Weingut Zilliken is one of the leading wine estates of the Saar region in Germany. Renowned for the steely precision of their Rieslings grown in the very cool climate and slate soils of the area, the Zilliken estate built its reputation with intense, yet delicate and nearly weightless Rieslings that “float like a butterfly.”
The estate is currently managed by Dorothee Zilliken, who has been working with her father, Hans-Joachim “Hanno” Zilliken, since 2007. She took on full responsibility in 2016, with the ongoing guidance of Hanno, and the indispensable help of her mother, Ruth, and husband, Philipp.
The Saar River Valley
The Saar is a small wine region along a tributary river that joins the Mosel at Trier, on Germany’s western border with France. Of the Mosel region’s 8,800 hectares of vineyard, the Saar region accounts for only 735 hectares (1,837 acres). The narrow river has a minimal mitigating influence on the regional climate. That, combined with the higher elevations here, creates very cool conditions that produce wines of lighter weight and brighter acidity than the Mosel. The soil is primarily gray Devonian slate, which lends a pronounced raciness and delicacy to the wines.
The Zilliken estate owns 11 hectares (27.5 acres) in the town of Saarburg, exclusively in the top-class Grosse Lage Rausch vineyard. In addition, they own one hectare (2.5 acres) in the Bockstein vineyard in the neighboring village of Ockfen.
The Zilliken Approach to Winemaking
The Zilliken family seeks to carefully preserve the potential that the wine carries within itself. For them, wine is created on the vine; you cannot add anything in the cellar. So their greatest effort is in the vineyards, where meticulous attention to detail leads to healthy fruit and optimal ripeness for each style of wine. Their approach in the cellar is traditional and simple, with fermentation, clarification, and maturation all happening naturally in old Fuder casks.
“Our goal is to produce Rieslings with the highest level of finesse and lightness,” says Dorothee. The result of the family’s dedication is graceful wines of crystalline purity that express the rocky soils and cool climate with concentration, intensity, and length.
With a climate that yields restrained ripeness and striking acidity, the style here favors wines with balancing sweetness. About one-quarter of their production is dry, with another 25 percent in the off-dry style, and the rest in the range of sweeter styles.
Accolades for Zilliken
Germany’s Winemaker of the Year 2017 — Gault Millau Wine Guide
www.zilliken-vdp.de
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