Altenberg Riesling Auslese
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, foie gras, apricot tart
✨ Technical Specifications
The Kanzemer Altenberg is one of the most legendary steep-slope vineyards of the Saar, boasting a dizzying gradient of up to 90% and iron-rich red Devonian slate soils. Historically, wines from this grand cru site were among the most expensive in the world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, highly prized in royal courts. Van Volxem's Altenberg Riesling Auslese is crafted from extremely low-yielding, ancient vines. The grapes are meticulously hand-harvested at peak ripeness, often with a precise selection of botrytised berries. Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts and aging in traditional large oak fuder casks preserve the site's intense, smoky minerality, exotic fruit character, and the Saar's signature electric acidity. This combination creates a luscious, highly complex sweet wine with incredible tension and longevity.
🍾 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