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.
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 where the vines are more than 60 years old. The vineyard faces southwest and has a slope of up to 70 degrees in steepness in some parts. The soils are grey and blue slate.
The 2024 harvest will be remembered as the smallest harvest in the last 50 years; presenting challenges including late frost, fungal diseases and hail. Throughout April vineyards were affected by frost and the following disease pressure caused by rain was equally as challenging as the rigorous vine growth. The later ripening Riesling grapes benefited from mild days and cool nights in September and October. Despite the many challenges of this vintage, the resulting quality of the harvest was fantastic: golden yellow and healthy grapes with wonderful fruit flavours.
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 pale 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.
