Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling QbA 2003

The Egon Muller Saar wines are entirely estate-grown and come from two domains, either his original, 200 year old 21-acre property at Scharzhof (founded in 1797) or the 10-acre Le Gallais vineyard in Wiltingen partially acquired in 1954. The Scharzhofberg vineyard is the equivalent of a Cote d'Or grand cru and considered by many German wine authorities to be one of Europe's finest white wine sites. It is entitled to be labelled with the Einzellage (vineyard) name alone rather than being identified by a village prefix. The 17.5 acre Egon Muller holding includes 7.5 acres of ungrafted Riesling vines from the last century. Yields are very low; 60 hl/ha (3.4 tons/acre) is considered ideal but it has not been reached since 1992.