Location and vineyards
Gut Hermannsberg is located in Niederhausen on the Nahe in Germany, directly on the Nahe river. The winery cultivates around 30 hectares of vines on steep slopes, which are divided across seven terroirs.
Terroirs and grape varieties
The vineyards are predominantly shaped by rocky volcanic soils. One exception is the Niederhäuser Hermannsberg, with clay shale and a loess top layer. In the Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube there is south-facing volcanic melaphyr, scientifically identified as andesite, and overlying burnt slate; the Niederhäuser Steinberg features rock-rich volcanic porphyry soils with a thin loess layer.
The vineyard areas are planted almost exclusively with Riesling. The Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube consists of 97 per cent Riesling and 3 per cent Weißburgunder, while the Niederhäuser Hermannsberg and the Niederhäuser Steinberg are listed as 100 per cent Riesling.
Wine style and vinification
The focus is on dry Rieslings with pronounced piquancy, spice and minerality, whose profiles are shaped by the respective terroirs. In addition, dry Weißburgunder is produced with comparatively restrained aromas and a milder acidity than the dry Rieslings. Historically, noble-sweet wines were also part of the estate’s style; today the stated focus is on dry white wines.
The parcels are harvested separately. Single-vineyard wines ferment in neutral Stockinger barrels with 600 litres and in stainless-steel tanks with 625 litres. Local wines and the Cuvée 7 terroirs are aged exclusively in stainless steel. The wines from the estate’s own vineyards mature in the cellar for between six months and six years, depending on the wine.
History and cultivation
The estate was founded in 1902 as the Royal Prussian wine-growing domain; the first harvest took place in 1907. In 1998 it was privatised by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, acquired by the Reidel family in 2009, and renamed Gut Hermannsberg in 2010. The winery is a founding member of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP); according to its own classification, 100 per cent of the vineyard areas are VDP.GROSSE LAGE.
Work in the vineyards is described as precise manual labour in combination with nature. The areas are farmed sustainably, including with compost produced on site, with the aim of reducing the use of herbicides to zero.
