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Eberbach MonasteryImage: Deutsches Weininstitut
Eberbach Monastery. The former Cistercian monastery in Eberbach dates back to a foundation in 1136. Already in the Middle Ages, the monastery had a stately vineyard estate of over 300 hectares, which was essentially leased out. Little is known about the grape varieties of this time. In the middle of the 15th century, the cultivation of the red grape varieties Pinot Noir and Blauer Hängling is documented. Before Riesling began its triumphant advance in the Rheingau in the 18th century, the white grape varieties Heunisch, Gelber Orleans and Traminer probably predominated. With the secularisation, the monastery's vineyards became state domains. Today, the Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach form the largest wine estate in Germany. Eberbach Monastery also became famous as the location for the filming of Umberto Eco's classic novel The Name of the Rose.

Our latest ratings

WinereddryBlauer Spätburgunder

2019 Lahr Kronenbühl Spätburgunder SC Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.ERSTE LAGE® / VDP.ERSTES GEWÄCHS®

Wöhrle, Lahr

Germany

Baden • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 410 20 21 • 13 % vol alcohol

17.5🯅

Tasted on 7 February 2026 by Werner Elflein

Slightly transparent cherry red. Lightly woody nose with fine roasted aromas. Scents of dark forest berries, especially blackberries. Cool, juicy and spicy Pinot fruit, finely fruity aromas, great elegance, good acidity. Predominantly velvety, but also some fine-grained tannins. Recognisable influence of loess. Excellent length.

17🯅

Tasted on 7 February 2026 by Julia Elflein

WinewhitedryWeißer Riesling

2021 Hochheim Stielweg Riesling Alte Reben Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.ERSTE LAGE® / VDP.ERSTES GEWÄCHS®

Künstler, Hochheim am Main

Germany

Rheingau • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 40060 14 22 • 13 % vol alcohol

18🯅

Tasted on 6 February 2026 by Werner Elflein

18🯅

Tasted on 6 February 2026 by Julia Elflein

18🯅

Tasted on 14 June 2025 by Werner Elflein

One of Gunter Künstler's most remarkable Rieslings regularly comes from the vineyard in Hochheim Stielweg, which was planted in 1964. Declared a dry Auslese at the end of the 1990s, the wine is now labelled a Erste Lage, nominally second only to the Große Gewächse. However, it does not have to hide there at all. The 2021 meets the expectations that one can have of a dry world-class Riesling, regardless of the estate and association's own classifications. The focus here is not on concentration and density, but on elegance and finesse. This is not the first time that we have encountered ripe apricot and tropical flavours in the breathtakingly mineral nose of the shimmering green-yellow Stielweg. After an exciting opening on the tongue, the Stielweg shines with great depth and complexity, finesse and elegance. A delicate green herbaceousness dances back and forth in the mouth and plays around the fruit characterised by maracuja. The acidity vibrates softly. Extremely long and persistent. This is Riesling. This is Stielweg.

18🯅

Tasted on 14 June 2025 by Julia Elflein

WinewhitedryWeißer Riesling

2024 Riesling Vom Haardtsandstein Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.GUTSWEIN®

Müller-Catoir, Neustadt an der Weinstraße

Germany

Pfalz • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 5174079 51 25 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

13🯅

Tasted on 5 February 2026 by Werner Elflein

Pale yellow. On the nose, only with an inappropriate reductive character, including a flinty effect. Rudimentary fruit. Very lean on the palate, without really appearing elegant. Does not show much substance. Hints of nectarine and grapefruit. Concurrent, unintegrated and probably also supplemented acidity. Decent length.

WinereddryBlauer Spätburgunder

2021 Zell-Weierbach Spätburgunder Granit Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.ORTSWEIN®

Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein, Offenburg

Germany

Baden • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 506 10 25 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

16🯅

Tasted on 5 February 2026 by Werner Elflein

Slightly transparent, dark cherry red. Spicy aroma of sweet cherry and a hint of blackberry. On the palate, warm, sweet cherry fruit and still quite robust tannins, some of which are already fine-grained and velvety. Elegant acidity. Very good length. Already well developed.

WinewhitedryWeißer Burgunder

2025 Weißburgunder Qualitätswein trocken

Lucashof, Forst an der Weinstraße

Germany

Rheingau • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 5112056 75 25 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

14🯅

Tasted on 3 February 2026 by Werner Elflein

Bright yellow. As expected, still very youthful with a primarily fruity nose. Smells of yellow fruits. Delicate Pinot spice. A little bit creamy on the palate, becoming increasingly balanced with air. Hints of fruit sweetness. Very good length.

Symbols
🯅The rating of the wine is based on a single taster. The taster is named in the context of the rating. The tasting was either open or blind. In case of a blind tasting, it is explicitly labelled as such.
🯅🯅The rating of the wine is based on two tasters. The tasters are named in the context of the rating. The tasting was carried out according to the four-eyes principle, in which both tasters agree on a joint rating.
🯅🯅🯅The rating is based on a tasting by our jury and indicates the Mean value calculated by us from the individual ratings of the tasters. Our mean value is based on the median.
⚖The wine was evaluated in a blind tasting. We have strict rules for blind tastings. The tasters do not receive any information that would allow them to identify the wines. The tasters are only given access to further information that goes beyond the subject matter if it is absolutely necessary for understanding the wines.
🕓We only had limited time to taste the wine  - typically during an open tasting event, such as a wine fair. It was therefore not possible to observe the development of the wine in the glass over a longer period of time. The informative value of our rating may therefore be limited under certain circumstances.
⛬The wine was tasted as a barrel sample or before an official test number (Amtliche Prüfungsnummer or Staatliche Prüfnummer) was issued. We only accept samples of unfilled wines in exceptional cases, and then only if we can assume sufficient stability in the bottle for a period of at least three months.
▲During our tasting, the wine showed conspicuous sensory characteristics. This does not necessarily have to be a wine fault. We categorise the quality and quantity of the abnormality and include it in the rating. Wine faults such as cork taint or an atypical ageing generally lead to a complete rejection.
Tastings that refer to the same bottle of a wine are visually summarised by a dotted line.

Our latest posts

Facts

When wine disappears

On the erosion of a culture of enjoyment
Image: Pixabay
Wine is more than just a matter of taste or fashion. It is a structural element of everyday life and has long been embedded in social rituals and cultural habits. In the post-war period, especially from the 1950s onwards, wine became a symbol of stability, routine and prosperity. The integration of wine into everyday life was not a luxury phenomenon, but rather an expression of the social and economic conditions of the time, which were characterised by predictable career paths, stable incomes and clear social milieus.
Comment

Dry January

Moral imperative or cultureless dogmatism?
Image: Pixabay
At the beginning of each year, the collective abstinence parade known as Dry January begins anew. A whole month without alcohol, marketed as an act of self-control, as a contribution to physical regeneration, as a signal of a “sensible lifestyle”. Those who opt out of this ritual quickly find themselves under pressure to justify their decision. What appears to be a voluntary health initiative, however, on closer inspection turns out to be a media-driven standardisation project that suppresses enjoyment, culture and differentiation in favour of simple messages.
Obituary

Remembering Hans-Günter Schwarz

On the death of the legendary winemaker
Image: Wikipedia
Germany's wine world is in mourning. Hans-Günter Schwarz passed away on 21 November 2025 at the age of 84. For decades, Schwarz was arguably the most prominent figure in the German wine scene. He established the international reputation of the Müller-Catoir winery and trained many young winemakers to become top producers. His achievements remain unrivalled to this day.
Comment

Terroir and misunderstanding

Why the grape variety matters
Image: weinfreaks.de
“A spectre is haunting the world of wine. Its name is terroir.” [translated] With these words, Reinhard Löwenstein once opened his famous essay “Vom Öchsle zum Terroir” (From Oechsle to Terroir), published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in October 2003. The article was preceded by years of discussion that had shaped the German wine scene since at least the late 1990s. Löwenstein's essay was of enormous importance to the discourse at the time. In many respects, it is still highly topical. Nevertheless, the headline itself contains a serious misunderstanding.
Tasting

Bordeaux: 2022 a vintage of the century?

Great wines despite great drought
Image: weinfreaks.de
Apostrophising a vintage as the vintage of the century even before a centenary has passed may seem premature. However, with regard to the 2022s from the Bordeaux region, the assessment that exceptional wines were produced in that year is undoubtedly anything but bold. Of course, not all châteaux were able to triumph. Moreover, the 2022 was anything but a sure-fire success. The course of the vintage presented the winemakers with major challenges. However, in many cases, the result in the bottle can be downright inspiring. We tasted a cross-section of the vintage on the occasion of the presentation of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux at this year's ProWein.
Comment

ProWein in decline

Large drop in exhibitors and visitors at the international wine fair in Düsseldorf
Image: Messe Düsseldorf
In its press release, Messe Düsseldorf celebrates ProWein 2025 (16–18 March) as a success. However, the facts speak a different language. Only 4200 exhibitors, 20 per cent fewer than last year, were spread across the eleven exhibition halls. The number of visitors also fell, by a good ten per cent to 42000 compared to 2024. While the trade fair continues to emphasise the outstanding importance of ProWein for the international wine industry, the exodus of German wine producers in particular has reached a new dimension. Only around 900 exhibitors came from Germany in 2025.
Facts

Against viticulture and for the death of the Apollo butterfly

Absurd lawsuit against Rhineland-Palatinate
Image: Pixabay
Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) is a non-profit organisation under German association law, but above all it is a group of lobbyists who receive state support for their activities. According to the online platform auto.de, this amounted to almost five million Euros in 2018. The DUH received further 2.5 million Euros from the lucrative business of issuing warning letters. DUH is now suing the state of Rhineland-Palatinate together with the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Rheinisch-Westfälischer Lepidopterologen (AGL). Since 2011, the state's Ministry of Viticulture has repeatedly granted winegrowers in the Lower Moselle region exemptions for helicopter spraying, which is prohibited by law in the state.
Satire

From Abtsberg to Äbtissinsberg?

Gender equality in vineyard names
Image: weinfreaks.de
There are over 2600 individual vineyards in Germany, and many of them can look back on a history of several hundred years. Until recently, the proper names of the vineyards were never scrutinised. At the end of last year, however, a newly formed working group met for the first time at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, which is responsible for viticulture, to examine the catalogue of German vineyard sites from the point of view of gender equality. The working group is chaired by linguist Angelika Balgthöter-Hasenfratz from the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

A selection of our previous posts

Facts

Underground power lines instead of vineyards

Hochheim am Main defends itself
Image: Pixabay
Germany is facing an energy transition. Fossil fuels, whose share of electricity generation continues to decline but still currently accounts for around 35 per cent, are not available indefinitely. In 100 years at the latest, the remaining raw materials would be exhausted if the production volume remained the same. Because politicians have been asleep for decades, things need to move quickly now. Forward-looking and far-sighted planning has fallen by the wayside. Construction measures are being driven forward with a crowbar that are likely to destroy the economic performance of an entire region and, not least, a wine culture that is thousands of years old.
Satire

Warning letters for wineries

Do vineyards violate personal rights?
Image: Pixabay
Marcobrunn was the first Rheingau single vineyard to appear by name on a wine label. That was 1726. But now disaster is on the horizon. On behalf of a client from Munich, the Starnberg law firm Beuger & Winkel sent warning letters to several Rheingau wineries. The reason: 38-year-old low voltage electrician Marco Brunn believes his general personal rights have been violated.
Tasting

Harteneck reinvents himself

Natural wines from the Markgräflerland
Image: Pixabay
As in other regions of Baden, viticulture in the Markgräflerland is primarily carried out by the winegrowers' cooperatives. Unfortunately, the cooperatives still have a hard time with the topic of ecology. Anyone who drives along the vineyards through the region during the growing season can hardly miss the consequences of blanket herbicide application. Thomas Harteneck takes a different approach. Born in the Palatinate, he settled in Schliengen in 1997 and is one of the pioneers of biodynamic viticulture in Baden.
Tasting

The single vineyards' common thread

Geological diversity in the Tesch winery
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
The Tesch winery in Langenlonsheim can look back on a good three hundred years of history. The winery is a prime example of the successful synthesis of tradition and modernity. The microbiologist, who holds a doctorate, consistently cut off old habits. He banned the obsolete natural cork in favour of a screw cap and left the regional association of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter on the Nahe because his marketing concept did not fit the ideology of the elitist association. However, Tesch is by no means an avant-gardist. Rather, he knows how to present his dry Rieslings in a contemporary style. These, in turn, show no stylistic ingratiation with the zeitgeist. On the contrary. Soils, exposure of the vineyards, microclimate and vintage are reflected unadulterated in the six single vineyard wines.
Tasting

25 vintages estate Riesling

Robert Weil impresses with a vertical of a special kind
Image: weinfreaks.de
In case of the Robert Weil estate, most wine journalists agree: it is one of the best Riesling producers in Germany. However, there was and is not only praise in the wine scene. Especially in the area of litre wines and estate Rieslings, there is always criticism of fillings that do not meet the high standards of the house. An on-site tasting in August 2018 at least answered the question of what excellence the winery is capable of.
Tasting

Aha, the Ahr!

Germany's northern red wine paradise
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
In German, the interjection Aha! stands for a sudden insight or realisation. But Aha is also a Celtic word from which the name of the river Ahr is derived. It means as much as water. Aha, the Ahr! therefore seemed to us to be a fitting title for our themed tasting in two respects, because the past year, which was for us dominated by the Pinot Noirs and Pinot Noirs Précoces (locally known as Frühburgunder) from Germany's small red wine paradise, gave us plenty of deep insights and findings. For Aha, the Ahr! we tasted over 150 wines. As a rule, we had two bottles of each wine which we subjected to a total of four individual tests. Two of these tests were carried out as part of a blind tasting.
Tasting

Between Vienne and Valence

White and red wines from the Northern Rhône
Image: Pixabay
Geologically and climatically, the northern part of the Côtes du Rhône differs significantly from the southern. Between Vienne in the north and Valence in the south, the river flows through a valley bordered by the foothills of the Massif Central in the west and the Alps in the east. On the sometimes very steep, often terraced slopes, Syrah is mainly grown as the only red wine variety permitted in the various appellations. The share of white wines has increased in recent years and is now almost 20 percent. The main grape variety here is Viognier. However, Marsanne Blanche and Roussanne are also gaining some importance.
Tasting

90 percent Riesling

The Ruwer trumps
Image: Deutsches Weininstitut
The vineyards in the Ruwer valley belong to the Moselle wine-growing region, which was still called Mosel-Saar-Ruwer until the law was changed in 2006. Riesling dominates the steep slopes. A proud 90 percent of the area is planted with the noble white wine grape. Nowhere else is the proportion of Riesling in the grape variety list higher. Although the filigree and subtle Rieslings from the Ruwer are very similar to those from the Moselle and Saar, they have their own distinctive character. As a result of a longer growing season and lower average temperatures compared to the Moselle Valley, the Ruwer Rieslings are much more acidic and have a pronounced green herbaceous aroma, especially in cooler years.