| Region of production: | Saar |
| Winery Location: | Wiltingen |
| Year Established: | 1797 |
Vineyard Holdings
16 ha total, three of which contain ungrafted vines.
- Scharzhofberg (8.3 ha): Grosse Lage; soil is weathered grey slate
- Wiltinger Braune Kupp (4 ha): soil is red and grey slate
Top Wines Produced
- Scharzhofberg Rieslings: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein
- Inaugural vintage 1959 for BA and TBA.
- (Le Gallais) Braune Kupp Rieslings
Average Total Production
- 79,200 bottles
Summary
Jean-Jacques Koch purchased the Scharzhof farm from the French Republic in 1797. Previously, it belonged to the St. Marien ad Martyres monastery that had existed there since 700 AD. The property was divided among Jean-Jacques’s seven children after his death, and one of his daughters, Elisabeth, married Felix Müller, lending the namesake of today’s incarnation. Together, the couple more than doubled their property acreage by the 1850s. The estate has remained in the Müller family ever since; today, it is run by Egon Müller IV, who took over in 1991. The family also now owns a second property known as Le Gallais in Kanzem, thanks to an agreement made in 1954 by Egon III with the Le Gallais family; through this, they also own the monopole Braune Kupp in Wiltingen. They have been members of the VDP since 1910, and they grow only Riesling. Egon Müller is the only German member of Primum Familiae Vini.
Style & Vinification Techniques
The focus of the Egon Müller estate is on sweet wines; in fact, they do not make a trocken wine. The winery welcomes the growth of botrytis in the vineyards (it’s even allowed into the eisweins), and they claim not to pick by must weight but by the ripeness of grape flavors. The Scharzhofberg vineyard is on a south-facing slope of pure slate and is one of the cooler sites in Germany, contributing to acidity levels that are quite high. This also explains the estate’s penchant for sweeter, fruitier wines. The wines are fermented and aged in fuder, save for the TBA. Egon Müller wines are known for their aging capacity, and Egon IV proudly asserts, “If someone prefers to drink Riesling as young wine, it is not necessary to buy a Scharzhof. These develop their value only with time.”[1]
Producer Website: Egon Müller-Scharzhof
[1] Reinhardt, Stephan. The Finest Wines of Germany. Universtiy of California Press, c. 2012. Page 227.