Summary
Weingut Burg Ravensburg near Sulzfeld is one of the oldest wine estates in the world: viticulture around the castle is documented as far back as 1251. Today the estate farms around 37 hectares in the southern Kraichgau, the northern tip of the Baden wine region – consistently biodynamic and Demeter certified. In the glass you will only find dry wines, shaped by Riesling and Lemberger (Blaufränkisch) from three monopole Grand Cru sites on the castle hill. Together with its sister estate Heitlinger, Burg Ravensburg forms one of the largest biodynamically farmed wine operations in Germany.
History
Burg Ravensburg above Sulzfeld counts among the oldest hilltop castles in the Kraichgau; its origins are traced back to the 10th century. For wine, though, the key date is 1251: the first written record of viticulture at the castle. For more than 30 generations the estate was shaped by the barons Göler von Ravensburg – a noble family whose members live on in the vineyard names.
The most famous of them is Husarenkappe (hussar's cap). Tradition has it that Baron Göler von Ravensburg received the first Riesling cuttings from the Margrave of Baden in 1782 and carried them home to Sulzfeld in his hussar's cap to plant them on the castle slope. That, at least by legend, is where Riesling in Baden begins. Dicker Franz also carries a family name: Baron Franz Göler von Ravensburg (1701–1765) was so devoted to the pleasures of the table that the family chronicles nicknamed him “Chubby Franz”.
More recently the estate passed to the Heiler and Jacklin families and is run today together with neighbouring Weingut Heitlinger as Weingüter Heitlinger & Burg Ravensburg. Under managing director Claus Burmeister the operation was converted to organic and later biodynamic viticulture; in 2012 it joined the VDP.
Site & terroir
The Kraichgau lies between the Odenwald and the Black Forest, in the northernmost corner of the Baden wine region. Its gentle hills – often called the “Tuscany of Baden” – enjoy a comparatively cool, continentally tinged climate. That is unusual for Baden and crucial for the estate's style: the wines keep freshness, acidity and clarity where elsewhere in Baden richness takes over.
The geology is complex. Gypsum keuper dominates, joined by clay and loess formations. These soils store water, force the vines to root deeply and give the wines a marked, saline-mineral imprint.
The top sites sit right on the castle hill, facing southwest to southeast. Husarenkappe covers around 6.5 hectares on the southwestern flank, Dicker Franz around 7.5 hectares spread over two parcels. All three Grand Cru sites are farmed by Burg Ravensburg as monopoles – a rarity in Germany.
Style & philosophy
Burg Ravensburg works biodynamically to Demeter standards and holds EU organic and sustainability certifications as well. Cover crops between the rows, composting, biodynamic preparations and deliberately restrained cellar work are meant to bring each site's signature into the bottle as untouched as possible.
The wines are vinified exclusively dry. Managing director Claus Burmeister sums up the ambition clearly: wines that tell you about their region, grape, vintage and vineyard. In practice that means extended skin contact for Riesling, spontaneous fermentation, ageing in large casks and barriques for the top wines, and a measured hand with new oak. Lemberger – known elsewhere as Blaufränkisch – is treated as a serious, spicy and taut red with fine tannins, and is the estate's second calling card alongside Riesling.
Famous sites & wines
The range follows the VDP pyramid from estate and village wines up to the Grosse Gewächse:
- Husarenkappe (VDP.Grosse Lage, monopole) – the estate's Riesling site, taut and mineral
- Dicker Franz (VDP.Grosse Lage, monopole) – home of the great Lemberger
- Löchle (VDP.Grosse Lage, monopole) – shaped by Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir
- Kapellenberg (VDP.Grosse Lage)
- Sulzfelder Lerchenberg (VDP.Erste Lage)
Well-known wines include the Husarenkappe Riesling GG, the Dicker Franz Lemberger, the Löchle Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, plus a Blaufränkisch rosé. The prestige cuvée Corbeaux 1251 is a blend of the white Burgundian varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris – its name nods to the year of that first wine document.
Awards
Burg Ravensburg has ranked among Baden's leading estates in the major German wine guides for years and holds four red grapes from Gault&Millau. Co-owner Heinz Heiler was honoured in the Genussguide Baden-Württemberg as a pioneer of organic viticulture. Falstaff and the international trade press regularly single out the Rieslings from Husarenkappe and the Lembergers from Dicker Franz. Together with sister estate Heitlinger, the operation is today a flagship for biodynamic quality wine in Germany.