Altenberg Riesling Alte Reben GG
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2040
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted pork belly, seared scallops, mildly spiced Asian cuisine
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the breathtakingly steep slopes of the Kanzemer Altenberg, where gradients reach up to 90 percent, this Grosses Gewächs (GG) represents the pinnacle of Saar Riesling. The vineyard's iron-rich red slate soils impart a distinctively smoky, exotic minerality to the wine. Crafted from 'Alte Reben'—ancient, self-rooted vines that have clung to these sheer cliffs for up to a century—this wine pays homage to the late 19th-century golden era when Saar wines commanded higher prices than the finest Bordeaux crus. Fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in traditional, neutral oak fuder casks, it showcases a majestic tension between opulent stone fruit flavors, wild herbal notes, and a crystalline, vibrating acidity.
🍾 About the Producer
With viticultural roots reaching back to Roman antiquity and an 18th-century Jesuit monastery, Weingut Van Volxem is a historic estate situated in Wiltingen along the steep slopes of the Saar in Germany's Mosel region. The estate experienced a dramatic renaissance when Roman Niewodniczanski acquired it in 1999, dedicating the estate to restoring the Saar's historic reputation for world-class, dry-style wines crafted with artisanal precision. Working with venerable old vines across premier Grand Cru terroirs—including iconic sites like Scharzhofberger, Wiltinger Gottesfuss, and Kanzemer Altenberg—the winery practices low yields, hand-harvesting, and spontaneous fermentation in traditional wooden casks. Van Volxem is celebrated internationally for its powerful, mineral-etched Riesling Grosses Gewächs, old-vine cuvées, and expressive traditional method sparkling wines.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Riesling
🍷 Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
12-13%