Weingut Mönchhof - Winery

Weingut Moenchhof, One of the Oldest German Wineries with a Monk-Built Cellar

The Mönchhof (the “Monks House or Monks Court”), formerly a possession of the Cistercian Abbey at Himmerod, is one of the oldest wine estates in the Mosel valley. As early as 1177, documents signed by Pope Alexander III show the abbey owned vineyards in and around the village of Ürzig. After the secularization period, the Eymael family purchased the estate from Napoleon in 1804 at an auction in Paris. The Mönchhof’s first class vineyards are comprised of the very steep Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Treppchen and a core holding in one of the most prized jewels in the Mosel valley, the Erdener Prälat vineyard. They are planted 100 % to Riesling, all with original rootstocks.

Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben

The prestigious winery had been in the Christoffel family for 400 years when in 2001 Hans-Joseph Christoffel did not have any successors and sold the winery to his friend Robert Eymael of the Mönchhof estate. Hans- Joseph after retiring passed on his deep knowledge of Riesling winemaking to the next generation. Robert was committed to staying true to the Christoffel style of winemaking, which involves fermentation with natural yeasts in used Fudre barrels, and no chemical additives. This is the old-school way to make Riesling wines that up to this day are unique in the world for their elegance and longevity.

The Ürziger Würzgarten

This is one of the few vineyards in the whole wine growing region planted on volcanic soil in combination with red slate soil (rhyolithe). You can only find red slate in this part of the Mosel valley. The Würzgarten meaning “spicy garden” surrounds the Mönchhof estate. Special about the vineyard are the extremely old vines, some of which are more than 120 years old. While most European vineyards were destroyed by phylloxera in the 19th century, the vineyards in the Middle Mosel region survived thanks to their rocky soils, in which the insect couldn’t survive. The old vines generally produce loose hanging, smaller berries that are intense in taste. These berries are practically immune to botrytis and can ripen on the vine until the end of October. This makes them ideal for intense late harvest wines. We are proud to call some of the oldest vines in the world ours. The Würzgarten among the Mosel’s many great sites is perhaps the most recognizable. Due to the heavy impact of the red slate tasters can immediately point out the Würzgarten. It produces wines, which combine a wide range of spicy notes with deep exotic fruit aromas. Depending if the vintage was a hot or cool one, the wines are more opulently exotic and intense or elegantly fruity and precise.

The Erdener Treppchen

This vineyard is planted on mostly blue slate soil. “Treppchen” ironically means “little staircase”. It is so steep that it is difficult to work in the hill and to carry grapes out of the vineyard. Locals named the site after the stairs that workers built into the vineyard to make their life easier hundreds of years ago. Due to its slightly more western exposition, the lesser gradient and the lack of naked slate cliffs, the Treppchen is cooler than the Würzgarten. Combined with the blue slate soil, which typically effects the wines more subtly than the red kind found in the Würzgarten, wines from the Treppchen are more delicate. They show a noble reservation in there aroma and an exciting acidity on the palate.

The Erdener Prälat

The Prälat is an absolute jewel of a vineyard situated just between the Würzgarten and the Treppchen. With only 2 ha in size it is one of the smallest yet most famous sites of the Mosel. The steep slope faces south with near perfect exposure to the sun. It presents a unique terroir blending blue-grey slate elements of the Erdener Treppchen with red (iron oxide) elements more typical of Ürzig. The Mönchhof has a parcel planted with 80-year-old Riesling vines that year after year deliver the best grapes of the vintage. The vineyard is the last one to be harvested each year as the berries hang loosely and can ripen for a very long time. Only Auslese is made from the Prälat.