Summary
Kloster Eberbach is one of the oldest and largest wine estates in the world – and the historic heart of the Rheingau. What Cistercian monks founded in 1136 is today farmed by Hessische Staatsweingüter GmbH, owned by the State of Hesse: around 200 hectares of vines, mostly Riesling. The monastery complex near Eltville am Rhein and the famous Steinberg monopole near Hattenheim, ringed by a three-kilometre wall, tell the story of more than 800 years of winegrowing. The range spans dry Riesling, nobly sweet Prädikat wines and sparkling Sekt – and with the Cabinet cellar, the estate owns the very place where the term „Kabinett" is said to have originated.
History
The story of Kloster Eberbach begins in 1136, when Cistercian monks founded a monastery in the Kisselbach valley. The order brought not only architecture but also viticultural know-how to the Rheingau: the monks planted vineyards, ringed their best parcels with walls and, over the centuries, made Kloster Eberbach one of the most important wine estates in Europe. At its peak it was among the largest winegrowing operations in the Christian world.
With secularisation from 1803 onwards, the monastic property passed into state hands – first to the Duchy of Nassau, later to Prussia. Since 1945 the estate has belonged to the State of Hesse. In 2003 the business was reorganised into today's Hessische Staatsweingüter GmbH Kloster Eberbach and given a modern winery near Eltville. In this way the estate combines centuries-old tradition with contemporary winemaking.
Beyond its walls, Kloster Eberbach also became famous as a film location: in 1986 the imposing monastery served as a setting for the film adaptation of „The Name of the Rose".
Location & Terroir
Kloster Eberbach lies in the Rheingau, that small but legendary wine region where the Rhine turns west and angles the south-facing slopes of the Taunus perfectly towards the sun. The monastery complex itself sits sheltered in a side valley near Eltville am Rhein; the operational headquarters and wine shop are in Eltville, while the sweeping vineyards and the Steinberg estate lie near Hattenheim.
The soils on the Rheingau slope are decisive: from loess and loam through gravel to weathered slate and quartzite in the steep sites. This diversity, combined with the mild riverside climate and the warming water surface of the Rhine, creates ideal conditions for slowly ripening, mineral Riesling. In the best years, noble rot (botrytis) forms in the vineyards close to the river – the basis for the estate's famous nobly sweet wines.
Style & Philosophy
Kloster Eberbach stands for classic Rheingau Riesling in its full breadth. Dry estate and village wines form the foundation, above them sit the single-vineyard wines and the Grosses Gewächs bottlings from the best parcels. Alongside these, the estate keeps alive the great tradition of nobly sweet Prädikat wines – from Spätlese and Auslese to the rare Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. A dedicated Sekt range rounds off the portfolio. Beside Riesling, Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) plays an important role, above all from the red slate of the Assmannshäuser Höllenberg.
The Steinberg
No place embodies the estate's philosophy quite like the Steinberg near Hattenheim. The Cistercians laid out this site back in the Middle Ages and enclosed it with a roughly three-kilometre-long wall – modelled on the Burgundian clos. The result was a walled monopole that has been in the possession of the monastery, or its successors, for more than 800 years. The Steinberg counts among the great Riesling sites of Germany; its wines combine power, minerality and enormous ageing potential, carrying the reputation of Kloster Eberbach around the world.
Notable Vineyards & Wines
Kloster Eberbach farms parcels in many of the Rheingau's finest sites. Among the best known are:
- Steinberg – the walled monopole near Hattenheim, the heart of the estate
- Erbacher Marcobrunn – one of the Rheingau's classic grand cru sites, full-bodied and profound
- Rauenthaler Baiken – spicy, mineral Rieslings from the heights above Rauenthal
- Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg – steep slate and quartzite terraces by the Rhine
- Assmannshäuser Höllenberg – red slate site and home of the Pinot Noir
The range spans dry Grosses Gewächs, off-dry and fruity-sweet Rieslings and the nobly sweet Prädikat wines that have made the estate famous for centuries.
Awards
As one of the oldest and largest wine estates in the world, Kloster Eberbach is firmly anchored in the leading German wine guides and is regularly honoured for its Rieslings and nobly sweet Prädikat wines. As a VDP member, the estate produces Grosses Gewächs from its VDP.Grosse Lage sites, wines that count among the benchmarks of the Rheingau. Beyond the ratings, Kloster Eberbach is above all a living cultural monument: the monastery, the Steinberg and the Cabinet cellar make it one of the most impressive wine estates anywhere – and a place where German wine history continues to be written.