Location and History
The Müller-Catoir winery is located at Mandelring 25 in Neustadt-Haardt in the wine region Pfalz in Germany. The estate has been in the possession of the Catoir family since 1744. Johann Wilhelm Catoir is named as the founder; the family tradition goes back to the ninth generation. The buildings, constructed in the 18th century and expanded in the late 19th century in a neo-classical style, are protected as a historic monument.
Vineyards and Grape Varieties
The winery’s vineyard sites include locations in Haardt, Neustadt and Mußbach. The documented soils include Haardt sandstone, clay, loess, gravel and shell limestone. The winery is certified according to the EU organic scheme and uses exclusively grapes from its own vineyards. The grape variety base includes, among others, Riesling, Weißburgunder, Grauburgunder, Scheurebe, Muskateller, Rieslaner, Spätburgunder and Sauvignon Blanc.
Style and Maturation
The production profile is around 90 per cent white wine, 6 per cent red wine and 4 per cent rosé wine. The described wine style is finely structured, mineral, elegant and individual. Elegance, complexity and longevity are named as the goals. Work in the vineyard includes extensive manual work, selective hand harvesting and a manual selection of the grapes.
Cellar and Classifications
In the cellar, slow fermentation, gentle maturation, long ageing on the lees and late bottling are documented. Individual wines ferment cool in stainless steel; the Haardter Spätburgunder matures traditionally in small wooden barrels. Classified sites include Bürgergarten Im Breumel and Vogelsang as VDP.GROSSE LAGE® as well as Haardter Bürgergarten, Herzog and Haardter Herrenletten as VDP.ERSTE LAGE®. The winery has been a member of the VDP since 2004. Philipp David Catoir is named as owner, and Dominik Leyrer as cellarmaster.
