The foundation for the winery is provided by vineyards with genuinely steep slopes, as opposed to the wide expanses of vineyard found in so many parts of the world. Combined with our experience in establishing the ideally-suited grape variety on each specific parcel of vineyard, this is the key to our dedicated pursuit of quality.

98% of our vineyards are officially classified as steep slopes. Indeed, much more than half the vineyards can be described as being extremely steep, with slopes of more than 60%. Careful work, and almost exclusively manual work is indicated all year round under these conditions, not just at harvest time.

The benefit of steep slate-covered slopes is often explained in relation to the aspect of the sun each vineyard enjoys. Naturally, south-facing slopes have a great advantage here. Another very important aspect of the slate-covered steep slopes is also the fact that these soils will heat up rapidly and to a considerable degree when the sun shines, giving the vines a decisive advantage in their maturation in many phases throughout the year. Cold or excessive waterlogging are unknown here. Falling rain is rapidly absorbed by the soil, but is prevented by the many stones and gravel from forming troughs and eroding the valuable soil.

On the other hand, many of our vines are old or even very old, some of them ungrafted, and are able even in dry years to draw water and minerals from a depth of many metres. It is this interplay, the battle of the wine to make the best of the natural conditions of the site (today often referred to as terroir), that in each vintage ensures the fascinating spectrum of aromas and tastes of Riesling wines from the Mosel. This is the source of the minerally and often also spicy tension, providing the appropriate balance for both sweetness and acidity, preventing any thought that the wines might be one-dimensional or boring. In each of our vineyard sites, and sometimes even within a single site, this interplay of factors takes place each year, with subtle differences and variations, depending on the weather. It would thus be incomplete in the case of our estate to speak of only one or two top vineyard sites, given the large number of top-quality sites available. A clear and unequivocal hierarchy would not be natural, and thus also not logical. Vineyard sites are not brands! They vary, and thus contribute to the challenge and interest of the winemaker‘s work, as well as to the fun and enjoyment of every wine tasting.

This is another reason why we emphasize the application of our graduated system of ripeness, as well as the influence of vintage characteristics. Nevertheless, each vineyard site has certain basic, individual characteristics, which are of considerable importance, as long as one bears in mind that the vintage characteristic as well as the time of picking/ripeness of grapes add their own nuances to this basic character.

The vineyards are listed in their geographical order, moving up the Mosel towards the Saar (where no other grape variety is mentioned, the reference is always to Riesling):

Trarbacher Schloßberg: 0,7 ha
Our vineyard for Pinot Noir, already a classic. Extremely steep slope with very fine and very stony slate soils. Produces elegant Pinot Noir with delicate fruit, but also with firm tannins, persistent mineral notes and good maturation potential.

Erdener Treppchen: 0,7 ha
One of the most famous and legendary top-quality sites of the Middle Mosel. An extremely steep slope, classically facing south, characterised by stony blue and grey slate soils that are not too dry. Produces most impressive full-bodied, elegantly fruity wines with tremendous ripeness and finesse.

Ürziger Würzgarten: 0,4 ha
The "Ürziger" site is traditionally considered to be a specialty among the Middle Mosel vineyards, because of its red iron-rich soil, which is mixed with fine slate. This gives the wines grown here a totally different character, with spice and opulent fruit as well as a crisp, hearty acid backbone, which produces a tremendously full-bodied wine when combined with noticeable residual sugar, as in our Spätlese wines.

Zeltinger Deutschherrenberg: 1,3 ha
This vineyard is located opposite Zeltingen, and lies next to the Ürziger Würzgarten site, and if you go upriver it borders on our Wehlener Abtei and Klosterberg sites. Predominantly very steep and east-facing, our section is more south-facing. The soil is very fine, with heavily decomposed slate, with added power from a touch of red soil. The wines are powerful, crisp and hearty, and have prominent acidity.

Zeltinger Schloßberg: 1,4 ha
This vineyard site is located above and next to the Sonnenuhr site, also very steep, and partly with even more powerful slate soils than found in the Sonnenuhr, producing crisp and hearty wines high in extract, with firm acidity and a minerally finish on the palate. Ideally suited for particularly dry wines.

Zeltinger Himmelreich: 2,9 ha
The largest vineyard in Zeltingen, with steep slopes as well as flat sections. The parcels owned by the Molitor winery are 95% located on steep and extremely steep slopes, with only 5% in moderate slopes. Throughout, the soil is fine and decomposed slate, ranging from light to quite deep. Elegant, often beautifully full-bodied and juicy Riesling wines with elegant yellow fruit notes and an interplay of slate notes are produced here.

Zeltinger Sonnenuhr: 5,1 ha
For the largest part very old, ungrafted vineyards (often more than 80 years old). Fine but also very stony soils of blue Devon slate, mostly quite light. The oldest and best parcels are often located on small terraces with very little soil, producing very low yields (10-20 hl/ha) of exceptional quality. This site produces our greatest dry and classically dry (off-dry) Auslese wines as well as many of our top botrytis dessert wines. All wines grown on the Sonnenuhr have an incomparably elegant ripeness, relative to the vintage. Our winery has the largest holdings of this top Middle Mosel site, which in total covers less than 20 hectares.

Wehlener Abtei: 1,3 ha
This vineyard site is located directly opposite Zeltingen, above the Kloster Machern abbey, and on its upper limits borders on our parcels of the Deutschherrenberg site, next to the lower reaches of our section of the Wehlener Klosterberg site. The soil is quite powerful, with some red coloring, and in dry years exhibits excellent water-retaining properties, even though it is fairly shallow, lying above firm slate formations. Full-bodied, juicy wines are produced here, with a hearty acidity, which can be extremely elegant and filigree, depending on the vintage.

Wehlener Klosterberg: 6,4 ha
This is at the heart of our vineyards, and stretches up the steep slopes to the left and right of the winery building. It is located in a side valley directly opposite Zeltingen, and faces almost due south. Light to medium-heavy stony soils of decomposed slate with a high proportion of iron produce minerally and long-lived wines with delicate, elegant fruit. Apart from Riesling, our elegant Pinot Blanc (Weißburgunder) wines are also grown here.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr: 1,3 ha
This world-famous top vineyard site borders on the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. However, it is much more extensive, and thus more variable in quality. The soil is also very stony, but in sections it is a little deeper. It would be splitting hairs to compare the wines of the two Sonnenuhr sites, both are of exceptionally high quality. Whereas the Wehlen wines are always impressive for their juicy fruit, their unique balance and interplay of nuances, and their acidity, which is often a little piquant, the Zeltingen wines often have an even more impressive ripeness, and an even more incomparable filigree delicacy. It can be a real torture trying to choose one of the two – best to enjoy them both.

Graacher Domprobst: 0,8 ha
This is one of the top sites of Graach, relatively small and facing south-west. Here we own some very steep parcels of vineyard with a fine, stony slate soil that is not too dry, and indeed is close to perfection. The wines are dominated by a minerally slate character, with lots of extract and full of character when made dry, but also full of extract and with a wonderful acid balance on the long finish of our noble Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines.

Graacher Himmelreich: 1,6 ha
Not as steep in all sections as the Domprobst site, partly with even more powerful slate soils, produces very racy, crisp Riesling wines with firm body, particularly good when made in dry or off-dry styles. This is our oldest red wine vineyard, producing Pinot Noir with lots of fire and power, needing a long time to mature and develop.

Bernkasteler Lay: 0,6 ha
Another small top-class vineyard in Bernkastel, not as famous as it is overshadowed by the reputation of the Doktor site. Here we own very good quality parcels in the heart of the site, with extremely old vines. The slate here is decomposed and fine, regularly producing excellent quality, very ripe grapes with very elegant and filigree fruit.

Bernkasteler Badstube: 2,7 ha
The vineyards located towards the upper border of the site, from the middle of the slope up to the forest, consist of fine slate soils with very good water-retention properties. This produces a very fresh, lively, exceptionally typical Mosel Riesling wine with stable acidity and very good maturation potential, even in the case of the lighter dry wines.

Bernkasteler Bratenhöfchen: 1,2 ha
Located in the middle of the slope above the Lay site, with medium to steep slopes amd a stony but heavily decomposed blue-gray slate soil. A wonderful and unique tension between acidity and mineral notes, very piquant and lively particularly in the sweet wines, very full-bodied.

Bernkasteler Graben: 0,4 ha
This site is located directly next to the legendary Bernkasteler Doktor vineyard, the most expensive vineyard site in Germany (possibly the world), and is very similar in quality. Planted with extremely old Riesling vines. A fairly powerful slate soil that is stony, but never dries out. The wines are never particularly accessible, or up-front, but have a very elegant, rich fruit dominated by slate. The sweet wines from this site are incredibly complex and complete.

Brauneberger Mandelgraben: 1,3 ha
Overall a very variable site, ranging from flat to steep. Our section is a sloping site that stretches up to the forest, and has ideal water availability even in hot, dry years, with grapes retaining their acidity very well. The slate soil is stony and powerful, with hard quartzite and gravel, producing piquant acidity and finesse.

Brauneberger Klostergarten: 1,2 ha
Overall a very mixed, inhomogenous site. The parcels owned by Molitor have very finely granulated slate soils with a large proportion of stones. Two very steep and two medium steep parcels, mostly now planted with Pinot Noir clones of French origin.

Dhroner Hofberger: 0,9 ha
One of the classic famous Mosel sites, although its reputation has been partly forgotten in recent times, south-facing and sloped into the side-valley of the Dhron. The winds blowing down the side-valley have a drying effect, and, just as along the Saar, this generally produces very healthy grapes with a very attractive animating acidity and a fine minerally slate note.

Niedermenniger Herrenberg: 4,5 ha
Our excursion to the Saar river. The heart of the Herrenberg is one of the top classical vineyard sites of the Saar region, by far the best in the side valley knwn as the Konzer Tälchen. Wonderful finely granulated slate with fine soil particles, not too dry, with a medium to steep slope facing south. Very fresh, lively, filigree wines with mineral notes, fruit and body – and always just a hint more acidity than our Mosel wines.