Why it matters
The producer
Rita and Rudolf Trossen make Riesling from steep Mosel vineyards where slate and gradient are central to the wine’s shape. Their estate converted fully to biodynamic methods in 1978, then carries the same light-handed approach into the cellar through manual harvesting, gentle pressing and slow fermentations. The result is a range built around Riesling’s acidity and texture rather than heavy oak or sweetness.
The Trossens’ defining decision came in 1978, when Rita and Rudolf converted the whole estate to biodynamic farming. It was not a cellar-only change. The move applied across the vines that supply their Riesling, including the slate slopes that make hand work unavoidable. That farming commitment sits behind a cellar routine of gentle pressing and slow fermentation, leaving the wines to develop acidity, fruit and texture without forceful extraction.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Kindel lies in the middle Mosel, where Riesling is planted on slopes steep enough to demand careful vineyard work. At Trossen, the physical setting matters because most vines stand on slate-rich ground: the grape can keep its citrus-led acidity while reaching ripeness, producing wines with a dry, stony feel and a long finish instead of broad, soft fruit.
The Mosel name on a Trossen bottle therefore points to more than a German region. It connects Riesling to steep hillside fruit, a cool-climate acid line and the estate’s slow-fermentation cellar work. Bottles such as Schieferblume and Pyramide show different ways of carrying that material through fermentation.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Hand harvesting allows the Trossens to bring in Riesling from steep slopes without treating the vineyard as a machine-worked crop. Gentle pressing follows, limiting harsh phenolic grip from skins and seeds, while slow fermentation lets fruit and acidity settle into a more measured texture. Small barrels are used for many wines, with a preference for natural yeast rather than a standardised commercial ferment.
Pyramide has its own defined method: whole bunches ferment with indigenous yeast in 1,000-litre stainless-steel tanks for about six months. Whole-bunch fermentation can bring a lightly savoury, herbal edge and a firmer textural grip; stainless steel keeps oak out of the equation. In the Pur’us line, the estate goes further, bottling wines without additives or filtration.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range is held together by Riesling but divided by method and bottle role. Pur’us is the no-intervention line, begun with the estate’s first additive-free, unfiltered Riesling in 2010. Madonna Pur’us belongs here: a Riesling with dry fruit, acidity and texture allowed to remain visible rather than softened by filtration or cellar additions.
Pyramide is the more method-specific bottle. Its long whole-bunch fermentation in stainless steel points toward citrus fruit, savoury spice, mineral character and grip, with no oak weight covering the finish. Schieferblume Riesling returns the focus to slate-ground Riesling: dry in feel, fresh in acidity and shaped around fruit, texture and a stony finish.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Schieferblume Riesling. It brings the estate’s central elements into one bottle: Riesling from slate-rich Mosel slopes, biodynamic vineyard work and a dry, acid-driven palate. Expect citrus fruit first, then mineral detail and texture across the middle, finishing with a stony, mouthwatering edge. It is the most direct way into the connection between Trossen’s steep ground and its restrained cellar handling.