Location and classification
Lehmener Lay is an officially registered single vineyard in the wine-growing region Mosel, Bereich Burg Cochem, Großlage Weinhex. It lies in the municipality and cadastral area Lehmen and carries the official vineyard site number 440525. In the 2024 harvest area register, 2.2 hectares of planted area are listed.
Topography and soils
Lehmener Lay is documented as a terraced steep slope with gradients of up to 70 percent. One plot is located in a small amphitheatre with a south–south-west aspect; overall, the Lay is assigned to the south-east-facing sites along the Lehmen Mosel bank. The soils consist of stony slate and greywacke. Also described are hard, grey-blue slate with a high proportion of iron oxide and greywacke.
Climate and grape variety
The site, located directly in the Mosel valley, is influenced by the local microclimate of the river course. Riesling is the grape variety predominantly documented for Lehmener Lay and the wine sites of Lehmen.
Designation and wine
The element “Lay” denotes slate rock or a rocky slope in the Mosel wine site nomenclature; historical research also traces Lehmener Lay back. A documented Riesling from the 2019 vintage was produced from terraced plots with vines aged over 40 years as a dry wine with less than one gram of residual sugar per litre. For a plot of Lehmener Lay it is also reported that, even before cultivation by Materne & Schmitt, no herbicides were used there; this is associated with a diverse flora and fauna.
