Schloss Lieser

In the small village of Lieser on the banks of the Mosel, a Neo-Renaissance castle towers above the river, home to one of Germany’s most impressive collections of Grand Cru vineyards. Weingut Schloss Lieser is a family-run estate whose story is one of rescue, patience and the Riesling grape.

History

The castle was built in 1875 for the oil magnate Eduard Puricelli. From 1904, it served as a cellar and winery for Baron von Schörlemmer’s extensive vineyards on the Moselle and in the Saar, most of which were sold in the 1970s when the estate fell into disrepair. Thomas Haag and his wife Ute took up the posts of head winemaker and director in 1992, when the estate’s holdings had shrunk to just 6 hectares, almost entirely situated on the Lieser Niederberg Helden vineyard. After five years of restoring the estate’s reputation, they purchased it in 1997 and began investing in it annually. Thomas comes from a well-known family of Mosel winemakers; his father, Wilhelm, ran the famous Weingut Fritz Haag in Brauneburg. Today, Thomas and Ute’s children, Lara and Niklas, have joined the estate, representing the next generation.

Vineyards

The estate currently covers 26 hectares across nine Grand Cru sites, spread across 185 individual plots. Vineyards: Lieser Niederberg Helden, Brauneberger Juffer, Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Graacher Domprobst, Bernkasteler Doctor, Piesporter Goldtröpfchen and Kestener Paulinsberg. All are classified as VDP.Grosse Lage, the German equivalent of Grand Cru. The slopes are steep, with a south and south-west aspect, and the soils consist mainly of blue and grey Devonian slate.

Grape varieties

100% Riesling. Every wine in the range is produced from this single variety, which the estate considers the only grape worthy of cultivation in the Mosel.

Wines

Schloss Lieser produces a full range of Riesling styles, from dry Grosses Gewächs to noble-sweet Trockenbeerenauslese, all from its Grand Cru plots. The grapes are harvested by hand in several passes through the vineyards. Fermentation takes place spontaneously using natural yeasts, at low temperatures in a 100-year-old vaulted cellar. The wines receive top ratings in all major German wine guides. Thomas Haag was named ‘Winemaker of the Year in Germany’ by Gault & Millau in 2015 and by Falstaff in 2021.