At about 80 acres, the Maximin Grünhaus estate comprises three vineyards -- two of which are "first growths." Its winemaking tradition stems from the 10th century, before the riesling grape was discovered.
Maximin GrünhausCarl von Schubert upholdsa legacy of noble Ruwer Riesling
By Steve PitcherThese days, distinguishing one's wines from among thousands of increasingly high-caliber global bottlings is a challenge. Even established European houses with sterling histories struggle for notice. Exceptions to the rule, however, do exist. In France, there is the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; in Spain, Vega Sicilia; Italy, Gaja; and in Germany, Maximin Grünhaus.
This venerable property is unique among wine estates, not only in Germany, but also throughout the world. It encompasses a trio of individually expressive vineyards, two of which are "first growths," situated on a single, perfectly exposed hill. Each of its three vineyards is an einzellage, or monopole, entirely in the possession of a single grower, with its grapes used exclusively for the estate's wines. And, as the name of the estate is the same as that of its monopole, Grünhaus is not only an einzellage, but also an alleinbesitz - sort of a super monopole - entitled to omit the name of the nearest town from its labels as superfluous. Grünhaus wines are in a class of their own with filigree, lacy elegance and balance unlike any other German Rieslings. And the Grünhaus tradition is hundreds of years old, tracing its history to the 10th century - even before the riesling grape was discovered.
Germany's greatest Rieslings come from hillside vineyards. Indeed, the German word for vineyard is weinberg, which translates literally as wine hill. While a vineyard planted on flat terrain is also called a weinberg, it's rare that its wine will be the equal of that produced from a hillside where, among other things, soils are typically shallow, restricting vigor and yield. The Germans took their cue from the Romans, who planted the first vineyards
in the Germanic areas of Gaul, starting in the 1st century A.D., on the slopes and hillsides along the Rhine and Mosel rivers from what is now Mainz to Trier (which was then called Treverorum after its original settlers, the Celtic tribe of the Trevori, and is today considered to be Germany's oldest town). The ancient Roman saying, "Bacchus amat colles" - Bacchus loves the hills - likely inspired these plantings.
In the Middle Ages, the tradition of Roman viticulture was vigorously maintained by monastic orders, such as the Benedictines who, like the Carthusians and the more acetic Cistercians, had substantial vineyard holdings and produced large quantities of wine for both ceremony and the table. In the 10th century, the Benedictine monks of the abbey of St. Maximin (Maximinus in the Latin) in Trier acquired what would become one of the world's greatest vineyards: On the 6th of February in 966, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I (called the Great) granted the order a large parcel of land just outside Trier (pronounced TREE-ur), a short distance away from the Ruwer River near the point where it joins the Mosel. The grant included a large, green house with spacious cellars dating from Roman times, which the Benedictines would use as a monastery, and an imposing, vine-covered hill with steep, south-facing slopes. (The actual document detailing the transaction rests today in the French National Library in Paris.) The property, including its vineyard, took its name from the medieval monks' venerated St. Maximin and the green house (grünhaus) on the grounds.
From the 10th century onward, the monks made wine - most likely from elbling, a hardy, high-acid variety that had been cultivated since Roman times and dominated German vineyards until the late Middle Ages - and sold it from the property. In the 16th century, riesling gained recognition for superior quality and began to supplant elbling throughout the Rhine and Mosel regions. Documents from this period indicate that Maximin Grünhaus wines were even then recognized for their superior quality, fetching the highest prices in the region.
As the monks came to know their wine hill over centuries of harvests, it became clear that it yielded three categories of wine, and out of their simple classification system the Maximin Grünhaus vineyards acquired their names. The wines from the Abtsberg (Abbot's Hill) were reserved for the abbot in Trier, those from the Herrenberg (Gentlemen's Hill) were for the monks, and the uninitiated brothers of the order drank the wines of the Bruderberg (Brother Hill).
The monastic life continued at Maximin Grünhaus until 1802 when, during the Napoleonic occupation, the monastery was forced to turn over possession of the estate to the French government, continuing the French revolutionary practice of secularizing church lands. In 1810, Maximin Grünhaus was sold at auction in Paris to its first private owner, Freiherr (Baron) von Handel. His grandson inherited the estate in the 1850s and built the magnificent Kavalierhaus, which graces the grounds today and is home to the current owner, Carl von Schubert and his family. "In 1882, my great-great-grandfather, Freiherr von Stumm-Halberg, bought Grünhaus," von Schubert notes. "As his only son died at the age of two years, his eldest daughter, Ida, received Maximin Grünhaus on the morning of her wedding to General Conrad von Schubert, my great-grandfather."
Von Schubert is a remarkably refined yet affable gentleman with a subtly distinguished air of nobility about him, and is among the most aristocratic proprietors in Germany. A tireless champion of the estate, he has managed Maximin Grünhaus since 1981 when his father, Andreas, handed him the reins. For the last half-century, the wines have been crafted by winemaker and vineyard manager Alfons Heinrich, who began working at the estate in 1952 (he took his well-earned retirement this year in January). Heinrich's successor, 37-year-old Stefan Kraml, came on board last February after a five-year stint administering Weingut von Othegraven-Kanzemer Berg in the Saar. He had previously worked at some of the leading wine estates in the Rheingau and Rheinhessen and studied his craft at the University of Geisenheim. Vintage 2004 will be his first harvest at Grünhaus.
"I met Stefan Kraml last September and was very impressed by his vision of the ideal Riesling and his methods of how to work in the vineyards to obtain the best qualities possible," von Schubert recounts. "Together we have many ideas on how to improve the standards of excellent Rieslings in Maximin Grünhaus without changing the ideal character of our very fruity, minerally wines, which always should have this perfect ability to age. In my eyes," he continues, "Stefan Kraml is able to take over and continue the high quality standards of Alfons Heinrich."
Kraml has his work cut out for him because the von Schubert estate essentially sets the benchmark for the finest wines of the Ruwer (pronounced ROO-ver). Here and along the Mosel and its other tributary, the Saar, character and quality are derived from the combination of steep, south-facing slopes, slate-rich soils and the riesling grape. Both Ruwer and Saar Rieslings are more fragrant and have more pronounced acidity than their softer and fuller Mosel counterparts. But Ruwer wines integrate that brisk acidity with more expressive fruit than those of the Saar, and exhibit distinctive earthy, herbal and floral aromas, in contrast to Saar Rieslings' apple, citrus and white peach aromas tinged with subtle minerality.
Another distinction worth noting is that the classic Rieslings of Maximin Grünhaus, as well as those of the region's other superb producer, Karthäuserhof, are noticeably drier in style than those of the Saar and certainly the Mosel, from kabinett through auslese. It's not surprising that both estates - the "first growths" of the Ruwer - are acclaimed for their trocken and halbtrocken Rieslings as well, which account for a large percentage of estate production - 60 percent in the case of Grünhaus. "The basis of the unique qualities of Grünhaus wines are the steep vineyards on the southern slope of the Grüneberg," von Schubert explains. "They are subdivided into the sites of Bruderberg, Herrenberg and Abtsberg, which are differentiated by their soils and elevation."
Maximin Grünhaus encloses about 80 acres and is located near the small town of Mertesdorf. Von Schubert is one of very few wine producers in Germany - Schloss Johannisberg, Schloss Vollrads and Karthäuserhof also come to mind - fortunate enough to have all his vineyards in close proximity to the estate buildings, similar to the layout of a Bordeaux château. Two of these weinbergs, Herrenberg and Abtsberg, are the quality equivalent of a Burgundian grand cru, and all are planted exclusively to riesling, arguably the finest white grape variety on the planet. The estate is laid out a little more than one kilometer west (or 1.5 miles) of the Ruwer - really not much more than a stream with an attitude - which flows into the Mosel just a couple of kilometers away, about six kilometers downstream from the city of Trier.
The river doesn't have much effect on the Grünhaus vineyards because of its size and distance from the slopes. Hence the grapes ripen without the benefit of sunlight reflected off the water into the vineyard (which is more common in other parts of the Mosel growing region) and rely instead on the heat-reflecting quality of slate-rich soils. This scenario partly accounts for the distinctive character of the Grünhaus wines, which display a combination of aromatic intensity, delicacy and crispness that Rieslings of no other winegrowing region can match. As fresh, young wines or as mature wines of 10, 20 and more years of age, they possess a charm and sophistication that make them both delightful and fascinating. The estate's hallmark floral, herbal and mineral notes can be found even in the QbA wines of a sub-par vintage. Dry (trocken) wines are taken as seriously as those with natural sweetness, and exceptional results are achieved with both styles.
As the monks learned long ago, each of the vineyards speaks with its own voice in every vintage. The French would say the Grünhaus wines display goût de terroir; the Germans call it bodengeschmack - the taste of the special place where the grapes were grown. The one-hectare Bruderberg vineyard (one hectare is equal to 2.47 acres) is the smallest site, located on a lower, easterly edge of the slope and somewhat flatter than the other sites, with a light soil of weathered, blue Devonian slate that's fairly deep. "The Bruderberg wines are fragrant and robust with fine traces of minerality from the Devonian slate, but seldom attain the finesse and complexity of the other two sites," von Schubert observes. Bruderberg Rieslings are not exported to the United States, but have an enthusiastic German following.
The 14-hectare Abstberg "also has weathered, blue Devonian slate soils," von Schubert notes, "but the ground here is substantially steeper, with more stones and drier than in Bruderberg." In fact, the soil is pure blue Devonian slate. The walled vineyard, with its impressive, arched stone gate, clings to the middle of the steepest section of the slope and yields wines that taste different than those of the other two vineyards, showing less overtly ripe fruit flavors. They are the most profound of the Maximin Grünhaus wines, and require patience to fully appreciate their many facets.
"The Abtsberg Rieslings are wines of breathtaking breed and a steely backbone," asserts von Schubert, who admits that in their youth they can be rather cold and hard, yet "they have the potential to achieve maturity over decades." A 1990 Abtsberg Auslese he poured for me over dinner a few years ago neatly illustrates his point. It exhibited a forward, complex, fragrant nose of slate minerality, peach, grapefruit and a hint of garden herbs. It was very impressive on the palate; unctuous with layers of intense stone fruits, spiciness and minerality,
buoyed by crisp acidity. My notes concluded: "Extraordinary! A drama of flavors."
The largest of the trio of vineyards, the 19-hectare Herrenberg comprises the top of the hillside at an elevation of 820 feet, as well as a portion of the mid-hill. And, like the Abtsberg, the vineyard is walled with its own stone gate. The soils here are a mix of slates, mostly red with a bit of blue, which produces filigreed -- think of lacework made of steel threads -- strong wines with expressive aromas and flavors even when young. They always display fine acidity and a subtle minerality. "Red slate dominates this vineyard, which lends the wines a livelier, juicier and more precocious style than Abtsberg Rieslings," von Schubert notes. "In dry years, Rieslings from the Herrenberg, with its deep soils, are even capable of surpassing those of the Abtsberg. In the 2002 vintage, for example, the Herrenberg QbAs and Kabinetts are better than those from the Abtsberg." They're also considered more forward than those of the Abtsberg and easier to appreciate early on, offering opulent aromas and succulent, tropical fruit flavors.
Farmed organically, the grapes are picked by hand with several passes through the vineyards to harvest the fruit at varying stages of ripeness for the different quality levels. "In order to produce a top Riesling in the Ruwer, above all it's necessary to moderate yields," von Schubert asserts. "In the 1990s, we reduced our average yield in Maximin Grünhaus by 10 to 20 percent, to an average of 45 hectoliters per hectare," which translates to just a little over two-and-a-half tons per acre and an annual estate production of roughly 20,000 cases.
While it's not always possible to produce beerenauslese or trockenbeerenauslese (those styles require ultraripe fruit usually affected with botrytis), von Schubert strives each year to save enough fruit for eiswein production. Designated blocks in Herrenberg and Abtsberg, with healthy grapes unaffected by botrytis, are left hanging on the vine into late autumn and beyond in anticipation of sub-freezing temperatures. The drop may not even occur until the new year because temperatures of 18 degrees Fahrenheit or colder are required to freeze the grapes. In the interim, the grapes are shielded from wind and precipitation with protective plastic film.
Von Schubert's early attempts at eiswein production in the 1980s were not always successful. Apparently, the plastic films intended to harbor the grapes were instead harming them. "After a long period, the humid atmosphere inside caused all sorts of mould and rot," he relates. "But in 1989, a special plastic film with micropores became available in Germany that made the evaporation of humidity possible, but the penetration of rain impossible." The advantage of this new material yielded what he calls "a beautiful series of eisweins, interrupted only by 1992 and 1994." An interesting bonus effect of the new wrapper was discovered by Heinrich and von Schubert in 1993: the micropore plastic film enabled the development of a clean and healthy botrytis. They then harvested, in addition to eiswein, beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese. Von Schubert notes that this particular success has been repeated several times since then. [Editor's Note: For more on the subject of eiswein, see "Cold Gold" by Howard G. Goldberg in the February/March 2004 issue.]
Despite the use of modern techniques in the cellar, Maximin Grünhaus is a bastion of traditional wine culture in Germany. All the wines are fermented with indigenous or native yeasts and aged in neutral oak barrels. Minimal intervention is the philosophy at the estate: "In the vineyard as in the cellar, our motto is: As much intervention and handling as necessary, as little as possible," von Schubert affirms.
"The 2002 vintage brought us wines that represent the ideals of Riesling wines in Maximin Grünhaus," he continues. "This vintage gave us very focused, lively, mineral and fruity Riesling wines that are light and delicate, offer a long finish, depth and an extraordinary longevity." He views them as "inspiring wines" that don't tire the palate. "They are light without being lightweights; they are just like butterflies, very colorful and very delightful beings," he quips. Essentially, the 2002 harvest delivered qualities that produced Maximin Grünhaus Riesling wines that von Schubert deems "quite near perfection." When asked to compare it to a similar past vintage, he demurs. "I always find it very difficult to compare vintages because every year so many factors can be different. Thinking of the last 40 to 50 years, I really find nothing to compare with 2002."
There is a way, however, to determine how Maximin Grünhaus Rieslings will behave after their release. "When the summer is cool and/or wet and the grapes achieve ripeness in the fall, the wine will close down after two years or so and will stay closed for about ten years," von Schubert explains. "When the summer is warm, regardless of ripeness achieved in the fall, the wine will be more open earlier and stay that way." Vintage 2002 is an example of the latter: It was a markedly warm year with summer temperatures in this cool-climate country reaching an astounding high of 96 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, the first half of the vintage was the third warmest on record since the University of Geisenheim began logging meteorological data in 1884.
The unmistakable art nouveau label on the Maximin Grünhaus bottles has changed little since it first appeared in 1904. The ornate lower label bears the crest of the von Schubert family, the manor house and the vineyards, and is used by itself on the QbA bottlings. (At one point, our government's BATF raised concerns about the flesh coloring of the cherubs cavorting at the base of the crest, asserting that it made the label pornographic. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the two pink cherubs remain at their posts today.) With all higher quality level wines - kabinett through eiswein - a neck-label is added that displays the family crest together with the quality category and any special distinction, such as a particular fuder, or barrel or number.
"When one thinks of the great wine estates of the world, inevitably Maximin Grünhaus and von Schubert come to mind," asserts importer Dade Thieriot, whose Dee Vine Wines in San Francisco specializes in German wines. "And if they don't, you have no idea what you are missing. The noble sites of Herrenberg and Abtsberg produce some of the most elegant and jewel-like Rieslings in all of Germany, wines of tremendous depth, balance and ageability," Thieriot continues. "They are in a class of their own - 'desert island' wines of the first rank!"
By all measures, these wines are the finest expressions of the special character of Rieslings from the little Ruwer valley near Trier. Like exquisite jewels, they are not inexpensive, but then nothing this precious comes cheap.
Based in San Francisco, Contributing Editor Steve Pitcher is president of the Bay Area chapter of the German Wine Society, and is a 2003 recipient of the Merit Cross of the German Order of Merit, the highest tribute Germany can pay an individual for service to the nation.
Tasting Bar
The following von Schubert Maximin Grünhaus wines were tasted in March at Bacar restaurant in San Francisco. They were not tasted blind.
2002 Riesling QbA, Ruwer -$18: Some predictable SO2 clears with airing, unmasking slightly earthy aromas of peachy fruit and a subtle minerality. Fleshy and juicy on the palate with crisp acidity and lip-smacking flavors that echo the nose, along with heightened minerality. Score: 89
2002 Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett, Ruwer - $22: Quite young and unevolved, yet hinting at apple-like fruit tinged with citrus and lime zest in both aroma and flavor, all buoyed by zingy acidity. Notes of loamy earth and minerality emerge in the medium-long finish. A firmly structured wine with potential to age marvelously over the next ten years. Score: 90
2002 Abtsberg Riesling Kabinett, Ruwer - $25: The vintage favored the Herrenberg Kabinett slightly over the Abtsberg, which is equally unevolved at this point, showing more peach and ginger than apple and citrus in the nose and the palate. Firm acidity promises a long life. Score: 89
2002 Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese, Ruwer - $28: Drier in style than traditional fruity spätlese, but not trocken, the Abtsberg offers attractive aromas of minerals and white peaches with a pretty citrus note emerging with airing. Deep, concentrated flavors replicate the nose and are kept in line by steely acidity. Score: 90
2002 Abtsberg Riesling Auslese, Ruwer - $41: Some SO2 at first, but with airing, intriguing aromas of dried apricot and white pepper emerge. Round, plump and juicy on the palate with rich flavors of peach-apricot fruit tinged with lime zest and pronounced minerality along with vibrant acidity. Score: 91
2002 Abtsberg Riesling Auslese No. 93, Ruwer - $70: Attractive, come-hither aromas of baked apple, Meyer lemon and rose petals are replicated on the complex palate, where the rich flavors are enhanced by amazing acidity, which brightens the experience. There's great extract here from the 50-year-old vines promising even greater delights after ten years of cellaring. Score: 96
2002 Herrenberg Riesling Auslese No. 149, Ruwer - $50: Rose petals and ripe Fuji apple on the nose are enhanced by an intriguing note of apple chips or dried apple and lemon zest. Juicy, rich and complex in the mouth with a crystalline purity of fruit that's fairly breathtaking, this auslese from Fuder No. 149 is almost the equal of its cellar mate from the Abtsberg. Score: 95
2002 Herrenberg Riesling Eiswein, Ruwer - $148 (375 ml): Aromas of honeycomb, red currant and lemon curd waft from the glass. On the palate, there's a burst of flavors - citrus, peach, apricot and honey - buoyed by crisp acidity and a steely tension. The flavors enthrall the palate for a full minute or more. Score: 98
2002 Abtsberg Riesling Eiswein, Ruwer - $173 (375 ml): Enchanting aromatics of ripe apple, peach cobbler, white grapefruit and burnished honeycomb which seem remarkably dry for all that fruit. Honey and pineapple flavors enrobe the palate, yet are never cloying, thanks to the wine's bracing acidity. Perceptively lighter in body than the Herrenberg Eiswein, yet not yielding anything in richness, this is an excellent example of filigree - like lace made with thin, taut, steel threads. Score: 99
2002 Abtsberg Riesling Eiswein No. 211, Ruwer - $224 (375 ml): Arguably a perfect wine of this type, sublime and vivid at the same time. Aromas of red currant, tropical fruit, wildflower honey and chamomile tea are slightly subdued, but persistent and sure to evolve with bottle age. Luscious and mouth-filling with intense, deeply concentrated flavors that replicate the nose, the wine is exquisitely sweet, but with "stealth sugar" that never intrudes on the crystalline fruit, framed by bracing acidity and finishing with a tangy citrus flourish. Score: 99+ - SP
