Kanzem Altenberg Riesling Alte Reben
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2036
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted pork belly, spicy Thai curry, aged hard cheeses
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from one of the Saar's most legendary and steepest grand cru sites, the Kanzemer Altenberg Riesling Alte Reben is a monument to German viticulture. The vineyard itself is a sheer wall of iron-rich red Devonian slate, boasting a south-southeast exposure that captures optimal sunlight. Here, ancient, ungrafted vines—some over a century old—dig their roots deep into the rock, yielding minuscule crops of highly concentrated berries. Historically, wines from the Altenberg were so revered that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they commanded prices exceeding those of Bordeaux's finest estates at auctions. Van Volxem honors this heritage through traditional craftsmanship, utilizing spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in large, neutral oak fuder casks. The resulting wine is a masterclass in tension: texturally rich and opulent, yet driven by a fierce, salty minerality, vibrant Saar acidity, and complex aromas of yellow stone fruit, wild herbs, and smoky slate.
🍾 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%