100% Riesling

Food pairings: Fish, shellfish and vegetable dishes, as well as mild cheeses. Also lovely simply on its own.

Winemaking: All grapes at the estate are harvested by hand. Vinification starts with gentle pressing, followed by slow, temperature-controlled fermentation in traditional old oak fuder casks, using natural yeasts when possible and avoiding chemical fining agents, so the vineyard character of the fruit is preserved.

Vineyards and terroir: Richter Dry Riesling is sourced from the young wines of the estate's Premier Cru vineyards in the Middle Mosel, between Erden and Brauneberg, whose holdings include Erdener Treppchen, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Brauneberger Juffer, Mülheimer Helenenkloster and Veldenzer Elisenberg. The steep slopes are farmed by hand with small crops, natural fertilizers and sustainable practices, mostly on weathered grey slate.

Family and history: Weingut Max Ferd. Richter was founded in 1680 as a wine export company, and the family first purchased vineyards in Brauneberg in 1643. The estate mansion and its French baroque garden in Mülheim were built in 1774, and the winery buildings of 1880 hold one of the largest fuder oak barrel cellars in the Mosel. The estate is run by Dr. Dirk Max Ferd. Richter, the ninth generation of his family, with his son Constantin, the tenth generation.

In the pictures: The estate's fuder barrel cellar, and the 1774 Richter mansion in Mülheim (photos: Weingut Max Ferd. Richter).