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Vineyard
The cradle
Egon Müller
and the Scharzhofberg.
A vineyard is always its own terrain.
What often looks to outsiders just like a row of vines, is for the winemaker who owns the vineyard and works in it, above all, the care of a multitude of individual plants that year after year deliver those grapes that give his wines individual character. And every winemaker knows: from mediocre grapes you can only make mediocre wines.
At our Scharzhof winery, we take a traditionally minimalist approach to winemaking. The foundation of our work remains the quality philosophy of the late Egon Müller III, who said already fifty years ago what today is once again the key to fine wine: "The quality of a wine originates 100 percent in the vineyard." Basta!
This was not always the case, because from the beginning of the 1970s there was a phase in wine production that placed the cellar above the vineyard, since at that time technical methods for cellar work were developed that could turn even bad vintages into better ones and, moreover, that also facilitated the work of the winemakers. It would be easy to denigrate this phase in general, because it was ultimately only a response to the technocracy of the time. Today, however, we know what the winegrowers knew for centuries, namely that the individuality of the wines comes from the grapes that are allowed to develop to their best on the slopes and in the plots.
We are convinced that it is the quality of our vineyards in the Scharzhofberg and in the brown Kupp that allows us to harvest the best grapes. And we do our part every year to fully realise this potential.
Our vines are naturally rooted in the slate that is omnipresent on the Saar, whose salts help shape the taste of the Saar Rieslings. In the western part of the Scharzhofberg, this slate is very weathered, which allows the vines' roots to penetrate well. Towards the west, the proportion of quartzite increases, giving the wines an additional flavour profile - creating that flavour diversity makes great Rieslings. In the brown Kupp, a good portion of iron is found in the slate, which of course makes the Rieslings here taste different and extremely individual. By the way, it is from the iron content of the soil that the braune Kupp gets its name.
We live and work in and with a microclimate that is characterised by the northwestern location of our area. The southern slopes are still really necessary here for the ripening of the grapes. So we always live and work on the edge of the possible.
But the basis for this “possible” are constant and can also be quickly explained:
Old vines, some of which are still on their original roots and date back to the 19th century.
Low yields, never exceeding 60 hectoliters per hectare, and most of the time even as low as 30 hectoliters per hectare.
Intensive ploughing, up to six times a year, which keeps the soil fresh and aerated.
And a very restrained use of chemicals. No chemical fertilizers, no herbicides, no insecticides and as few fungicides as possible.
Our vineyards, the sites and the plots, were there when the Müller family knew nothing about viticulture. That alone makes us humble. It doesn't take much to realise that man is only a companion and guardian of his cultivated land. And must learn to live with them and never against them.
