WELCOME TO GUT HERMANNSBERG WINERY CATERING CONFERENCES EVENTS GUESTHOUSE VINOTHEQUE RIESLING

Not even 200 metres away from the Kupfergrube, but its soils and the salient elements of their character could not be any more different: argillaceous schist in the subsoil covered by wind-blown loess. Its name comes down from origins during the period of ancient Roman conquest, referring to the god Hermes – Mercury – who protected travellers, perhaps a site where rituals were once performed. Melaphyre was introduced more than a hundred years ago during a period of mining. This site reacts in a somewhat reticent fashion to any outside influence – it seems to be even-tempered and yes, on occasion almost shy. Often underestimated as the ‘little brother’ to the Hermannshöhle, it always proves worth the effort to coax this vineyard out of its customary shell. There’s no superficial glint and glitter about it, it remains quite composed and serene. Aware of its strengths, Hermmansberg patiently awaits its moment.

This is one of the world’s most spectacular vineyard sites. The towering rock massif Rotenfels embraces the small vineyard like an amphitheatre surrounding a stage, a stage upon which only Riesling can play so impressively. The crenulations above the vineyard evoke the form of battlements and have given the site its name. Here the vines are rooted deep in the rhyolite gravels, and a cooling breeze constantly wafts its way about the vines. Anybody who has seen the Rotenfels glowing in the light of evening can well imagine what stories the vines in the Bastei have to tell. As with the vineyard site Kertz, the interplay of sunlight and shade demands particular attention. The stone cliff watches over the vines, while providing a gigantic repository for the sun’s warmth as well.

This site lies between Hermannsberg and Kupfergrube, but is in no way a synthesis of the two. The name gives a hint: its Lemberg porphyry, like melaphyre a species of rock with volcanic origins, is far harder in texture and yellowish, almost white in colour. The extremely meagre soils of the vineyard face south and southwest. The soil is pure in character, hence the preparation of the wine must adhere to puristic models. Here, a sense of crystalline minerality is the site’s trademark – and a challenge for the winegrower and the winelover as well.

Located in the Alsenztal, a side valley off the Nahe River, this is the vineyard furthest distant from Gut Hermannsberg’s cellar. Its steep, southerly oriented slopes rise high above Altenbamberg, with soils developed during the Rotliegend period, which are permeated with rhyolite (formerly called quartz porphyry). The reddish colour indicates high iron content and has thus given the site its name. And it is through this unique mineral constitution of the wines that the Rotenberg becomes so exceptional. The light breeze that blows around its heights provides that Certain Extra Something and allows the clusters to ripen till late in the season.

The Felsenberg is a scree slope formed from the rocks that lie above it, hence the name. Seated in the valley between the river and the rock face, this extremely steep vineyard with optimal southern exposure offers the ideal conditions for Riesling. Its brown-grey, occasionally reddish soils of melaphyre punctuated with stony-gritty clays are easily warmed. A distinctive microclimate, which blesses our grapes with an extended period in which to ripen. However, the moment of harvest must be correctly selected, in order to maintain the cool sense of freshness and comprehensively communicate all of the potential minerality inherent in the material.