Bender Paulessen

Bender’s bone dry style of Riesling is a lovely light honey colour in the glass. The aroma recalls ripe apricots and sweet Golden Delicious apples with a delicate mineral edge. On the palate, it is wonderfully lean and fresh with invigorating acidity. The mix of orchard fruit flavours is thrilling.

Andreas believes in making wine that he likes. This is not a traditional Mosel as it blends all of his parcels on the steep slate slopes of the Mosel river. Organically farmed and hand-harvested, the wine in fermented spontaneously in 60-year-old 600-litre oak barrels and then three months in stainless steel for clarification.

Country

Germany

Region

Mosel QBA

Grapes

Riesling

Vintage

2018

ABV

11.5

Code

11147

Style

White

Methods

• Organic

A country that is well-known for industrial machinery,
reliable cars, and an innate love of systems and order does
not usually evoke thoughts of lifestyle and enjoyment. And
for many years, we looked for a German winemaker who fit
our ethos of independent and quality-focused artisan
winemaking. It was not until 2018, after long hours of
research and walking vineyards up and down the Mosel;
that we met Andreas Bender. Today his low intervention
wine is served at Angela Merkel's table when she wants to
show her international guests the outstanding quality of
Germany's artisan producers.

Andreas grew up roaming the vineyards of the Mosel where
his family were grafting vines. It is no surprise he began
making wine (unofficially) when he was 13 years of age.
A young winemaker (still in his 30s) with a reputation for
wisdom in his craft. Andreas has devoted himself to
winemaking. His wine experiences include the U.S., France,
Italy and time at Geisenheim University as a scholar in
oenology and viticulture. Today he manages 35 hectares of
his own vineyards. His grapes are laboriously picked and
hand-sorted, to ensure the highest quality of juice. The
unconventional use of retired oak barrels can be a bit hit or
miss, but for Andreas, it has been a hit. Andreas'
contemporary attitude comes through in the Bender label
design and accessible and fun wines. He takes Pfalz and
Mosel's traditional grapes, cool climate, and slate soils and
uses them to create impeccably balanced wines that stand
up to the strongest flavours in food.