ahr · Dries Corneillie · duitse wijn · duitsland · josten & klein · mittelrhein · pinot noir · riesling · sauvignon blanc · wijndomein in de kijker ·Jan 13, 2022

Weingut Josten & Klein I wine domain in the spotlight

Because we like to share the story of our winemakers and domains with you down to the last detail, we put a domain in the spotlight every so often. The first domain we put in the spotlight is the young wine estate 'Josten & Klein'. The wine estate is located with their winery in the Ahr Valley, but in addition to vineyards in the Ahr, it also owns a number of top properties in the Mittelrhein region, near the old wine village 'Leutesdorf'.

Establishment

The wine estate was founded in 2011 by Marc Josten, winegrowing technician, and Torsten Klein, oenologist. Nevertheless Josten & Klein have only been around for a good 10 years, the gentlemen together have experience of more than 25 years from various top wine domains, and are therefore certainly not ready for their test piece. A few years after the start of the domain, Torsten decided to follow other dreams. From then on, Marc's wife, Anika, assists him and they run this ambitious wine estate together.

Sua Sponte

Marc & Torsten started their wine estate with a long-term vision and the aim to become a top name when it comes to quality in German wines. They believe like no other in the potential of their wine region and vineyards and want to display this in the purest way in the glass.

As young entrepreneurs with a focus on people and the environment, they work very sustainably, in the broadest sense of the word 'sustainability'. With their 'no compromise' mentality, boundless passion and enthusiasm they want to profile themselves with Josten & Klein as a top quality winery from the Mittelrhein and Ahr. After the start of the domain, Torsten decided to realize other ambitions and Marc and his wife Anika are at the helm of the wine domain.

Their motto is 'Sua Sponte' which can also be found on the bottles on certain cuvées, this stands for 'originated by their own strength and drive' and this describes their determination and philosophy with which they realize their ideas while maintaining their individuality and originality.

Marc & Anika produce quality wines characterized by the typical grape varieties of the two regions, their location and their typical harvesting conditions. They are genuine, unadulterated wines, processed with attention to quality and with a noticeable character of their own. For everyone who consciously wants to enjoy wine.

From Ahr to Mittelrhein and back

The vineyards for the red wines are located in the Ahr region, where the winery and their headquarters are located. The Ahr is one of Germany's smallest wine regions and almost exclusively red wine is made. Pinot noir or the locally called Spätburgunder rules the vineyards here as the most widely planted grape. The vineyards of Josten & Klein are located in and around the municipality of Mayschoss with part of the 'Grosses Gewächs' vineyard Mönchberg in their possession.

In addition, Marc & Anika also have plots in the Mittelrhein region, also a smaller wine region in Germany that is located slightly more to the north. The Mittelrhein is a fantastic region that is characterized by its beautiful, steep slate slopes. The vineyards of the domain are located around the oldest and largest wine village of the Mittelrhein, namely Leutesdorf. This municipality is considered to be the last great Riesling bastion of German viticulture on the Rhine (downstream). The grape varieties Riesling and Pinot Gris (Grauburgunder) grow in the Mittelrhein, but also Sauvignon Blanc, and let this now be one of the business cards of these two gentlemen. Their sauvignon blancs are world-class and can stand neatly next to the greats of this world in level.

The different wines of Josten & Klein

The Josten & Klein range is divided into different levels, for the launch of this domain in our wine trade, we started with two lines of the domain.

On the one hand, we offer the Schiefer cuvées, which represent solid wines from the different flagship grapes of the domain with a light-footed and pure expression of the region.

On the other hand, we also offer the domain's two absolute top wines , which show themselves as very complex and intense wines with decades of aging potential. It's about the Riesling Im Forstberg , already drinkable with rich dishes, but it can certainly keep for another 20 years. The pinot noir Mönchberg spoils all pinot noir aficionados with a whopper of a wine from the Ahr Valley. Grand in its elegance and refinement, this wine can stand alongside top French pinot references.

The future at Josten & Klein

Today, this domain already produces very fine quality, but for them it doesn't stop here. With their long-term vision they have left for a long time and we are convinced that they will still look great.