| Region of production: | Rheingau |
| Winery Location: | Geisenheim-Johannisberg |
| Year Established: | The estate was founded by Benedictine monks more than 900 years ago. In 1720, under the directorship of the Prince Bishop of Fulda, the property became devoted to the production of Riesling. |
Vineyard Holdings
35 ha total
100% Riesling
- Schloss Johannisberger monopole; soil is Taunus quartzite with a loam-loess topsoil
Top Wines Produced
- Gelback (yellow seal) – QbA
- Rotlack (red seal) – Kabinett
- Grünlack (green seal) – Spätlese
- Silberback (silver seal) – Grosse Lage
- Rosalack (pink seal) – Auslese
- Rosa-Goldlack (pink-gold seal) – Beerenauslese
- Goldlack (golden seal) – Trockenbeerenauslese
- Blaulack (blue seal) – Eiswein
Average Total Production
- 252,000 bottles
Summary
Schloss Johannisberg is presumed to be the oldest Riesling estate in the world. It also claims what’s considered the world’s first Spätlese, made from ripe and partly botrytized grapes in 1770. Schloss Johannisberg is even home to the world’s first Eiswein, made in 1858.
In 1816, the palace and property was ceded to Austrian Chancellor Clemens Wenzel Lothar Fürst von Metternich for his work in the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815). The property remained in the Metternich family’s hands until 1992, and today it’s owned by German food conglomerate Dr. Oetker and managed (since 2004) by Christian Witte.
The palace itself, built in 1716 and the focal point of the winery, has a cellar beneath the barrel cellar known as the Bibliotheca Subterranea, built in 1721. This is where the estate stores 11,000 bottles of its wine dating all the way back to the 1748 vintage. Every few years, wines from this collection are sold at the auction in Kloster Eberbach. In 1979, the estate purchased the 65-ha GH von Mumm’sche Weingut, making the company the largest private wine producer in the Rheingau.
Style & Vinification Techniques
Yields are kept low, and grapes are hand-harvested after the second week of October. After the grapes are brought to the winery, they are whole-cluster pressed and fermented with cultured yeasts in stainless steel tanks or old stück (some are 90 years old). The wines are left on their lees until bottling. Schloss Johannisberg makes barrels from wood grown in the forests of the property.
Producer Website: Schloss Johannisberg