Graacher Domprobst

Until the secularisation of church property by Napoleon in 1803, the best vineyard sites in Graach were largely church property. Therefore, the interest yield of the vineyards from the heart of the Graach parcels was destined for the cathedral provost of the Trier cathedral. Thus, the designated and exclusive filet piece of the Graach vineyards, enclosed by the Graach Himmelreich, was given the dignified name of Graach Domprobst due to its outstanding value.

It has been known for centuries what top wines this steep slope produces. Since the decree in 1787 by the Bishop of Trier, the sole head of the ecclesiastical office of the Cathedral Provost, only the Riesling grape has been cultivated because of the value of this site. In the Royal Prussian wine site classification of 1868, the Graach Domprobst was also designated and taxed as a site for the cultivation of the Riesling vine, alongside the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, the Ürziger Würzgarten or the Erdener Treppchen.

The exposed site in the middle of the sea of vines between Bernkastel and Wehlen has a slope of seventy percent and an optimal south-west orientation. Although the steep slope of Graach directly adjoins the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, the Domprobst core has a considerably deeper and stronger soil. The blue slate soil here, dominated by clay materials and lots of fine earth, has an excellent balance of dryness and moisture and makes it possible to produce very spicy and powerful top wines of the finest structure and polished minerality. The Riesling from the Graacher Domprobst always shows a multifaceted structure, appears complex in its aroma and clearly stands out from the surrounding sites with its herbaceous-earthy hints. The wines convince with an unusual character of maturity without showing unpleasant notes of ageing.