History -  Philosophy - Vinification - Wines -  Addresses & Links

WINES
 

All our wines are Rieslings. "Scharzhof" is our most basic wine. Qualitätswein by German legal standard, it is made of the grapes from our vineyards in Saarburg, Kanzem and Wawern and from the Wiltinger Braunfels and Wiltinger Kupp vineyards. Depending on the quality and the size of the vintage and the ripeness of the grapes, we may also use grapes from Wiltinger braune Kupp and even from the Scharzhofberg. The "Scharzhof" is an off-dry wine that typically balances the sweetness with the minerality from the slate soils and the acidity of the Saar. It is meant to be drunk young but can be aged for 5 to 8 years.

Only the "Prädikat"-wines from the Scharzhofberg and from Wiltinger braune Kupp carry vineyard designations. In almost every year it is possible to produce Kabinett wines. We have never followed the official classification according to Oechsle-levels or sugar content at harvest but for us Kabinett is made from grapes ripe enough not to need Chaptalisation and yet not overripe. These wines are unique because in the Saar's cool climate the grapes can be fully ripe and still have very low sugar content. The resulting wines have only 7 to 9% alcohol and are often dominated by the slaty minerality and the Saar's acidity. They are off dry but can taste quite dry because of the low alcoholic strength. Kabinett wines are very refreshing when young but can age gracefully for 10 or more years. Especially Kabinett wines from the Scharzhofberg develop tremendous complexity with bottle age.

Spätlese actually means "late harvest" but in our estate the term is for wines made from grapes of superior ripeness or even from overripe grapes. Our harvest usually starts very late and the weather is variable so the ripest grapes often come from the best parcels rather than from the latest harvest date. Spätlese wines can carry more sugar than Kabinett without losing their balance and while they are off-dry to semi-sweet when young they reward cellaring with a degree of complexity that is hard to find anywhere else. Wiltinger braune Kupp tends to be more full-bodied while the Scharzhofberger can develop into truly elegant wines that defy the categories of sweet and dry. The Spätleses from the great vintages of the 70's, 71, 75 and 76 when cellared well are drinking beautifully and still have a future ahead of them.

We do not treat our vineyards against Botrytis and in most years we see some developing on our grapes. When there is sufficient noble rot we try to harvest the se grapes separately. Auslese has its name from this selection process and the botrytis adds a whole different set of aromas and flavors to the wine. In addition there is the effect of concentration of the grape juice by evaporation and all these factors turn our Auslese into very special wines of unique proportions. While Kabinett and to a certain extent Spätlese are "meditative" wines that do not open up at the first sip but require a certain effort from the taster, Auslese are much more easily approachable and open. They can be sweet to very sweet but they always have the acidity to match and while they are very seductive when young, they have an enormous ageing potential. We try to have at least a small batch of Auslese in any better vintage but the Auslese vintages of recent times are 1999, 1997, 1994, 1993, 1990, and 1989.

Beerenaulese and Trockenbeerenauslese are extensions of the same principle. As the selectivity at harvest increases to literally "berry by berry" level, so does the concentration of the wines. Trockenbeerenauslese can have a syrupy consistence and enormous residual sugar but even at the highest level there is always enough acidity to give the wines a long, elegant and almost ethereal finish. At the Scharzhof both wines were for the first time produced by Egon Müller III in 1959 and in every great vintage since: 1971, 1975, 1976, 1979 (Beerenauslese only), 1983 (Beerenauslese only) 1986 (Beerenauslese only), 1988 (Beerenauslese only), 1989, 1990, 1991 (Beerenauslese only), 1993 (Beerenauslese only), 1994, 1995, 1997 (Trockenbeerenauslese only), 1999, 2000 (Trockenbeerenauslese only) and 2001.

Eiswein is made from frozen grapes, often after the end of the regular harvest. It does not require Botrytis but we do not subscribe to the view that it should only be made from Botrytis free grapes either. With the first serious frost, the grapes are harvested early in the morning and pressed rapidly while still frozen. The press separates the solid from the liquid and in the case of Eiswein a portion of the grape juice remains as ice on the press. The juice is thus concentrated and the factor of concentration increases as the temperature decreases. Therefore the best Eisweins do not necessarily come from the best vintages. 1999 for example did not produce any Eiswein while the 1998 Eiswein might be the greatest ever. Eiswein can have a concentration similar to a Beerenauslese or even Trockenbeerenauslese but the acidity dominates. While other great sweet wines have their counterparts in other parts of the world, the great Eiswein are unique.