Egon Muller
Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett
Wiltingen
2019

The producer

Egon Muller’s wines are generally viewed as “icons of the Riesling world” and amongst the finest white wines in the world. Current generation Egon IIII was born in 1959, in Scharzhof, studied oenology at Geisenheim, and later joined the estate – which, in 1954, was acquired by his father Egon III – in 1985.

The estate, which is in the Saar valley, has vineyards throughout the Mosel region, most famous of which are Scharzhofberger and Braune Kupp in the village of Wiltingen. The Scharzhofberg vineyard is situated southeast of the WIltingen village. Egon Muller’s 8.5 hectares – including 3 hectares of ungrafted vines planted in the 19^th century – are situated right behind the Scharzhof house and winery, where Egon and his family lives. Scharzhofberger is entirely south-facing and with altitudes ranging from 200-311 metres.  

Scharzhofberger Rieslings are fermented in large 1000 litre oak casks without any skin contact and are without a doubt some of the most sought after of all German wines, achieving higher prices at auction than any other Riesling wines and can easily age for at least half a century.

The Braune Kupp vineyard is north of the Wiltingen village and comprising 4 hectares located right where the Saar River loops between Wiltingen and Kanzem, thus creating a unique micro-climate in which the vines are protected from cold winds. The slope is dramatically steep and the wines some of the most elegant, juicy and enticing Riesling examples.

The wine

Egon Mulller owns 8.5 hectares of the Scharzhofberg vineyard, which is located directly behind the estate in Saar. The Kabinett from the Scharzhofberger vineyard has an enormously fine balance between sweetness and acidity, which gives just the faintest sensation of sweetness, and tremendous length.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.