Falkenstein Estate is nestled amidst the vineyards near Krettnach, a small village in the so-called Konzer Tälchen. This side valley of the Saar was ridiculed for its extremely cool climate for decades, but is gaining increasing attention in times of climate change. One man in particular has put the wines of the valley on the wish list of wine lovers worldwide: Erich Weber. It all began in 1981, when Erich Weber, after studying viticulture in Geisenheim, bought the dilapidated Falkensteinhof, an old branch of the well-known Trier winery Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium (today Bischöfliche Weingüter), and renovated it independently over years of painstaking manual labor. He began cultivating his family's vineyards around Niedermennig and Krettnach with the simplest equipment – in other words, with a lot of passion, willpower, and manual labor – and making wine from them. It is therefore a comparatively young operation, but could hardly be more traditional. Today, the winery cultivates a total of around 10 hectares, of which the vast majority is planted with Riesling. However, the winery also owns a Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir vineyard. Riesling thrives in the steep slate slopes of Niedermenniger Herrenberg, Niedermenniger Sonnenberg, Krettnacher Euchariusberg and Krettnacher Altenberg, today excellently, and benefits from the overall cooler climate of the Konzer Tälchen as well as the finely weathered, well-watered soils, often interspersed with quartz and diabase, a green volcanic rock. Even in Tranchot's old vineyard map, which he created between 1803 and 1813 on the orders of Napoleon, the Euchariusberg (then called Kruschock) was marked as a vineyard area. In Clotten's later Prussian tax map (1868), Krettnacher Altenberg and Euchariusberg were marked dark red and thus counted among the few top-rated vineyards of the Saar, falling into the highest tax bracket. Therefore, the vineyards were once considered to be of similar importance to Scharzhofberger or Ockfener Bockstein. These old, outstanding vineyards had long been forgotten, and it took a visionary like Erich Weber to revive them.



"Sensation: Hofgut Falkenstein Ockfener Bockstein Kabinett "Mia" and "Schorsch"!«

2022 brought exciting news for all Hofgut Falkenstein fans! For generations, our family has cultivated vineyards in the Ockfener Bockstein location. Our maternal family had a large barrel wine operation for its time, and our paternal family owned a tavern where their own wine was served. Over the years, almost all the land was sold, except for the two best plots in the original Ockfener Bockstein. Until 2003, our family continued to cultivate wine here as a side job, delivering the grapes to the cooperative – what a waste from today's perspective... Afterwards, the vineyards were leased to a local winemaker who cultivated and preserved them very well for a long time. Then, in 2020, we decided to re-lease the land, and what could be more exciting than a collaboration with the masters of the Kabinett from the Konzer Tälchen?! Thus, the Webers leave their home valley for the first time and venture into one of the best Riesling vineyards in the world: With the 2021 vintage, Hofgut Falkenstein cultivates two outstanding Riesling plots in the world-famous Ockfener Bockstein. Both plots are located in the best part of the original Ockfener Bockstein, which was colored dark red on the old Clotten map and thus stands for the highest quality. In the best Falkenstein tradition, both wines bear the names of the previous owners: The lower plot with over 50-year-old vines comes from our maternal family and therefore bears the name of our grandmother "Mia" (Maria). The upper plot with approximately 15-year-old vines comes from our paternal family and accordingly bears the name of our grandfather "Schorsch" (Georg). Although both plots are less than 100 meters 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) also make wine outside the valley! Forget everything you've tasted of Bockstein so far. Normally, this rather warm location produces full-bodied and fragrant wines with restrained acidity - but not in this case - "Bockstein Falkenstein-Style"! We are sure that Grandpa Schorsch and Grandma Mia would be proud if they knew what grandiose wines are produced in their vineyards today. We couldn't be prouder to have the wine from our own vineyards in our glasses today and to share it with you!

After last year's sensational debut, we were naturally very curious to see how the vines had developed under the good care of Johannes & Erich Weber in such a dry vintage. It is truly amazing how quickly significant changes become noticeable. Despite weeks of drought, the foliage remained lush green throughout the summer of 2022 and
Vital. The grapes were slightly smaller and noticeably looser than last year, with perfect moderate ripeness, the finest acidity and wonderfully precise fruit aroma. In other words: The grape harvest in bright sunshine was simply a pleasure!

2022 went down in history as one of the sunniest and driest years of recent decades – fundamentally very good conditions for an outstanding vintage! However, the years of drought are increasingly becoming a very serious problem that our Saar winemakers have to face. Especially in these dry/hot years, the family Weber's years of careful and natural soil cultivation pay off. By incorporating the finest manure from happy pasture cattle from the Konzertal valley, a very good clay-humus layer has been built up in the vineyards over the years, which can store and release water very well. In addition, Hofgut Falkenstein possesses a unique treasure trove of old vines in the best locations, which can reach even deep-lying water reserves with their roots and therefore have no problems with longer dry periods. Accordingly, this year's barrel tasting yielded incredibly refined, crystal-clear and delicately fruity Rieslings, which boast a slightly riper, yellow-fruited aroma compared to the last vintage, without sacrificing the typical Falkensteiner acidity, lightness and precision!



"The long and arduous journey to becoming a trendy cult winery"

"Winzer Weber," as he always introduces himself on the phone, understands himself as a winegrower in the literal sense. In his view, a good winemaker must above all be a good farmer, dedicated with love and devotion to the care of his vines to ensure the best possible grape quality – a perspective very reminiscent of Egon Müller's conviction. This passion for craftsmanship was what prevented him from despairing during the difficult 1980s 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 esteem among experts, and a real hype has arisen around this small cult winery both domestically and internationally. Traditionally, the vast majority of the harvest went to the USA, and so the wines were almost impossible to obtain in Germany for many years. Now, a few more bottles remain in Germany, but these are far from enough to meet the extremely high demand. Curious, considering that just over 10 years ago almost nobody knew the wines, and Erich Weber in his early days of the 80s and 90s had to fight every year to wrest palatable grapes from the harsh climate of the valley and to 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 stands today. According to Gault & Millau, Hofgut Falkenstein, with a 4.5-star rating, is among the absolute top in Germany!



"Traditional craftsmanship and controlled idleness as the highest principle"

However, the cultivation methods and winemaking have hardly changed in over 30 years! The focus is clearly on the work in the vineyard. Another key to success is low yields and old vines. The average age of the Weber vines is 40-50 years, and they still own over a hectare of 60-90 year old rootstock vines in the Krettnacher Euchariusberg. They have always worked very naturally, but do not strive for organic certification, as they prefer to use synthetic fungicides against Peronospora and Oidium instead of using 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.
like, for example, cow manure. All vineyard work is carried out by the Webers themselves with the support of some helpers. The grape harvest at Hofgut Falkenstein takes place quite early, and they are always one of the first known wineries to start harvesting. The reason is that they want to keep the alcohol content of the wines as low as possible and maintain their lightness, freshness, and brilliant acidity. The grapes are hand-picked by a well-coordinated team of family members, friends, and neighbors and immediately taken to the winery. Grapes that do not meet the Webers' quality standards are rigorously sorted out and sold to the local winemakers' cooperative in Wiltingen. The harvested whole grapes are immediately pressed in the winery, and the must flows by gravity into the wooden barrel cellar below. There it is allowed to "settle" overnight, meaning that the sediment in the must naturally settles to the bottom of the barrels. Then the clear must is transferred to another barrel for fermentation, and the natural yeasts can begin their work. Strict attention is paid to ensuring that the grapes from the different plots are vinified separately. This means that the grapes from different plots are not blended together, as is common practice today, but are vinified and bottled separately. This explains why the Webers have several wines with the same appellation, the same predicate, and the same sweetness level in their portfolio, 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 plot (e.g., Ober Schäferhaus) or is based on the previous owner of the plot. So, a barrel tasting at the Webers might remind someone of their first family celebration at their girlfriend's house, where they were introduced to Mother Anna, Uncle Peter, Lorenz Manni, Gisela, Egon, and Kugel Peter in turn! Each barrel is a unique wine personality, which has become increasingly popular in recent years, so the Webers decided last year to print it on the label next to the AP number. Today, Johannes, Erich's middle son, is primarily responsible for the Falkenstein wines. He focuses more on off-dry Rieslings, although the term "sweet" would be inappropriate for his Rieslings with residual sugar. He is extremely successful with this approach, as his off-dry 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 lets the must ferment in old wooden casks in the cool, dark cellar, consciously forgoing any winemaking aids such as enzymes, fermentation aids, or fining agents. The "controlled inaction" often cited by winemakers has been the top priority here for decades, and in addition to forgoing any additives, the Webers also forgo chaptalization (adding sugar to increase alcohol content) and acidification of the wines. The wines should go into the bottle exactly as the vintage has yielded. This also explains why there were few dry wines in some years, such as 2018, as the spontaneous yeasts in the dry vintage found it difficult to ferment 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 of microorganisms and therefore require only a small amount of 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 ready-to-bottle wines with the utmost care, as they want to preserve and bottle the natural fermentation carbon dioxide as much as possible. 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 of all their wines. The Webers are absolute believers and really leave nothing to chance!



"Hate-it-or-love-it wines with merciless drinkability"

The style of Hofgut Falkenstein wines can be summarized succinctly: Ultra-classic! They have an unadorned, crystal-clear aromaticity, often appear austere, and possess as their most striking characteristic an extremely high (mostly double-digit) but simultaneously ripe acidity that sweeps across the tongue as precisely as a high-powered laser. The dry wines are something for true connoisseurs. Bone-dry, austere, feather-light yet profound, equipped with mouth-watering acidity, saline minerality, and pronounced smoky notes. We remember well the first barrel tasting of the 2019 Kabinett dry "Egon," where after the first sniff we looked at each other completely astonished and briefly wondered whether we were in a Saar wine cellar or rather at a winter storm on a rugged coastline. And the association wasn't so bad, because Johannes explained to us that this wine reminded him of the barren, cold, and moss-covered rock landscapes of Iceland – something we can wholeheartedly agree with! The semi-dry wines are somewhat more universally palatable. Although the slightly higher residual sugar gives the wines a little more apparent charm at first, they still appear rather dry due to their high acidity. The sweet wines are unparalleled in their pure taste and brilliant, finely honed acidity and have a relentless drinkability like we have rarely experienced. If we had to describe the wines of Hofgut Falkenstein in one word, it would be drinking pleasure. It's pointless to open only one bottle of Falkenstein, because you quickly wonder 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 realize that you unconsciously reached for the glass again and again because the wine ignited a subtle fireworks of flavor on the palate that is simply irresistible. One could also call the wines uncompromising. Those wine drinkers among us who have problems with acidity will have a hard time with these wines. However, anyone looking for this purist and supremely drinkable style will hardly find anything comparable in the seemingly endless world of wine. Therefore, these are truly "hate-it-or-love-it" wines, which either immediately captivate you, or the first sip makes your face contort like a Centershock candy. Anyone who has previously feared residual sugar wines should throw their beliefs overboard here and immerse themselves in the world of delicately sweet and sweet wines, which taste far drier due to the low pH values and high acidity than the residual sugar on the label would suggest. The Webers' wines are true unique pieces that reflect their origin in the most precise form, down to the individual vineyard plots.