Baden

The majestic volcanic cone of the Kaiserstuhl (Emperor's Chair) mountain rising out of the Rhine plains is always an impressive sight. If you travel from Königschaffhausen via the winding road towards Oberbergen, you will find yourself suddenly reminded of the lost worlds of Jules Verne as you come out of the forest. At first glance, at least, the results of the radical redevelopment and enclosure of land programmes are no longer very visible. At the second glance, then, one notices that the large terraces, densely planted with vines, cannot possibly be of natural origin. A few hundred metres on the cone opens up to the south-west, providing, when the weather is good, a breathtaking panoramic view of the foothills of the Vosges mountains.
Practically the entire countryside all around the Kaiserstuhl consists of either forest, fruit orchards or vineyards. Here in the warmest spot in Germany, grapes are basically guaranteed to achieve full ripeness every year, and there is a large number of dedicated winemakers and co-operatives who ensure that the quality of the wines is always at a very high level. Naturally, even in this privileged region there are a number of particularly exceptional vineyard sites that can regularly produce great wines.
The hottest vineyard site in Germany is the Ihringer Winklerberg vineyard, located at the south-western tip of the Kaiserstuhl. Here powerful, densely structured wines are produced on the terraced vineyards from vines grown on the volcanic soil. These wines are often not easily accessible. The top-class wines produced by Joachim Heger from Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris grapes require a year or two of bottle maturation to develop their potential.
The Achkarrer Schlossberg site is located directly adjoining the Winklerberg, and provides a similar potential for quality. Here, however, the volcanic rock is covered by a metre-thick layer of loess. Whereas the wines of the Winklerberg have a powerful mineral note, those of the Schlossberg are more full-bodied and monolithic. Only in very hot years are the tables turned, as the loess has better water-retaining properties, even when the Winklerberg is already completely dried out. Here, too, it is Joachim Heger who produces the best results, although there is increasing competition from Reiner Probst as well as from the Winzergenossenschaft Achkarren co-operative, which produces not only osme very good dry wines, but also often really excellent botrytis dessert wines.
The other two top-class sites in the area are located in the commune of Oberrottweil. It is a moot point to argue whether the densely structured, spicy wines of the Henkenberg are better than the full-bodied, supple and rich wines of the Eichberg. The soils of the Henkenberg have a stony structure of decomposed volcanic stone, while those of the Eichberg are grown on a a thick layer of loess soil that has a much finer-grained consistency, almost like that of ashes. Without a doubt the best producer here is Wolf-Dietrich Salwey, but the cellars of the Freiherr von Gleichenstein estate also regularly produce very good wines.
In recent years a large number of other producers has also regularly produced first-class wines, even where they do not have access to the top-ranking vineyard sites. The best of this group are Bercher in Burkheim, Johner in Bischoffingen, Keller in Oberbergen and Reinhold and Cornelia Schneider in Endingen.

(translation by Peter Gebler)