Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Wine-pairing Dinner with Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch, Mosel, at Panda Gourmet in Washington DC, USA

Picture: Annette Schiller, Clemens Busch, Christian Schiller at Panda Gourmet in Washington DC

Clemens Busch of the world class Weingut Clemens Busch (Mosel) was in town (Washington DC) and Domestique Wine, a new wine shop focussing on natural wines, organized a Chinese dinner at Michelin-recommended Panda Gourmet.

Pictures: Welcome at Panda Gourmet

Interestingly, Clemens poured 2 "mainstream" wines (Riesling trocken and a Grosses Gewächs) as well as 2 "non-mainstream" wines (Riesling trocken LS, a low sulfur wine, and Riesling alter (native), 60 days maceration, both wines unfined and unfiltered and sold as Landwein).

Panda Gourmet is a Michelin-recommended (assiette gourmand) Chinese restaurant serving Sichuan and Shaanxi cuisine.

Selfies with Clemens (2013 - 2019)

Here are few selfies with Clemens from the dinner at Panda Gourmet and the past years.

Pictures: Annette Schiller, Christian Schiller and Clemens Busch at Panda Gourmet, Washington DC

Picture: Annette and Christian Schiller at the Rieslingfeier 2017 in New York City with Clemens Busch. See: The Annual "Slaughterhouse" Riesling Feast in New York: Rieslingfeier 2017, USA

Pictures: Annette Schiller, Clemens Busch and Christian Schiller in Washington DC, USA in 2014. See: German Star Winemaker Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch in the Mosel Valley, in Washington DC, USA
Picture: Gernot Kollmann, Weingut Immich-Batterieberg, Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, Dominik Sona and Franzi Schmitt, Weingut Koehler-Ruprecht and Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch, at Bart Vandaele's BToo in Washington DC. See: Post-Rieslingfeier and Pre-Big Glou Dinner with 3 Top Winemakers from Germany at BToo in Washington DC: Clemens Busch, Immich-Batterieberg and Koehler-Ruprecht, USA

Picture: In Seattle, Washington State, in 2013, during the 4th Riesling Rendezvous: Clemens Busch, Christian Schiller and Hermann Wiemer, founder of Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyards in the Finger Lakes Region in New York State. See: The World of Riesling in Seattle - Fourth Riesling Rendezvous in Washington State, USA

Invitation

Dear friends of good wine and food,

I would like to alert you to a wine dinner coming up this Thursday:

Our good friend Clemens Busch, bio-dynamic winemaker from the Mosel Valley is coming to town. Some of you might know him from a visit to his winery from previous wine tours I organized in Germany. He will pair his wines -ranging from an entry level wine to a Grand Cru wine- with great Sichuan cuisine. Clemens Busch is one of the premium German winemakers and member of the prestigious Association of Elite German Wine Estates (VDP). I particularly love Clemens’ wines: they are earthy, yet elegant, perfectly reflecting the slate terroir of the Mosel Valley.

The dinner takes place

Thursday, March 7th at 7 pm

at Panda Gourmet, 2700 New York Ave NE, Washington DC 20002 (there is ample parking!)

Tickets are 75 $ p. person and can be ordered via https://domestiquewine.com/products/clemens-busch-dinner

Panda Gourmet is a restaurant recommended in the DC Michelin Guide and I am sure that this will be an evening of fun and an exquisite wine / food pairing experience.

Best

Annette

Pictures: Reception at Panda Gourmet

Domestique

Domestique is a partnership between Jeff Segal and Selection Massale. We're focused exclusively on natural wines. For us, that means wines made from organic or biodynamic grapes, fermented with ambient yeasts, and with very minimal use of sulfur (if any). The wines we love are clean, terroir-driven, and transparent.

We also have a careful selection of beers, ciders, and spirits that are made with the same principles whenever possible.

We're here in service of our producers. Their bottles are available in our shop, on our website, and through our newsletter. They'll also join us for frequent tastings and events.

At the moment, we can ship wine to AK, CA, ID, LA, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OR, VA, WV, and WY. We deliver everywhere in Washington D.C. for a $10 flat fee that we waive if you spend $100 or more. If you have questions on shipping or delivery, get in touch.

Contact us at info@domestiquewine.com.

Pictures: Wine-pairing Dinner with Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch, Mosel, at Panda Gourmet in Washington DC, USA

Panda Gourmet

Michelin: The name may look familiar, but don’t confuse this gem with the ubiquitous food court spot. Sure, Panda Gourmet isn’t winning any awards for its lackluster locale set amidst gas stations and fast-food chains, but you’re here for the food, not frills. And that food, well, it’s quality Sichuan and Shaanxi cuisine brought to you at great value. The heat is turned down for more sensitive palates, but there's plenty of flavor packed into these dishes. Hangzhou beef soup could feed an army with its soothing and satisfying broth, cubes of firm tofu, beef and loads of cilantro. Then rice noodles with minced pork is kicked up a notch with fiery chili oil, and may be tailed by mapo tofu, sprinkled with ground pork, green onions and spicy red chili sauce.

Pictures: The Food - Delicious and Spicy

Weingut Clemens Busch is one of the top producers in Germany. And not only that. In a region where the humidity and extremely steep vineyards make most wine makers to rely on some level of pesticide, Clemens Busch is 100% organic/biodynamic. And: In a region where noticeable residual sugar in the finished wine and low alcohol is the standard, Clemens Busch’s focus is on dry premium Rieslings that can compete with the best dry whites in the world. But Clemens Busch also produces some off-dry wines as well as powerfully complex, nobly sweet wines.

Pictures: Annette Schiller and Clemens Busch at Weingut Clemens Busch, Mosel

Weingut Clemens Busch is in Pünderich in the Mosel Valley, rather far down stream. The Busch family lives near the banks of the Mosel in a restored half- timbered house built in 1663. Because flooding can occur here, the vaulted cellar, built in the 1970s, lies nearby, on higher ground, at Clemens’s parents’ home.

The business has been run by Rita and Clemens Busch since 1986, with son Florian joining the team in 2008. Clemens is the fifth generation winemaker at this estate.

Pictures: Christian and Annette Schiller with Clemens Busch at Weingut Clemens Busch in Pünderich

Vineyard area: 10 hectares

Annual production: 55,000 bottles

The winery is since 2007 member of the VDP (Association of German VDP), the 200 or so German elite winemakers.

Clemens Busch produces mainly dry wines but also fruity-sweet wines as well as powerfully complex, nobly-sweet wines.

Organic/Biodynamic

Weingut Clemens Busch is considered by many to be the master interpreter of the natural winemaking approach in Germany. Clemens Busch began using organic practices in 1984 and more recently moved towards biodynamic. He is a member of respekt-BIODYN

Pündericher Marienburg

Most of the area under vines is situated in the Pündericher Marienburg vineyard which covers almost the entire hillside on the opposite side of the river from the village of Pünderich.

Until the wine law of 1971, the Pündericher Marienburg consisted of several small plots and not without good reason, because the wines grown in the different parts of today’s Marienburg vineyard are still very different. It is not only the different slate soils but also the special microclimates that play an important role here. To emphasize the specific differences that exist within the Pündericher Marienburg, the corresponding wines of Clemens Busch still bear the names of the old plots: Fahrlay and Fahrlay-Terrassen, Falkenlay and Raffes, as well as Rothenpfad and Felsterrasse.

Pictures: Crossing the Mosel at the Pündericher Marienburg. See: With Wine Maker Clemens Busch in Puenderich at his Winery in the Mosel Valley, Germany (2013)

Fahrlay and Fahrlay-Terrassen, directly across the river from the Busch’s house, consist mainly of blue slate, producing a Riesling with a particularly intensive mineral flavor and slightly salty notes in the finish.

Falkenlay, including the old-vine section called Raffes, is made up of grey slate, producing particularly creamy, fruit-driven Rieslings.

Picture: In the Pündericher Marienburg Vineyard with Rita Busch. See: Tasting with Rita Busch at Weingut Clemens Busch in the Mosel Valley, Germany (2014)

Wine Cellar

In the cellar, it is obvious that Clemens Busch does without high technology. After crushing, the grapes undergo skin contact and ferment spontaneously in both stainless steel and in oak Fuder (wooden casks of 1000 liters).  The fermentation continues for a very long period of time (8-9 months, sometimes even 12). In addition to lees contact, Clemens Busch likes to do lees stirring to increase the wines’ fruitiness and richness. There are no additions to the wine (sugar for chaptalisation, acidity, etc) except for a very small amount of sulfur before bottling. As an exception, special yeast is used for noble-sweet wines where the sugar levels are sometimes so high that wild yeasts would not even begin to work.

Pictures: Wine-pairing Dinner with Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch, Mosel, at Panda Gourmet in Washington DC, USA

The Wines Clemens Poured

Clemens Busch poured 4 wines.


2016 Weingut Clemens Busch Riesling trocken, Qualitätswein

Fine entry-level wine. Gutswein. Grown in grey slate from multiple parcels in the Marienburg (including the portions that lie across the river, which don’t make it into the GG wines), a mix of young and old vines up to 50-60 yrs old, vinified 60% in barrels and 40% INOX, and 20% of the juice sees malolactic fermentation.


2016 Weingut Clemens Busch Riesling trocken LS, Landwein

LS: Low-sulfur wine.


2016 Weingut Clemens Busch Riesling (alter) native, Landwein

A new cuvée! Grown in grey slate on the Marienburg. Spontaneously fermented, macerated extra time on the skins, then matured 15 months on the lees in Clemens’ big old (50+yr) German oak barrels. Unfiltered and unfined. A tiny amount of sulfur was added at bottling, even less than usual. Residual sugar: under 4 g/l. 11.5%  alc. Hazy color; “orange wine” in spirit, but fantastically fresh, energetic and delicious.


2016 Weingut Clemens Busch, Riesling, Marienburg, GG, Qualitätswein

"Refined and mouthfilling, with an electric tension between the mouthwatering acidity and flavors of bergamot, hops and nectarine. Best from 2020 through 2028." Aleks Zecevic, Wine Spectator INSIDER, Jan 2018


Weingut Clemens Busch Wines in the USA

The Weingut Clemens Busch wines are widely available in the US. Louis/Dressner is the main American importer. In California, Dee Vine Wines (Fine German Wines) is the exclusive importer of Weingut Clemens Busch wines. I also found the Weingut Clemens Busch wines on the website of David Bowler Wine in New York.

Bye-bye

Thanks Clemens, Jeff and Panda Gourmet for a wonderful winemaker dinner.

Picture: Bye-bye

Going Home

Going home, we passed by the Capitol.

Picture: The Capitol, Washington DC

schiller-wine: Related Postings

Announcement: ombiasy WineTours in 2019 - Germany-North and Bordeaux

Ombiasy Wine Tours 2018: 3 x France and 3 x Germany - Ombiasy Newsletter December 2017

UPCOMING Tours/ Wine Dinners/ Tastings - Annette and Christian Schiller/ ombiasyPR & WineTours/ schiller-wine, Germany, France, USA (Issued: March 1, 2019)

Invitation: Germany-North Tour 2019 by ombiasy WineTours: Quintessential German Riesling

Tasting with Rita Busch at Weingut Clemens Busch in the Mosel Valley, Germany (2014)

With Wine Maker Clemens Busch in Puenderich at his Winery in the Mosel Valley, Germany (2013)

German Winemakers in the World: Hermann J. Wiemer, Finger Lakes, USA

Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting at Weingut Clemens Busch – Germany-North Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2014)

German Star Winemaker Clemens Busch, Weingut Clemens Busch in the Mosel Valley, in Washington DC, USA (2014)

The Annual "Slaughterhouse" Riesling Feast in New York: Rieslingfeier 2017, USA

Post-Rieslingfeier and Pre-Big Glou Dinner with 3 Top Winemakers from Germany at BToo in Washington DC: Clemens Busch, Immich-Batterieberg and Koehler-Ruprecht, USA

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