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Mosel:
Our vineyards are located in the heart of the Moselle, where a beautiful river meanders through the deep valley. Mother Nature provided a perfect microclimate for this region. The secrets of the Moselle are the rocky slate soils, which dry up quickly and warm up thanks to the heat from the sun. South facing steep slopes have inclines of up to 70°. The river serves as a heat reservoir and a long vegetation period (from blossoming in June to harvesting in November up to 150 days), are variables which create uncomparable, great Moselle Rieslings that have a personality of their own.
Saar:
Saar Rieslings show minerality, lively acidity and delicate, tender fruit aromas. The climate is slightly cooler than the Moselle and the vineyards are located at a slightly higher elevation, some of which are situationed along the side valleys of the Saar. The Saar is open towards the northwest, so that cool winds have a direct influence on the microclimate. The Saar wines are racier in style in some vintages with great minerality and elegant fruit. It is our goal to maintain this character of finesse, transparency and raciness in those wines.
Ruwer:
The romantic Ruwer valley contains the smallest tributary to the Moselle with around 900 hectares of vineyards. The Ruwer is simply a small creek and therefore has very little influence on the microclimate. Compared to Moselle and Saar the Ruwer's microclimate is the coolest, thanks to the tiny river and the fact that the vineyard are located relatively high up on the hillside, at 200 meters above sea level. Cold winds and very stony dark slate soil support the gentle, endlessly fine and subtle Riesling character of the Ruwer-wines.
Bernkasteler Doctor:
The legendary Bernkasteler Doctor vineyard is located on a very steep slope above the town of Bernkastel and is doubtlessly Germany's most famous and most expensive vineyard. This site is only 1 hectare in size. Only three estates own parts of Bernkasteler Doctor vineyard, of which Kesselstatt owns 600 square meters.
This 100% steep slope, facing south-south-west, has a steep, stony, weathered slate soil containing clay and produces bold, aromatic wines with a lot of expression.
According to the legend, Archbishop Boemund II (1354 to 1362) was seriously ill at Castle Landshut. Since he wasn't responding to any of the doctor's efforts, one of the Bernkastel winegrowers offered him a small barrel of wine. Given his speedy recovery, this wine was praised as the reason for his recovery and why this vineyard was called "Doctor"
Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr:
The small steep Juffer-Sonnenuhr vineyard (150 m above sea level) represents the heart of the Brauneberger Juffer location and only covers a total of approx. 10 hectares. The shallow and extremely rocky, weathered Devon slate soils contain a high proportion of clay and faces southward. The 70° incline creates the impression that one could dive headfirst directly into the Moselle from the Juffer-Sonnenuhr. The Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt winery owns 0.25 hectare of this top location.
The name "Juffer" means 'aged virgin' and goes back to when the vineyard was owned by the old Franciscan convent in Filzen. The second half of the name for this steep vineyard comes from the sundial, which can still be seen in this vineyard today.
Erdener Treppchen:
This vineyard is so extremly steep, really incredible, that stone-steps were built into that hillside location centuries ago. This enabled the workers to reach the vines easier. The name of the vineyard (Treppchen means staircase) refers to this fact. The wines harvested here are complex and full-bodied with a clear mineral after-taste due to the red slate-soil.
Graacher Domprobst:
The Graacher Domprobst vineyard is located in the heart of vineyards surrounding the town of Graach, directly beside Josephshöfer vineyard. This steep slope, facing southwest, has a somewhat steep, rocky, grey Devon slate soil which produces refined, aromatic fruity Rieslings that are very racy and elegant. This site is at an elevation of 130-260 meters above sea level.
The name of this vineyard continues to be a reminder that the Provost cathedral in Trier (Domprobst) was entitled to one third of the wine from this Graacher vineyard. A register from the year 1731 estimates this as having a value of 200 gilders.
Graacher Himmelreich:
The rocky vineyard-site Himmelreich just above the town of Graach is one of the best known sites in the Mosel area. The Himmelreich vineyard is located just above the famous Grand Cru Josephshöfer.
Josephshöfer:
The Josephshöfer monastery was first mentioned in official documents 1,100 years ago. This monastery includes the vineyard "Josephshöfer" which is only 8 hectares in size. It was purchased by the Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt estate following secularization in 1858. Josephshöfer is one of many vineyards surrounding the famous village of Graach on the Moselle and is located between the Wehlener Sonnenuhr and the Graacher Domprobst vineyard sites.
The south-facing steep slopes, with inclines of up to 60°, are located at 180 m above sea level. The steep slopes have grey, weathered Devon slate soils with a high proportion of fine earth, a relatively heavy soil given the Moselle conditions. The results of these conditions create full-bodied, spicy and aromatic wines with an unbelievable ageing potential. Other characteristics are distinctive peach aromas with a trace of wild herbs, fine earthy components and a great deal of elegance.
Kaseler Nies'chen:
Kaseler Nies'chen is Kesselstatt's best vineyard on the Ruwer. The estate owns 4,4 hectares which contain hard blue slate soils. Nies'chen is a south facing slope with an inclination of 60-70°. These wines have the highest minerality of all Moselle-Saar-Ruwer Rieslings and often show an aroma of black currents. The vineyard itself is situated above the old monastery of St. Irminen, owned by Kesselstatt since 1889. The name Nies'chen goes back to a nun called Angela (her nickname was Nies'chen) whose favorite wines were produced at this site.
Kaseler Kehrnagel
The Kaseler Kehrnagel domain (Kesselstatt-share equals approx. 1.8 hectare) is one of the best domains along the Rower and features weathered Devon shale and deep soil. The wines are extremely mineral as a result of the high proportion of shale and are especially good in dry years, as the deep, heavy slaty soil has a high water capacity, thereby producing especially juicy, full-bodied Rieslings.
Ockfener Bockstein
The Kaseler Kehrnagel vineyard (Kesselstatt owns 1.8 hectares) is one of the best sites along the Ruwer with weathered slate and very deep soils. Due to the high content of fine slate soil and its good capacity to hold water, the Kehrnagel wines show great minerality and are exceptionally wonderful in dry, warm vintages. The wines are very fruity, juicy and fullbodied – a great pleasure for a Riesling fan.
Piesporter Goldtröpfchen:
The steep, rocky vineyard "Goldtröpfchen", meaning 'little gold drop,' located above the romantic wine village of Piesport is one of the best known sites along the Moselle. Due to the extreme bend of the Moselle, this vineyard has a shape like an amphitheater opening to the south. The vineyard is located southeast to southwest and has an enormous incline of 60° with light gray slate weathered soil.
The vineyard's natural conditions create very mineral driven wines with an exciting fruit and a playful elegance. Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt owns 4.5 hectare of this famous site.
Piesporter Domherr
This south-southeast facing vineyard "Domherr" is located in the heart of the Goldtröpfchen. Since it is only 11 hectares in size, it is one of the smallest sites on the Moselle.
This steep vineyard, at 120-150 meters above sea level, is extremely rocky and has a stony soil containing weathered shale. A fully restored Roman winepress can be found at the center of this small area, which is reused each year as part of a festival in memorian of the golden age of Roman winemaking.
Scharzhofberger
The Scharzhofberg, probably one of the Saar?s most famous vineyards, is found at one of the side valleys of the Saar. Hugh Johnson and Stuart Pigott classify this vineyard as the "Grand Cru" Saar vineyard. Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt winery owns 6.6 hectares, one of the largest owners of Scharzhofberg.
The south slope, with 35 - 60° inclination, consists of clay-like, loamy, coarse soisl with up to 70 % of slate content.
The Scharzhofberger wines are both elegant and playful on the palate with minerality. With age, these wines develop a basket full if ripe fruit. They are famous for their longetivity and ageing potential.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr
The world famous Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard, meaning 'sundial', is located in the imposing slate-slope hillside to the right of the Mosel (at 110-190 meters above sea level), which stretches out from Bernkastel past Graach and Wehlen and on to Zeltingen. This wine undisputedly belongs to the best the central Moselle valley has to offer.
Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt owns 0.3 hectare in this pure south-facing location with a 50° incline. The rocky soil is rich with fine-grained, weathered Devon shale and some clay. Combined with a perfect microclimate, this location offers the basis for full-bodied, fruity wines with elegance and depth.
Wiltinger Gottesfuss
The Wiltinger Gottesfuß vineyard (160-260 meters above sea level) is one of the best sites in the Saar. The name Gottesfuss means "God's foot", indicating the great quality of its Terroir and its steepness. The vineyard is extremely steep with an inclination of 65 % and faces south-southwest. This small site is only 4,4 ha in size, of which Kesselstatt owns 1,8 ha. It has loamy, stony, weathered slate soils. The wines show peach flavors, raciness and a fruity elegance with some efervecence. |