Markus Molitor’s 2023 Riesling Ürziger Würzgarten Spätlese Gold Capsule comes from Ürzig in Germany’s Mosel, a region known for Riesling shaped by steep vineyards and slate-rich soils. The wine’s “Gold Capsule” is part of the estate’s capsule color system used to signal style, and it is sold in the U.S. via Banville Wine Merchants (New York), according to the Vinous listing.

Ürziger Würzgarten is a site often associated with a more extroverted Mosel profile thanks to its iron-rich red soils mixed with slate. Tindal Wine Merchants describes the vineyard character in broad terms as delivering “spice” and “opulent fruit” supported by a “crisp, hearty acid backbone.” That combination—ripeness and lift—is typically what drinkers look for in Spätlese from this vineyard: generous aromatics and sweetness balanced by acidity and mineral tension rather than weight alone.

The one available professional review for the 2023 points in the same direction, and it’s an excellent one. James Suckling rates the wine 94 points and highlights a notably vivid, fruit-driven aromatic profile: “very striking aromas of wild strawberry and red-fleshed vineyard peach.” On the palate, he emphasizes precision over richness, calling it “juicy and elegant” with a “precisely nuanced, barely medium-bodied palate.” His finish note—“long, racy and filigree… with a wild-strawberry intensity”—suggests a Spätlese that leans into energy and clarity as much as sweetness.

Suckling also sets expectations clearly on style: “Not bone dry, but very clean and straight.” In other words, while this is a Spätlese that will show noticeable residual sugar, it is presented with definition and drive rather than softness. He concludes simply: “Drink or hold,” indicating early appeal with enough structure to continue developing.