-GERMANY -

Of the various wine-growing regions in Germany, the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer is without doubt the most famous and renowned. The vineyards stretch along the magnificent meandering Moselle from the Luxembourg border to Koblenz, where the river joins the Rhine. In the heart of the region, the Middle Moselle (Mittelmosel) offers exceptional slopes and large schist soils almost entirely dedicated to Riesling: dry or sweet, some of the most remarkable white wines in Germany are produced here, such as those of Martin Müllen.

When Martin Müllen set up as a winemaker in Traben-Trarbach in 1986 (first bottles in 1991), his aim was to defend with passion and determination the extraordinary steep slopes overlooking the meanders of the Moselle, which are too often abandoned because of the difficulty of working the slopes and terraces of plots of land with a long-standing reputation. The estate's vineyards are spread between Traben and Kröv (in an upstream meander) on the left bank of the river, and Trarbach on the right bank, with in particular the Hühnerberg cru communal (Einzellage), an exceptional steep hillside in an arc (S-E/S-W exposure) situated in a side valley of the Moselle, with blue and grey schist soil, and planted with partly hundred-year-old free-range Riesling. Martin Müllen, together with a few other winegrowers, was a major contributor to the development of the Hühnerberg in Trarbach. Today, assisted by his son Jonas, he offers an exemplary interpretation of purity - without chemical treatments - and expressiveness.