2021 Monchhof Estate Riesling Mosel 750 ml

When it comes to some of Europe’s finest wines, trust the monks. From France to the Iberian peninsula to the New World, wherever they went, viticulture and winemaking followed. This includes Germany’s Mosel Valley, home to the world’s most renowned Rieslings—and to the Mönchhof estate, one of the oldest in the region.

“Mönchhof” translates roughly as “Monks House” or “Monks Court,” a reference to the Cistercian monks who planted the vineyards there, in and around the village of Ürzig in the 12th century. Around this time, the monks also built a vaulted cellar that Mönchhof still uses today.  

Mönchhof draws fruit for their 2021 Estate Riesling from two of the Mosel’s greatest sites: Erdener Treppchen and Ürzig Würzgarten. The latter has many own-rooted vines that reach nearly a century of age. 

In 2021, winemaker Philippe Conzen was treated to a throwback vintage. The Mosel received plenty of rain in the spring and early summer—which paradoxically cut yields as growers battled disease pressure and dropped fruit. But what remained after a cool middle and end of the growing season was classic Mosel Riesling that showed off the Grand Cru sites.

“This is the ultimate Thanksgiving wine,” says Elizabeth Schneider of Wine for Normal People. “It will go with sweeter dishes like sweet potatoes and savory dishes like herb-rubbed turkey and stuffing. Serving food with heavy onions or garlic flavors, hotter spice, creamy or salty dishes? This wine handles it all beautifully. It can do seafood or lighter pork dishes too. This is your food MVP—and if you’re not into Thanksgiving food, have it with sushi or mildly spiced Asian food and you’ll be in heaven.”