2023 Axel Pauly, `Purist` Mosel Riesling Kabinett Trocken - Liberty

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, he 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, with the exception of a small parcel in neighbouring Bernkastel. Fittingly, the label features the Mosel hills which, when turned on their side, reveals 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 to 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 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.

Grapes for the `Purist` Riesling were harvested from the Pauly family's steeply sloping vineyard in the Lieserer Schlossberg region. The soils are predominantly blue slate and stone, which lend elegance and minerality to the wine. The vines are over 50 years old and are stringently managed to ensure that the grapes attain excellent flavour concentration. This wine is made in a Kabinett style, with the fruit harvested slightly later in the season to create a more complex Riesling than the earlier-picked styles.

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.

Upon arrival at the winery, the hand-picked grapes underwent skin contact for 20 hours prior to fermentation to extract the precious Riesling flavours. Fermentation took place in stainless-steel tanks, with indigenous yeasts, at a controlled temperature of 19°C for three weeks.

This wine is pale gold with youthful highlights. On the nose, notes of fresh hay are met with bright citrus. On the palate this wine is fresh and light with and bursting with citrus and green apple flavours.