Summary
Weingut von Othegraven in Kanzem on the Saar is one of the oldest and most tradition-rich wineries in the region and has belonged since 2010 to the well-known television presenter Günther Jauch, whose family is related to the previous owners. On around 16 hectares of steep slope, almost exclusively Riesling is grown, matured here into finely acidic, minerally shaped wines ranging from dry to nobly sweet. Estate manager and cellar master Andreas Barth shapes the style of the estate, whose heart is the famous, extremely steep VDP.Große Lage Kanzemer Altenberg. As a founding member of the VDP, von Othegraven stands for the great tradition of Saar Riesling.
History
The origins of the estate go back to the 16th century. It entered today's family tradition in 1805, when Emmerich Grach acquired the property; through the Grach-Weißebach family the name eventually passed to von Othegraven. Since then the estate has been run by the same family, now in the seventh generation.
Von Othegraven is one of the pioneers of organised quality winegrowing on the Saar: the estate was a founding member of the "Großer Ring" Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and of today's VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates). The most recent watershed came in 2010, when the television presenter Günther Jauch took over the estate together with his wife Thea. Because the Jauch family is related to the previous owners, the estate thus remained within the family – and Jauch himself has considerably raised the wider profile of the traditional winery.
Location & Terroir
Kanzem lies in the narrow valley of the Saar, which in winegrowing terms is counted as part of the Mosel region. Defining are the extremely steep slate slopes that tilt southwards towards the sun, securing the vines the necessary ripeness in the otherwise cool climate. The Devonian slate stores warmth and gives the wines their unmistakable, salty-mineral note.
The heart of the estate is the Kanzemer Altenberg, an impressively steep vineyard on red slate and one of the most striking steep slopes of the Saar. To this are added further great Saar sites around Ockfen, Wiltingen and Wawern. The cool climate and the low yields on the steep slopes are the basis for the fine, vibrant acidity that makes Saar Riesling so unmistakable and long-lived.
Style & Philosophy
At von Othegraven all the passion is devoted to Riesling, which takes up almost the entire vineyard area. The aim is to bring the character of each individual site into the bottle as clearly as possible. Cellar master Andreas Barth relies on a gentle, traditional maturation that emphasises the fine acidity and the mineral origin of the wines rather than overshaping them.
The range covers the entire spectrum of Saar Riesling: from clear, dry estate Rieslings through Große Gewächse from the top sites to off-dry (feinherb) and nobly sweet Prädikat wines. The nobly sweet Auslesen and Beerenauslesen in particular show what finesse and longevity a Riesling from the Saar can achieve.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is clearly structured by origin – from estate wine through village wines to the Große Gewächse from the best sites. Among the most important vineyards are:
- Kanzemer Altenberg – the famous, extremely steep VDP.Große Lage on slate and the flagship of the estate
- Ockfener Bockstein – an amphitheatre-shaped slope of silvery-grey slate with finely spicy, fruit-forward Rieslings
- Wiltinger Kupp – yields delicate, elegant Rieslings of remarkable brilliance
- Wawerner Herrenberg – a site farmed by the estate as a monopole
From these sites come Rieslings in every degree of sweetness that regularly rank among the finest examples of the Saar.
Awards
As a long-standing VDP member and founding member of the "Großer Ring", von Othegraven has belonged for generations to the top tier of Saar wineries. The estate's Rieslings are regularly rated highly in the leading German wine guides and are a fixed part of the pinnacle of Saar winegrowing. Under Günther Jauch the traditional estate has additionally gained in renown, without giving up its classic, origin-focused style.