Muller Catoir

In the village of Haardt in Pflaz, on the edge of the Palatinate Forest in southern Germany, the Weingut Müller-Catoir winery has been producing wine since 1744. It is one of the most prestigious and respected estates in the Palatinate, a member of the VDP association, producing 160,000 bottles a year from 25 hectares of vineyards certified to organic farming standards.

The double name, Müller combined with Catoir, hints at the history of the mixed family behind it, and at what the estate itself describes as a spirit of pioneering and non-conformity.

History

The winery was founded in 1744 by Johann Wilhelm Catoir and is now in the hands of the ninth-generation representative, Philippe David Catoir. The estate’s modern reputation was largely shaped during the tenure of the legendary winemaker Hans-Günter Schwarz, who, from the 1960s onwards, brought it international acclaim and mentored a whole generation of leading German, Austrian and Alsatian winemakers. Martin Franzén, who arrived from the Mosel with experience at Schlossgut Diel in Nahe and Gut Nagelsforst in Baden, took over the reins in 2002 and continued this tradition.

Today, winemaking and viticulture are in the hands of Dominik Leyrer.

Vineyards

The 25 hectares of vineyards are located exclusively in Mittelhaart, in the villages of Haardt, Gimmeldingen and Mussbach, all of which form part of Neustadt an der Weinstraße.

Seventy per cent of the vineyard area is on hillsides, with the remaining thirty per cent in the valley. All vineyards are classified by the VDP. Key sites include Burgarten, Herrenletten, Herzog and Mandelring in Hardt, as well as Mandelgarten and Schloessel in Gimmeldingen. The finest site is Burgarten ‘Im Broymehl’, a monopole, the highest-altitude site in the Hardt Burgarten and one of the estate’s two VDP Grosse Lagen, alongside Vogelsang in Neustadt, which was added in 2018.

All vineyards have held EU organic certification since the 2015 harvest.

Terroir

The soils on the estate are remarkably diverse for such a compact area: ranging from Haardt sandstone and coloured sandstone to heavy loam, loess, shell limestone and loamy gravel. This diversity, combined with variations in altitude and slope gradient, allows the estate to produce wines with a character quite distinct from neighbouring vineyards.

Winemaking

All grapes are harvested by hand. The estate’s approach, which has essentially remained unchanged for generations, focuses on slow fermentation, patient ageing in the cellar and bottling as late as possible. The wines are vegan. The aim, as the estate puts it, is to produce wines characterised by minerality, elegance and uncompromising uniqueness.

Wines

The range is structured in accordance with the VDP hierarchy.

At the base are the estate’s MC wines, produced without specifying vineyard names and made from grapes from younger vines.

Above these are the Ortsweine at village level from Hardt, Himmeldingen, Mussbach and Neustadt.

Next come the single-vineyard wines, the Erste Lagen from Bürgergarten, Herrenletten, Herzog, Mandelring, Mandelgarten and Schloß.

At the very top are two Grosse Lagen wines, Bürgergarten ‘Im Breumel’ and Vogelsang, representing the estate’s finest plots.

The range varies from dry white wines to noble sweet Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.