Weber

WEBER BRÜDER

Mosel (Saar)

Wiltingen, Rheinland-Pfalz

We were hesitant to jump into Germany unless we found a grower that we believed was legitimately long term and rising in importance. Germany (Saar, nonetheless) is well canvased by regionally focused importers - few regions garner as much attention, feeling like it’s nearly impossible to find something meaningful and unknown. A mountain to climb, so to speak, that our Northern Italian focus isn’t equipped for. We stumbled upon Michi of Weber Brüder accidentally, before he had a US importer, and felt lucky.

Brothers Michi and Stephan Weber are relative newcomers to the German wine scene, partnering in 2013 to make wine from family land that their parents leased out. Their home of Wiltingen hardly needs introduction, and they are fortunate to have great plots there, including old vines in Erste Lage sites such as Wiltinger Klosterberg and Oberemmeler Altenberg. The crown jewel is a parcel of Vols in the larger Wiltinger Braunfels – the prime part of this Grosse Lage site, surrounded by Egon Muller’s vines.

Michi’s “arc” is where we feel increasing depth – he was most recently managing director of Viticulture at Von Kesselstatt. He also spent years making wine globally post viticulture degree from the famous Geisenheim University, but became disillusioned by the technical approaches he sometimes witnessed.

He eventually returned home with clarity, perspective, and the conviction to “get back to terroir” by working in the simple manner that his Grandfather did (their family’s winemaking lineage dates to the 1700s, skipping a generation with his parents).

This perspective and the resulting conviction develops slowly, the importance of which cannot be overstated (yes, the people behind the wine matter as much as the land). In short, Michi is the kind of vigneron and winemaker we gravitate towards, the kind seeing beyond fads or trends and seeking a deep foundation.

The brothers talk about how in difficult years, even numerous famous addresses will push slow fermentations along and employ other approaches to keep control. Conversely, they prefer to trust in their farming (organic) and quality of terroir. It’s not that any one thing they do is better or worse, but rather it’s about an overarching approach of patience that seeks truth in the land and vintage, without beating a wine into submission. They also released their 2021’s nearly a year after everyone else (missing the media frenzy of the year), citing how the wines simply needed time.

In the cellar, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and gravity-based movements are standard – they believe that true layering in Riesling comes from spontaneous fermentation. If harvest conditions allow, grapes from a single site are harvested at once - an old way of working that has a certain romance to it.

Perhaps some would interpret the preceding paragraphs as assuming their wines may be funky (and their labels have a simple, yet young feel to them), but these are thoroughly classic and fine expressions.

Think that exuberant “spring-water Riesling” clarity that drives geeks crazy, married to raw intensity. The dry wines can be a bit bracing and pinched in youth (neutral barrels are now used for aging dry wines), whereas the sweeter wines show some of the aromatic opulence more common with warmer years.

As fine as the wines are now, 2021 was an inflection point as vineyard adjustments have resulted in even higher levels of complexity and precision to the acidic structure.

In a short number of years, they have done a lot - starting in 2020 they were featured in the influential Mosel Fine Wines publication - garnering them solid notoriety. They are also part of the respected Maxime Herkunft association that was started in the Rheinhessen and has since spread to the Mosel.

We are proud to have been the first to introduce the wines of Weber Brüder to the USA.