Address
316 West Geer St, Suite A, Durham, NC 27701
Hours
Mon. Closed
Tue. - Thu. 11am - 9pm
Fri. & Sat. 11am - 10pm
Sun. 11am - 8pm
Downtown Durham's neighborhood bottle shop and wine bar offering curbside pickup, local delivery, and shipping to 43 states.
Free Delivery in Durham & Chapel Hill
with a $120 Minimum Order.
Raleigh, Cary, Hillsborough and Surrounding
zip codes minimum $200.
We cannot ship to ND, SD, NH, UT, MS, PA, or KY. email info@louelladurham.com for shipping options
8.3g acid and 4-5g RS, all 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.
"Rita and Clemens Busch are long establishing the organic domain among the finest Riesling producers in all of Germany. The recent three vintages are full of highlights again, namely among the dry wines, which are all sourced from old vines in different sections of the Pündericher Marienburg with its many different parts, expositions, altitudes and soil colors. The wines are authentic, expressive and have an inimitable identity that represents the particular origin of which the terraced parts with the often ungrafted vines can give unforgettable drinking experience (Fahrlay Terrassen, Felsterrasse, Raffes). These are not wines to enjoy quickly or even thoughtlessly. I'd rather recommend to drink them slowly, not too cool and with all the time they need and you are ready to give them." -Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
We are especially excited to be selling the wines from Clemens and Rita Busch, biodynamic practitioners in the Marienburg vineyards of Pünderich. Clemens is the fifth generation winemaker at this estate (all the previous ones were also named Clemens; ever the iconoclast, he named his son Florian) and he began using organic practices in 1984, more recently transitioning to biodynamics, for which he has become a role model and beacon of change among German winemakers.
Location is crucial to mention here. Pünderich lies essentially at the dividing line between the Middle and Lower Mosel, the wilder and more remote northern section of the Mosel river system. The geology here is unique, based on a volcanic formation hundreds of millions of years old, manifested in a long, undulating cliff face that is nothing short of epic. The three main colors of slate (blue, red and grey) are all found here, dominating different parcels along the slopes across the river from the village. In spite of multiple slate profiles and expositions varying throughout the area, the German government in 1971, in a bureaucratic decision of breathtaking short-sightedness, lumped all these parcels together under one vineyard name, the Marienburg. Furthermore, they expanded what was a 23-hectare geographically coherent site into a 90-hectare politically drawn one, which even includes a series of flat sites on the opposite side of the river! Clemens has devoted his career to rectifying this mistake, identifying the different terroirs of the original hillside on his labels by their historical names: Fahrlay, Falkenlay, Rothenpfad, Felsterrasse, and Raffes. He further delineates his wines by their soil type, using an ingenious method: the color of the capsule on the bottles indicates the type of slate (blue, gray or red) that dominates the source from which each wine comes.
Most of the wines at the Busch estate are vinified dry, and they are rich, complex and often powerful. They age very beautifully, gaining in complexity and texture. However, the sweet and noble sweet wines from the estate are also impressive, ranking among the finest wines made anywhere on the Mosel.
It is important to note there are not a lot of committed "natural" winemakers in Germany in the sense that we know it from France and elsewhere; Busch is considered by many to be THE master interpreter of that philosophy in Germany. In numerous ways, these are some of the most iconoclastic wines we have ever tasted. More information is available on the Clemens Busch website.
LouElla is Downtown Durham's neighborhood bottle shop, bar, and event space offering curated wine, craft beer, and fortified selections from family operated producers. The business takes its name and mission from owner and proprietor Campbell Davis's Great Aunt LouElla who was much beloved for her warmth, hospitality, and generous spirit. Whether we are serving you at the bar or helping you pick that perfect bottle to host your celebration, our mission is to share LouElla's hospitality with the community.
Campbell Davis
Owner & Manager
For Cam Davis, LouElla is the culmination of more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality and beverage industry. Cam has successfully managed some of Durham’s finest locally and nationally recognized establishments, including Hutchin's Garage, Guglhupf, Rue Cler, and Durham Catering Company. He brings a wealth of wine and beverage knowledge, not only from his extensive restaurant experience, but also from his tenure as Durham Sales Manager for wine distributor Bordeaux, Fine and Rare.
Hours
Mon. Closed
Tue. - Thu. 11am - 9pm
Fri. & Sat. 11am - 10pm
Sun. 11am - 8pm