Hofgut Falkenstein

The Salt of the Saar

Erich and Johannes Weber of Hofgut Falkenstein concentrate on the essentials and thus have become creators of outstanding Saar Rieslings. One could almost speak of the unknown fifth element, with which the two growers enrich the wines. As a result, the father-and-son team produce extremely steely, salty, and ultra-traditional Saar Rieslings.

The Weber family cultivate about 8 ha of mainly old Riesling vines—over 1 ha ungrafted—in a side valley of the Saar known as Konzer Tälchen.

The Falkensteiner Hof once belonged to the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Trier. After decades of decay, Erich Weber and his wife, Marita, bought the property in 1985 and slowly built it back up.

All the Riesling grapes are hand-picked and placed, via gravity, in whole bunches into a pneumatic press for two to three hours. The ensuing musts are left overnight to settle naturally by sedimentation and are then exclusively fermented with ambient yeasts in old oak Fuder casks. The top sites are located on south-facing slopes, such as Niedermenniger Herrenberg, Niedermenniger Sonnenberg, Krettnacher Euchariusberg, and Krettnacher Altenberg.