Location and classification
Mäuerchen is an officially registered single vineyard in the municipality and cadastral district of Mertesdorf in the Ruwer area of the wine-growing region Mosel. The municipality lists the site as one of the recognised vineyards in the Ruwer valley. In the official directory of wine-growing sites, Mäuerchen bears the site number 450113.
Terroir and climate
The Karlsmühle winery includes Mäuerchen among its Lorenzhöfer vineyard holdings, which it describes as the steepest vineyard areas in the Ruwer valley. The narrow sites in the Ruwer valley are shaped by hot days, cool to cold nights, and the nightly drainage of cold air from the surrounding heights. The soils are made of clay slate with quartzite inclusions and a thin layer of soil over the rock.
Vines and cultivation
For Mäuerchen, wines are documented under the name Lorenzhöfer Mäuerchen Riesling, including a Riesling Kabinett. The winery cultivates its steep vineyard plots mostly by hand. Many of its vines are old, deep-rooting Riesling vines that grow in stony subsoil; according to information from the winery, the Lorenzhöfer holdings are in its sole ownership.
Vinification and wine-growing history
According to its own statements, the family of the Karlsmühle winery has been growing wine in the Ruwer valley since the Napoleonic era and counts Mäuerchen among its Lorenzhöfer sites. The winery’s Riesling wines are developed predominantly dry or half-dry. For this, the winery describes must clarification, fermentation in stainless steel tanks, maturation mainly in stainless steel, and bottling in spring. The wine cellar is located in natural rock.
