Home :: Producers :: Muller-Catoir
Login for prices and to order.

Müller-Catoir

NEUSTADT-HAARDT – PFALZ

"This is still one of the premier wine estates along the length of the Rhine."
Stuart Piggott, Wine Atlas of Germany


What The Critics Are Saying:

 “Considering the extraordinary diversity of superior wines it produces, Müller-Catoir is the Pfalz’s greatest estate. Who else has achieved such brilliance with not only Riesling, but with Muskatellar, Schreurebe and Rieslaner?” Robert M. Parker Jr. The World’s Greatest Wine Estates 2005
“Each wine is like an essence of its grapes yet, however dense and powerful, Müller-Catoir wines possess an excellent harmony.  “Showered with praise during the last decade, this estate is now widely recognised as one of the country’s best.” Stuart Pigott, Wine Atlas of Germany

“All the wines from Müller-Catoir are outstanding, effortlessly combining an intensity of flavour with an undeniable exoticism. The Rieslings can be brilliant, their richness balanced by a vibrant acidity, and the Scheurebe can usually persuade me that I like Scheurebe. And it was here, many years ago, that I learned how wonderful Rieslaner can be. It has higher acidity then Riesling, so sweet Rieslaner is never cloying, and always has an invigorating raciness and zest. The BAs and TBA's can be amongst the great sweet wines of Germany.” Stephen Brook, The Wines of Germany, Mitchell Beazley.

To further hone your interest, Stuart Pigott writes; “Similarly sensational are the estate’s wines from the Riesling crosses Scheurebe and Rieslaner. The Scheurebe yields opulent dry wines that have seen off the toughest competition in ‘blind’ tastings, the Rieslaner gives some of the most explosively rich dessert wines in Germany. The dry Muskateller and Gewurztraminer, still relatively unknown, are marvellously elegant expressions of their grapes.”

At a time when minimal intervention and the concept of terroir was still alien to the German wine lands, Hans-Günther Schwarz knew the score: you have to have an innate understanding of soil and site before you can make great wine. His legacy of low intervention viticulture and winemaking has gone on to inspire and educate a whole generation of young German winemakers, in the now-accepted theory that great wine is made in the vineyard not the cellar. That may sound hackneyed to today’s well-versed wine lover, however it was not that long ago that the Pfalz region was awash with lifeless vineyards producing masses of overcropped dull fruit. During these dark decades, Günther Schwarz maintained standards at Müller-Catoir that were almost unique across Germany, let along the Pfalz. Today, these same high standards are maintained under the Philipp David Catoir and talented young cellarmaster Martin Franzen. The wine growing has remained much the same as has the winemaking, although things continue to evolve, as with any great Estate. Today Müller-Catoir continues to make wines that inspire a kind of zealous devotion amongst Riesling lovers across the globe.
 
The 20 ha Müller-Catoir Estate is in and around the village of Haardt at the southern end of the Mittelhaardt, in the hills outside of Neustadt. Here, in the foothills of the Haart Mountains, there are a myriad of soil types, clay intermixed with limestone, sandstones, flint and basalt. These are some of the warmest and driest vineyards in Germany, kindly sheltered by the Haardt mountain range (in fact the continuation of the Vosges mountains that define Alsace to the south).

What has made these wines comparable to the very best Rieslings in the world? Firstly, the Estate has maintained the legacy of Günther Schwarz. He was a purist, a stickler for organics, very low yields and minimal interventionism before these things became popular. Each harvest is limited through restrictive vine pruning in the winter, supplemented by cluster thinning in the summer. Soil is given meticulous care (mostly permanent green cover) and there is selective hand-picking of very small grape quantities by hand. Since grapes are always harvested extremely late on this Estate, the musts are cold when they arrive in the cellar and so ferments commence slowly without any yeast inoculation. After racking, the wines are not touched again, save for a smidgeon of SO2, until they are bottled. The use of only perfect and perfectly ripe fruit and the non intervention in the cellar results in wines of high extract figures, ripe acidity and powerful vineyard character.

Muller-Catoir

Sort by: Product Code Product Price Default
Result pages: 12Next page
Muller Catoir Riesling Trocken 2010 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Riesling Trocken 2010
Remarkable for an "entry level" wine; if this was any other producer's best wine, you'd be stoked! Cropped at an incredibly low 35hl/ha it's bright and almost impossibly pure. This is a lush and... read more
Product Code: 9313-750
Muller Catoir Haardt Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2010 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Haardt Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2010
At this stage the Haardt village wine is firmer and more coiled than the bottling above. It tastes incisive, ethereal, tangy, a 'Cor, Blimey' kind of Riesling with oodles of preserved lemon, juby... read more
Product Code: 9314-750
Muller Catoir Haardt Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2009 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Haardt Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2009
Dry. A muscular and powerful wine that belies its kabinett label. Packed with yellow fruit and spice. Very complete and mineral with a long, firm finish. Again, great potential here.
Product Code: 8658-750
Muller Catoir Haardter Riesling Kabinett Trocken (Dry) 2007 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Haardter Riesling Kabinett Trocken (Dry) 2007
This is why '07 is so great. I thought the last wine was super but this is a big step up. Just an ethereal, tangy, 'god's gift' kind of Riesling with apple, lime leaf, tangerine and talc aromas and... read more
Product Code: 7259-750
Muller Catoir Haardter Herrenletten Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2010 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Haardter Herrenletten Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2010
From the loam over limestone soils of the Herrenletten, Franzen has delivered one hell of an enigmatic Riesling in 2010. Its dichotomy of opulence and nerve will either lead the drinker to a... read more
Product Code: 9316-750
Muller Catoir Haardter Mandelgarten Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2010 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Haardter Mandelgarten Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2010
Mandelgarten, a tear-shaped site on the northern border of the tiny Gimmeldingen village, (next-door to Haardt) is widely regarded as the best in the area. It sits on a red sandstone deposit with a... read more
Product Code: 9317-750
Muller Catoir Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2009 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2009
Dry. Now we are in the big league. This is from the great Haardter Burgergarten vineyard in the foothills of the Haardt mountains. The soil here is mineral, sandy and deep and the roots can plough... read more
Product Code: 8659-750
Muller Catoir Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Spatlese Trocken (Dry) 2007 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Haardter Burgergarten Riesling Spatlese Trocken (Dry) 2007
Now we are in the big league. This is from the great Haardter Burgergarten vineyard in the foothills of the Haardt mountains. The soil here is mineral, sandy and deep and the roots can plough their... read more
Product Code: 7260-750
Muller Catoir Breumel In Den Mauern Riesling Grosses Gewachs 2010 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Breumel In Den Mauern Riesling Grosses Gewachs 2010
Subdued aromas of white peach, clove and mineral salts. Taut, spicy pit fruits and brilliant acidity make this riesling stand out. Although ethereal, this wine also has depth, nice length and... read more
Product Code: 9318-750
Muller Catoir Breumel In Den Mauern Riesling Grosses Gewachs 2009 More details Review this wine
Region:
Pfalz
Producer:
Muller-Catoir
Muller Catoir Breumel In Den Mauern Riesling Grosses Gewachs 2009
Dry. Uber-Riesling! 'Breumel' is the wall enclosed plot of the Burgergarten vineyard that the great Gunter Schwarz always insisted was the greatest terroir of the Mittelhaardt (the central Pfalz).... read more
Product Code: 8662-750
Result pages: 12Next page
Printable version
Choose A Wine Style
Browse by Region