Summary
Weingut Fritz Allendorf in Oestrich-Winkel is one of the best-known addresses in the Rheingau – and at the same time one of the largest still entirely in family hands. Across around 70 hectares, Riesling dominates, joined by Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Assmannshausen as well as Chardonnay and Grauburgunder. What is unusual is how widely the vineyards are scattered: they spread over some 30 kilometres of the Rhine and across very different soils, from loess and loam around Winkel via quartzite in the steep Rüdesheim slopes to the slate of Assmannshausen. It is precisely this diversity that shapes the range – from light-footed estate wines to Große Gewächse.
History
The Allendorf family can be traced in the Rheingau back to the 13th century – a continuity that is rare even in this tradition-rich region. The foundations of today's business were laid by Philipp Anton Allendorf in 1773.
The house only became a wine estate in its modern form, however, a good two hundred years later. In 1955, Fritz Allendorf took over the business – with just 1.5 hectares of vines. Together with his wife he expanded it steadily; in 1963 came the move to the Georgshof in Winkel, which remains the estate's home and heart to this day. Over the decades those initial one and a half hectares grew to around 70.
The estate was most recently led by Ulrich Allendorf together with his sister Christine Schönleber. Responsibility has since passed to the next generation: Anne Schönleber-Liebler and Max Schönleber have taken over the management, with Max Schönleber shaping the style of the wines as cellar master. The name "Fritz Allendorf" survives as a brand, while the estate increasingly presents itself as Weingut Familie Allendorf.
Location & Terroir
The Rheingau is a special case: for a good 30 kilometres the Rhine here flows not north but west – so the slopes on the right bank face south. Add to that the Taunus hills as shelter from cold northerly winds, and the broad river as a heat store and light reflector. These are the conditions that give Riesling the long, cool ripening period it needs for its aromatics.
Allendorf's vineyards make use of almost the entire length of this strip. Around Winkel and Oestrich, deep loess and loam soils dominate, producing fuller, juicier Rieslings. In the steep Rüdesheim sites, Riesling grows on hard quartzite and weathered slate rock – here the wines become tauter, more mineral and distinctly smokier in expression. In Assmannshausen, at the western end of the Rheingau, slate finally defines the subsoil; the site has for centuries been considered one of Germany's finest addresses for Spätburgunder.
Uniting these three soil worlds in a single estate is its real wealth – and the reason the range can be laid out so broadly without becoming arbitrary.
Style & Philosophy
Allendorf does not pursue a single house signature laid over everything, but rather an origin-driven tiering: each site should show what its soil has to offer. The Rieslings are predominantly dry, clear and fruit-forward in the entry wines, denser and longer in the single-site wines. With the Spätburgunder from Assmannshausen, the finesse of the slate takes precedence over extraction.
In the vineyard the estate is working towards a conversion to organic cultivation and additionally carries a sustainability certificate that reaches beyond viticulture. Among the more unusual elements of this work is the use of dwarf sheep to manage the cover crops between the rows.
A second pillar is Sekt production by traditional bottle fermentation; Allendorf is listed as a VDP.Sekt producer. The range is rounded out by rosé, nobly sweet specialities and alcohol-free versions – and by a well-developed hospitality offering on the Rhine with a Straußwirtschaft (seasonal wine tavern) and a restaurant.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is tiered along the VDP pyramid – from estate wine through village wines to Erste and Große Lage. Among the estate's most important sites are:
- Assmannshäuser Höllenberg – VDP.Große Lage on slate, a classic Spätburgunder address
- Hallgartener Jungfer – VDP.Große Lage for Riesling
- Oestricher Klosterberg – VDP.Erste Lage
- Winkeler Hasensprung, Jesuitengarten and Dachsberg – the home sites around the Georgshof
- Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck and Berg Rottland – steep slopes on quartzite
- Assmannshäuser Hinterkirch – a further slate site in the west of the Rheingau
In total the estate holds parcels in around a dozen classified sites. Anyone wanting to get to know the style is best served starting with the village wine from Winkel: it shows the juicy, accessible side of Rheingau Riesling, before the single-site wines add markedly more structure and length.
Awards
Allendorf has for years been listed in the upper range of the leading German wine guides; wein.plus counts the estate among the best producers in the country. Admission to the VDP in 1999 – alongside joining Charta Rheingau – is regarded as confirmation of its quality focus, as is its classification as a VDP.Sekt producer.
At least as formative is the estate's role in the visibility of the Rheingau: with wine experiences, hospitality and a broadly spread range, Allendorf is one of those producers through which many wine drinkers first come to Rheingau Riesling at all.