Hofgut Falkenstein is nestled among the vineyards near Krettnach, a small village in the so-called Konzer Tälchen (Konz Valley). This side valley of the Saar was, for decades, ridiculed for its extremely cool climate, but is now gaining increasing attention in times of climate change. One man, in particular, brought the wines of the valley onto the wish list of wine lovers around the world: Erich Weber. It all began in 1981 when, after studying viticulture in Geisenheim, Erich Weber bought the dilapidated Falkensteinerhof, an old branch of the well-known Trier winery Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium (now Bischöfliche Weingüter), and renovated it himself over years of painstaking manual labor. He began cultivating his family's vineyards around Niedermennig and Krettnach with the simplest equipment – meaning with a lot of passion, will, and manual labor – and pressing wines from them. It is therefore a comparatively young estate, yet it could hardly be more traditional. Today, the winery cultivates a total of about 10 hectares, the vast majority of which is planted with Riesling. However, the winery also owns a Pinot Blanc and a Pinot Noir vineyard. Riesling thrives excellently today on the slate steep slopes of Niedermenniger Herrenberg, Niedermenniger Sonnenberg, Krettnacher Euchariusberg, and Krettnacher Altenberg, benefiting from the generally cooler climate of the Konzer Tälchen and the finely weathered, well-watered soils often interspersed with quartz and diabase, a green volcanic rock. The Euchariusberg (then called Kruschock) was already designated as a vineyard area in Tranchot's old map of sites, which he produced between 1803 and 1813 at Napoleon's behest. In Clotten's later Prussian tax map (1868), Krettnacher Altenberg and Euchariusberg were then marked dark red and thus belonged to the few top-rated sites of the Saar that fell into the highest tax class. Thus, these sites were then accorded a similar status to a Scharzhofberger or Ockfener Bockstein. These old excellent sites had long been forgotten, and it took a visionary like Erich Weber to reawaken them.

The year 2022 brought exciting news for all Hofgut Falkenstein fans! For generations, our family has cultivated vineyards in the Ockfener Bockstein site. Our mother's side of the family ran a large bulk wine business for its time, and our father's side of the family had an inn where they served their own wine. Over the years, almost all the land was sold, except for the two best parcels in the original Ockfener Bockstein. Until 2003, our family cultivated these vineyards as a secondary occupation, delivering the grapes to the cooperative – what a waste from today's perspective... Afterward, the plots were leased to a local winemaker who maintained and preserved them very well for a long time. Then, in 2020, we decided to re-lease the plots, and what could have been more exciting than a collaboration with the Kabinett masters from the Konzer Tälchen?! Thus, for the first time, the Webers leave their home valley and venture into one of the world's best Riesling sites: with the 2021 vintage, Hofgut Falkenstein cultivates two excellent Riesling parcels in the world-renowned Ockfener Bockstein. Both parcels are located in the best part of the original Ockfener Bockstein, which was colored dark red on the old Clotten map, signifying the highest quality. In the best Falkenstein tradition, both wines bear the names of the previous owners: the lower parcel with over 50-year-old vines comes from our mother's side of the family and thus bears the name of our Grandma "Mia" (Maria). The upper parcel with approximately 15-year-old vines comes from our father's side of the family and analogously bears the name of our Grandpa "Schorsch" (Georg). Although both parcels are less than 100m apart, both wines taste completely different, and we can hardly decide which one we like better. But one thing is clear: the Weber family can (unsurprisingly) make wine outside of the valley too! Forget everything you've tasted from Bockstein so far. Normally, this rather warm site produces full-bodied and fragrant wines with restrained acidity – but not in this case – it's "Bockstein Falkenstein-Style"! We are sure Grandpa Schorsch and Grandma Mia would be proud if they knew what magnificent wines are being produced in their vineyards today. We couldn't be prouder to have the wine from our own vineyards in our glass today and to share it with you!

After last year's furious debut, we were naturally very curious to see how the vines had developed under Johannes & Erich Weber's good care in such a dry vintage. It's truly amazing how quickly significant changes become apparent. Despite weeks of drought, the canopy remained juicy green and vital throughout the summer of 2022. The grapes were again a little smaller and much looser-berried than last year, with perfect moderate ripeness, finest acidity, and wonderfully precise fruit aromatics. In other words: the grape harvest in brilliant sunshine was simply a pleasure!

2022 went down in history as one of the sunniest and driest years of the last decades – generally very good conditions for an excellent wine vintage! However, years of drought are increasingly becoming a very serious problem that our Saar winemakers must face. Especially in these dry/hot years, the Weber family's years of gentle and natural soil cultivation pay off. By introducing the finest manure from happy pasture-fed cattle from the Konzer Tälchen, a very good clay-humus layer has been built up in the vineyards over the years, which can store water very well and release it to the vines. In addition, Hofgut Falkenstein has a unique treasure of old vines in the best locations, which can reach deep-seated water reserves with their roots and thus have no problems with longer dry periods anyway. Accordingly, this year's barrel tasting revealed immensely polished, crystal-clear, and delicately fruity Rieslings, which, compared to last vintage, boast a somewhat riper, yellower fruit aromatic, without lacking the typical Falkenstein acidity, lightness, and precision!

"Winzer Weber," as he always introduces himself on the phone, sees himself as a wineGROWER in the literal sense of the word. In his view, a good winemaker must above all be a good farmer, who dedicates himself with love and devotion to tending his vines, thereby ensuring the best possible grape quality – a perspective that strongly recalls Egon Müller's conviction. It was this passion for craftsmanship that prevented him from despairing during the difficult period of the 80s and 90s and allowed him to hold onto his vision of classic Saar wines from the valley – and he was to be rewarded! Today, Falkenstein wines enjoy the highest reputation among experts, and a true hype has developed around this small cult winery both domestically and internationally. Traditionally, the vast majority of the harvest went to the USA, and so for many years, the wines were almost impossible to find in Germany. Meanwhile, a few more bottles remain in Germany, but these are far from enough to satisfy the extremely high demand. It's curious when you consider that just over 10 years ago, hardly anyone had the wines on their radar, and in his early days in the 80s and 90s, Erich Weber had to fight every year to coax palatable grapes from the harsh climate of the valley and find buyers for these idiosyncratic, very light, and acidic wines. Winzer Weber never tires of emphasizing that it was a damn hard piece of work until the winery reached where it is today. According to Gault & Millau, Hofgut Falkenstein, with a 4.5-star rating, is among the absolute elite in Germany!

However, nothing has changed in the cultivation methods and winemaking in over 30 years! The focus is clearly on working in the vineyard. Another key to success is low yields and old vines. The average age of the Weber's vines is 40-50 years, and they still own over one hectare of 60-90 year old ungrafted vines in the Krettnacher Euchariusberg. They have always worked very close to nature, but do not seek organic certification, as they prefer to use synthetic fungicides against downy mildew and powdery mildew rather than copper and sulfur. Copper accumulates in the soil over the years and has a negative impact on the organisms living there. For this reason, they also do not use synthetically produced fertilizers, but exclusively natural, organic fertilizers, such as cow manure. All vineyard work is carried out by the Webers themselves with the support of a few helpers. The grape harvest at Hofgut Falkenstein takes place intentionally quite early, so they are always one of the first well-known wineries to start harvesting. The reason for this is that they want to keep the alcohol content of the wines as low as possible and preserve the lightness, freshness, and brilliant acidity. The grapes are harvested by hand by a well-rehearsed team of family members, friends, and neighbors and immediately taken to the press. Grapes that do not meet the Webers' quality standards are rigorously sorted out and sold to the local winegrowers' cooperative in Wiltingen. The harvested whole bunches are immediately pressed in the press house, and the must is fed by gravity into the wooden barrel cellar below. There, it is left to "settle" overnight, meaning that the turbid substances in the must naturally settle at the bottom of the barrels. Subsequently, the clear must is transferred to another large barrel for fermentation, and the natural yeasts can start their work. Strict attention is paid to ensuring that the grapes from the different parcels are vinified separately. This means that the grapes from different parcels are not blended together, as is common today, but are vinified and bottled separately. This explains why the Webers have several wines in their portfolio with the same vineyard designation, the same predicate, and the same sweetness level, but which differ in their AP number (official test number). In addition, each individual barrel receives a "working title," which is either the name of the specific parcel (e.g., Ober Schäferhaus) or is based on the previous owner of the parcel. Thus, a barrel tasting at the Webers' might remind some of their first family celebration with a girlfriend, where they were introduced one after another to Mother Anna, Uncle Peter, Lorenz Manni, Gisela, Egon, and Kugel Peter! Each barrel in itself is a unique wine personality that has become increasingly popular in recent years, so much so that the Webers decided last year to print them on the label in addition to the AP number. Today, Johannes, Erich's middle son, is primarily responsible for the Falkenstein wines. He placed a greater focus on residual sweet Rieslings, although the term "sweet" would be out of place for his Rieslings with residual sugar. He is extremely successful with this, as his residual sweet Krettnacher Euchariusberg Kabinett "Gisela" 2019 won the title "Kabinett of the Year" in the renowned wine guide VINUM last year. Just like his father, Johannes Weber allows the musts to ferment in the old large barrels in the cool, dark cellar, consciously refraining from any winemaking agents such as enzymes, fermentation aids, or fining agents. The "controlled inaction" often quoted by winemakers has been the guiding principle here for decades, and in addition to refraining from any additives, the Webers also refrain from chaptalization (sugar addition to increase alcohol) and deacidification of the wines. The wines are intended to be bottled exactly as the vintage dictated. This also explains why in some years, most recently 2018, there were only a few dry wines, as the spontaneous yeasts in the dry vintage had difficulty fermenting the nutrient-poor musts to dryness. The wines generally remain on the fine lees until they are bottled in March/April. Due to the extremely low pH values of well below 3.0, the wines are naturally extremely resistant to any infestation by microorganisms and therefore require little sulfur during bottling. The Webers are among the few producers who have their own bottling plant and bottle, label, and equip all their wines themselves. They treat the wines ready for bottling with the utmost care, as they want to preserve the natural fermentation carbonic acid as much as possible and bring it to the bottle. This gives the young wines a slight sparkle and contributes to the overall refreshing Falkenstein experience. Erich and Johannes Weber follow the old natural wine philosophy and still insist on stating the predicate on the label for all their wines. The Webers are absolute conviction-driven individuals and truly leave nothing to chance!

The style of Hofgut Falkenstein wines can be succinctly summarized as: ultra-classic! They possess an unadorned, crystal-clear aromatic profile, often appearing austere, and their most distinctive characteristic is probably an extremely high (usually double-digit), yet ripe acidity that sweeps across the tongue with the precision of a high-powered laser. The dry wines are for true specialists. Bone dry, lean, feather-light, yet profound, they are endowed with mouth-watering acidity, salty minerality, and distinct smoky notes. We vividly recall our first barrel tasting of the 2019 Kabinett trocken "Egon," where, after the initial sniff, we exchanged astonished glances and briefly wondered if we were in a wine cellar on the Saar or amidst a winter storm on a rugged coastline. And that association wasn't far off, as Johannes then explained that this wine reminded him of the stark, cold, moss-covered rock landscapes of Iceland – a sentiment we wholeheartedly agree with! The off-dry wines are somewhat more universally palatable. While the slightly higher residual sugar initially lends the wines a more obvious charm, their high acidity still makes them taste rather dry. The sweet wines are unparalleled in their pure taste and brilliantly polished acidity, possessing a relentless drinkability we have rarely encountered. If we had to describe Hofgut Falkenstein wines in one word, it would be "trinkfreude" (drinking pleasure). It's pointless to open just one bottle of Falkenstein, as one quickly wonders if the contents have evaporated. You simply can't explain how the bottle was emptied so quickly by two people. However, if you pay attention, you'll realize you've unconsciously reached for your glass again and again because the wine ignited a subtle fireworks display of flavors on the palate that is simply irresistible. One could also call these wines uncompromising. Those wine drinkers among us who have issues with acidity will find these wines challenging. However, those who are specifically looking for this puristic and extraordinarily pleasurable style will find little comparable in the seemingly endless world of wines. Therefore, we are dealing with true "hate-it-or-love-it" wines here, which either immediately captivate you or cause your facial features to contort like a Warhead candy after the first sip. Anyone who has previously shied away from sweet wines should cast aside their preconceptions and immerse themselves in the world of off-dry and sweet wines, which, due to their low pH values and high acidity, taste far drier than the residual sugar on paper might suggest. The Webers' wines are true originals, reflecting their origin with the utmost precision, parcel by parcel.