Clemens Busch Riesling Marienburg Kabinett Fass 4 2023 - Versteigerung white

Clemens Busch Riesling Marienburg Kabinett Fass 4 2023 – Versteigerung is a rare, auction-only bottling from one of the Mosel’s most respected biodynamic estates. Drawn from select parcels of the steep slate slopes of the Marienburg vineyard and bottled from a single fuder (Fass 4), it offers a particularly fine, crystalline expression of Kabinett. Made in tiny quantities for the traditional VDP auctions, this is a collector-worthy Riesling that still stays true to the region’s hallmark drinkability and charm.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, the 2023 Marienburg Kabinett Fass 4 is pale lemon with green highlights, signaling youthful energy and freshness. The nose is delicately intense yet precise: lime zest, white peach, green apple and crunchy pear are layered with notes of white flowers, wet slate, and a hint of herbal spice and citrus blossom. On the palate, it’s light-footed and finely etched, with the kind of tension between sweetness and acidity that only top Mosel Kabinett can deliver. Juicy stone fruit and citrus are wrapped in a cool, stony minerality, with a featherweight texture and very low alcohol that make it incredibly moreish. The residual sweetness is beautifully balanced by razor-sharp acidity, leading to a long, shimmering finish of lime, salt and slate dust. Enjoyable now for its vibrancy and purity, it has the structure to evolve gracefully over 10–15 years, gaining complexity, spice and honeyed notes while retaining its core of freshness.

Production
The Marienburg vineyard rises steeply above the village of Pünderich on the Mosel, with south and southwest-facing slopes and a mosaic of slate types—grey, red and blue—contributing to the wine’s layered minerality. Clemens Busch farms these dramatic terraces organically and biodynamically, with careful hand work and low yields to ensure intensely flavored fruit. Grapes for the Kabinett Fass 4 are picked by hand at optimal ripeness, often in several passes, to capture delicacy, precision and natural acidity. In the cellar, fermentation is carried out spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in traditional Mosel fuder casks, with Fass 4 representing an individual barrel selected for its particularly fine, balanced profile. The wine rests on its lees to gain texture and nuance before a gentle bottling intended to preserve purity and terroir expression.

Food & Serving
This Kabinett’s interplay of gentle sweetness and crisp acidity makes it an exceptionally versatile food wine. It shines with refined Asian cuisine (sushi, sashimi, lightly spiced Thai or Vietnamese dishes), classic pairings like ceviche or freshly shucked oysters, and delicately spiced dishes such as pork with apples, roasted poultry, or soft goat cheese. It also works beautifully as an aperitif or with light fruit-based desserts that are not overly sweet. Serve well-chilled at around 8–10 °C. Decanting is not essential, but opening the bottle 15–30 minutes before serving, or giving it a quick splash in a small carafe, helps the aromatics to unfold, especially in its youth.

Producer
Weingut Clemens Busch, based in Pünderich on the Mosel, is widely regarded as one of Germany’s leading Riesling specialists and a pioneer of organic and biodynamic viticulture in the region. The family estate has deep roots along the Mosel, but it was Clemens and Rita Busch who, from the 1980s onward, became known for their uncompromising focus on terroir, low-intervention winemaking and rigorous work on the steep slopes of the Marienburg vineyard. Today, their wines are recognized for expressing the nuances of different slate soils with exceptional clarity—from dry, powerful bottlings to finely balanced Prädikat wines like this Kabinett. Regular appearances at top-level VDP auctions and strong critical acclaim have cemented Clemens Busch’s reputation as a benchmark producer, helping to redefine what Mosel Riesling can be in terms of purity, precision and ageworthiness.