the pest marched through Europe, making possible the survival of its ungrafted vines until today.

Meanwhile, Wehlener Sonnenuhr is one of the region’s most hallowed vineyards. Like Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, its slope of Devonian blue-grey slate produces Rieslings with that rare combination of spectacular intensity and nuance, allied with weightless elegance, found only in wines from the greatest terroirs.

Tireless Perfectionism
Molitor’s uncompromising attention to detail and incomparable standards brought his Auslese fruit from this hallowed site to heights of expressiveness, complexity and longevity rarely seen. He farms organically, and restricts his yields to less than half that of other growers, for great concentration and purity.

Managing the labor involved in such intensive farming on Molitor’s steep slopes, considering that he now farms 170 parcels spread over 60 hectares, would be far more than enough for most growers. Yet he employs no cellarmaster, overseeing each aspect of the winemaking for his numerous cuvées himself.

In Molitor’s frigid humid slate cellar, the wines undergo a cold, slow fermentation with the native yeasts in traditional oak fuders. The wines then enjoy a long élévage in stainless steel on the lees for purity and maximum complexity.

These are among the greatest sweet Rieslings of our era. Don't miss them.

Molitor's Magical 2015 3-Star Auslese Gold Capsules

1 btl each of Wehlener Sonnenuhr & Zeltinger Sonnenuhr
$225 2-btl assortment

Includes the following wines:

2015 Riesling Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (Gold Capsule)
Stephan Reinhart, Wine Advocate: "99 rating ... shows a perfectly ripe, concentrated but fresh and elegant fruit aroma intertwined with mineral and refreshing grapefruit flavors of crushed stones, perfect botrytis and still fresh, healthy berries. Rich, round, dense and piquant, this is a highly finessed and very elegant, sweet, lush and intense Wehlener Sonnenuhr with a super clear, precise and salty, stimulatingly pure and piquant finish with a lot of grip and tension. This is a skyrocketing Auslese that will fly over your palate over decades if only you give it the time it deserves ... It is the nearest to perfection of the sweet Ausleses at this early moment, and it will surely never step back from this level."

2015 Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese *** (Gold Capsule)
Stephan Reinhart, Wine Advocate: "99 rating ... concentrated on the nose where deep and smoky flavors of crushed stones are displayed, giving just a hint of the true potential of this wine. Round and seamless on the palate, with perfectly ripe but vital and fresh fruit, this has a gorgeous mineral raciness and tension. There is also a quiet stream of perfectly balanced and concentrated melting stones and very fine salts that flows over the palate. This is an exciting, very well structured and tightly woven Riesling legend that will still fascinate wine lovers in 50, 60, maybe 70 years. This is a laser beam of great Riesling, tight and concentrated but still not that open like the corresponding Wehlener."