Axel Pauly is a dynamic young star of German wine. After many years honing his craft across Germany, as well as in California and New Zealand, Axel took over the Pauly family estate in the Mosel from his father. Most of this 10-hectare estate is situated in the village of Lieser, at the heart of the Mosel Valley, except for a small parcel in neighbouring Bernkastel. Fittingly, the label features the Mosel hills, which, when turned on their side, reveal the ‘Tres Naris’ (or ‘three noses’) of Axel, his father and his grandfather.
Lieser's grey and blue slate soils are cooler than the red slate in Bernkastel, resulting in more mineral wines than those from its more famous neighbour. The Pauly vines cling to steeply sloping, vertigo-inducing vineyards. Axel uses crop thinning, leaf plucking and grape selection at harvest to ensure a flavour ripeness in the fruit he preserves for the final wine.
From the quaffable and dry ‘Tres Naris’ and the pristine and steely ‘Purist’, to the traditional medium-dry ‘Generations’, the stunning quality and great purity of the Pauly range are enhanced by Axel’s approach in the winery. Indigenous yeasts are used until they begin to struggle towards the end of fermentation. At this stage, Axel introduces cultured yeasts to preserve the expression of the vineyard’s character in the wines. The fruit for his two single-vineyard Mosel Rieslings is sourced from the steep slope of the Niederberg-Helden top site. While the more delicate `Lieserer Niederberg-Helden` off-dry Kabinett is charming and lively, the dry ‘Helden’, whose name means ‘Heroes’, is sophisticated and elegant with wonderful concentration.
The Axel Pauly estate cultivates a total area of 9 hectares. The fruit for this Riesling comes from the top site of Lieserer Niederberg-Helden. The vineyard faces southwest and has a slope of up to 80 degrees in steepness in some parts. The soils are grey and blue slate.
The 2023 harvest was extremely fast. May and June were characterised by predominantly dry and warm weather, which promoted the growth of the vines and flowering began around 8th June. The dry and hot June then brought drought stress, especially for younger vines, followed by sunburn problems in July before the weather changed. From the end of July, heavy rain also fell on the Mosel, which suddenly filled the grapes. This was followed by very warm nights in September, which barely allowed for any cooling. As a result, the grapes ripened very quickly.
The grapes were hand-picked and sorted before they underwent a period of maceration for 10 hours. Fermentation occurred spontaneously in stainless-steel tanks with natural yeasts.
This Riesling is bright yellow in colour with green reflexes. The nose reveals aromas of sweet honey melon, ripe apple, peach and pineapple. On the palate, it is fresh and lively with a well balanced sweetness and acidity.
