Alte Reben Riesling
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2030
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted pork belly, spicy Thai curry, pan-seared trout
✨ Technical Specifications
Van Volxem's Alte Reben Riesling is a masterclass in the power and elegance of the Saar Valley's ancient viticultural heritage. Sourced from steep, slate-rich slopes where the vines average between 50 and 120 years of age, this wine benefits from extremely deep root systems that draw intense mineral complexity from the Devonian slate. The winemaking philosophy remains deeply traditional, utilizing natural, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts and aging in large, neutral oak fuder casks. This minimal-intervention approach coaxes out a beautifully textured, dry-style Riesling that balances rich stone fruit flavors and wild herbal notes with the Saar's signature vibrant, crystalline acidity. It stands as a profound tribute to the historic steep-slope vineyards of the region.
🍾 About the Producer
Perched dramatically above the Saar River in Wiltingen, Weingut Van Volxem is one of Germany's most heralded historic wine estates. Originating as a Roman villa complex with viticulture traced back to the 3rd century, the property operated as a Jesuit monastery winery established in 1743 before being acquired post-secularization by Brussels brewer Gustav van Volxem. In late 1999, Roman Niewodniczanski acquired the estate and orchestrated an ambitious renaissance, revitalizing storied steep-slope vineyards and inaugurating a state-of-the-art gravity-fed winery atop the Wiltinger Schlossberg. Managing approximately 85 hectares on Devonian slate across top-tier VDP.Grosse Lage sites—such as Scharzhofberger, Wiltinger Gottesfuß, Volz, and Ockfener Bockstein—the estate works predominantly with old, ungrafted Riesling vines. Practicing sustainable, non-interventional viticulture, cellar master Dominik Völk champions spontaneous wild-yeast fermentations and extended aging in neutral oak and stainless steel. Van Volxem produces intensely mineral, low-alcohol, dry-leaning Rieslings and refined sparkling Sekts that revive the aristocratic, turn-of-the-century prestige of traditional Saar wines.
🍇 Grapes
Riesling
🍷 ABV
12%