Winerie

Founded in 1200, the estate is now managed by Prince Felix zu Salm-Salm in the 32th generation. It is the oldest family-owned estate in Germany and cultivates vineyard sites on the Nahe region aswell as in Rheinhessen.

Vintage report

The year began dry and ended wet with a big drought during summer and great rain during harvest. But first things first. We had a fortunate start into the year. No frost, no hail (none throughout the whole year) and a steady and early bud break started off the growing season early. An early blossoming set the time for an early harvest. The summer will be one of these we remember very well for a long time. There was no rain after the end of June with quite a few heat waves covering the whole of Germany. We concentrated on each vine individually to give each the best start into the harvest. We kept more leaves on the vines to have enough shade to keep the grapes cool. A very early start into harvest brought great qualities. The red wines and the Pinot varietals we picked were outstanding. After the first rains we started with the Riesling grapes which were lower in sugar than one would have thought. Although we finished earlier than ever the harvest went on for quite a while due to pausing every couple of days bringing the grapes to show their full potential. Great qualities at a low yield. Great acidity with moderate alcohol levels. Apart from having less wine this was yet again an outstanding vintage.

Terroir

red slate, sandy loam, south exposed steep sloped vineyards