Altenberg Riesling Alte Reben
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2035
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, seared scallops, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the legendary Kanzemer Altenberg, one of the steepest and most famous vineyard sites in the Saar region, this wine is a monument to Germany's viticultural heritage. The vineyard's sheer, south-facing amphitheater of iron-rich red Devonian slate traps the sun's warmth, while the cool breezes of the Saar valley preserve a thrilling, electric acidity. Crafted from extremely old, partially ungrafted vines that dig their roots deep into the ancient rock, this Riesling captures an extraordinary depth of flavor. Van Volxem employs traditional, low-intervention winemaking, including spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts and extended aging in large, neutral oak fuder casks. The result is a majestic, dry-style Riesling that balances opulent textures of yellow peach, quince, and exotic spices with a profound, smoky minerality, recalling the late 19th-century golden era when Saar wines were prized above the finest Bordeaux.
🍾 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% - 12.5%