The vineyard:
The Trarbacher Hühnerberg is located in a side valley of the Mosel. Its orientation of the sun is from the south-southeast to the south-southwest, giving the Hühnerberg a concave shape that resembles a Greek theatre. Due to its location in the side valley, it cools down very quickly at night, whereby its shape and orientation heats up very quickly during the day. This peculiarity produces wines with enormous tension and a very elegant and pure Riesling character.
The Spätlese is the second stage of the Prädikat wines. Below this quality level is the Kabinet, above it is the Auslese. The Prädikat does not allow conclusions to be drawn about the sweetness of the wine, but reflects the degree of maturity of the grapes and thus shows the character of the wine. (Only the flavour indications, such as “dry” or “fruchtsüss”, indicate how sweet the wine tastes.)
Spätlese are obtained from highly ripe grapes and therefore have a stronger taste than the Kabinets. The grape must for late harvest must have a legal minimum must weight of 80° Öchsle (the must weight describes the content of natural sugar in the must). Spätlese is subject to the highest quality standards. For example, no sugar may be added to the must. Furthermore, the wine must undergo a chemical analysis and an official examination by a tasting commission.
