Summary
Weingut Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken in Saarburg is one of the icons of the Saar – that cool side valley of the Mosel which stands for the most filigree Rieslings in Germany. Across around 12 to 13 hectares only Riesling is grown, the great majority of it from the steep slate site Saarburger Rausch. Fermentation and ageing are uncompromisingly traditional, in 1,000-litre Fuder casks, inside an unusually deep and humid cellar whose lowest level is known as the treasure chamber. The result, over decades, are wines that despite low alcohol levels possess enormous tension and longevity – above all the fruity-sweet Prädikat wines and the rare Eisweine.
History
The family's winegrowing in Saarburg and Ockfen can be traced back to about 1742 – one of the longest documented traditions on the Saar. The decisive figure, however, was Ferdinand Geltz (1851–1925), Royal Prussian forest superintendent and at the same time mayor of Saarburg. He built the estate into one of the region's leading houses and was among the co-founders of the association of natural-wine auctioneers known as the Großer Ring, out of which today's VDP grew.
After Geltz's death the vineyard holdings were divided between his daughters Antoinette and Ella. In December 1944 a bombing raid destroyed the estate buildings completely. His granddaughter Marianne nevertheless carried on; her marriage to Fritz Zilliken in 1947 gave the estate its present double name. In 1950 the couple acquired the cellar that remains the heart of the winery to this day.
With the 1976 vintage Hanno Zilliken took charge and, over three decades, built the estate's international reputation. His daughter Dorothee Zilliken joined in 2007 after studying at Geisenheim and working in the Pfalz and South Africa, and she has led the winemaking since 2016 – by the family's own count in the eleventh generation.
Location & Terroir
The Saar is the coolest sub-area of the Mosel. What was regarded as a risk for centuries is an advantage in today's climate: the grapes ripen slowly, keep their cutting acidity and yield wines of great freshness and low alcohol – many Kabinett wines come in under 9% abv.
The backbone of the estate is the Saarburger Rausch, a steep south-facing site directly above Saarburg holding by far the largest share of the vineyard area. Characteristic is Devonian slate, shot through with diabase, a hard volcanic rock that lends the soil a particular spiciness. The vines root several metres deep in the fissured layers and find water there even in dry years. Added to this is the neighbouring Ockfener Bockstein, likewise a great Saar site on weathered slate.
Style & Philosophy
The estate's style is deliberately restrained and traditional. Harvesting is selective and by hand, the musts ferment spontaneously with the vineyards' own yeasts – and exclusively in the Fuder, the classic 1,000-litre wooden cask of the Mosel. Many of these casks are decades old and no longer impart any oak flavour; they serve solely for slow, low-oxygen maturation.
What makes this possible is the extraordinary cellar: it reaches several metres deep into the rock, holds a constant 11 °C and a humidity of up to 95 percent. Under these conditions fermentations often stretch over months. The deepest level houses the treasure chamber with historic vintages that rest there for decades in ideal conditions. The estate is farmed to certified organic standards.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is clearly tiered – from estate wine to auction rarity:
- Rausch Riesling Großes Gewächs – the dry flagship from the core site
- Saarburger Rausch Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese – the famous fruity-sweet Prädikat wines, all finesse rather than weight
- Rausch Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese – rare sweet wines with extreme ageing potential
- Ockfener Bockstein Riesling – spicier and a touch firmer, the counterpoint to the Rausch
- Zilliken Riesling 'Butterfly' – the approachable, off-dry entry wine of the estate
- Dry village wines from Saarburg, some from old vines
Awards
Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken has been in the top group of the German wine guides for decades. Gault&Millau named Dorothee and Hanno Zilliken winemakers of the year for 2017 and lists the estate in its highest rating tier; in the following edition the estate's Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese were each singled out as the best in their category. Internationally, too, the wines – from the dry Großes Gewächs to the Eiswein – regularly collect top marks from Falstaff, Vinum and the Wine Advocate. Together with a small handful of other houses, the estate is the benchmark for what Riesling can achieve on the Saar.