Altenberg Riesling Beerenauslese
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2065
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
blue cheese, foie gras, fruit tarts
✨ Technical Specifications
The Kanzemer Altenberg is legendary, renowned as one of the steepest vineyard sites in the entire Saar region, with slopes reaching an incredible 90% gradient. This sheer wall of weathered red Devonian slate acts as a perfect solar collector, allowing Riesling grapes to achieve extraordinary ripeness in a cool climate. Van Volxem's Altenberg Riesling Beerenauslese is a rare liquid masterpiece born only in exceptional vintages. It is crafted from individually hand-selected, botrytized berries shriveled to concentrated perfection. Historically, wines from the Altenberg were among the most expensive in the world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, gracing the tables of emperors and grand hotels. Spontaneously fermented and aged with minimal intervention, this Beerenauslese strikes a breathtaking balance between luscious, honeyed tropical fruit sweetness and the Saar's trademark mineral-driven, electric 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