Carsten Saalwächter Silvaner Alte Reben 2022

The Saalwächter Winery is as much a part of Ingelheim as the historic Imperial Palace and the region's renowned Pinot Noir. Its roots date back to 1872 when Paul Christian Saalwächter, who later served as Mayor of Nieder-Ingelheim laid the foundations for the estate we know today.

Then, as now, farming and winemaking is driven by the Burgundian grape varieties grown on the chalk-rich soils of Ingelheim and the steep slate slopes of Assmannshausen. Since 2017 Carsten co-manages the winery alongside his father, seizing the opportunity to establish his own line of wines. His journey across diverse wine-growing regions in Germany and Burgundy allowed him to gather a wealth of inspiration, which is now reflected in the wines. The goal is to craft expressive, terroir-driven wines that resonate with both nature and the typicity of the region.

With no rigid plan but plenty of instinct and a touch of daring intuition, they let the wines develop naturally. While the winery may seem young, after all 2017 was the first year Carsten entirely vinified an entire vintage- one should not forget the 10 years of experience he accumulated beforehand. Guided by the philosophy of one of his most influential mentors, Hanspeter Ziereisen in Baden, who famously declared that wine universities "mis-educate,". He is definetly a strong mindede contrarian and someone who firmly believes in hands-on learning in the vineyard and the cellar, rather than from textbooks.

This path took Carsten to some of Germany's finest estates, including Stodden, Schnaitmann, Benedikt Baltes, Chat Sauvage, Friedrich Becker, and of course Ziereisen himself—all esteemed experts in red and white Burgundian varieties. This was followed by a transformative year in Burgundy, the spiritual home of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There he split his time between honing Pinot Noir skills under Thierry Brouin at Domaine des Lambrays while mastering Chardonnay with Jean Chartron in Puligny-Montrachet.

Learning from these masters was invaluable, but it only bore fruit because he brought the right mindset, a knack for winemaking, and a clear vision of what a great wine should be. For Carsten this means a wine that is creamy with a dense yet fine texture, subtly enhanced by the perfect use of oak and extended ageing on the lees. At the same time, it must remain fresh, vibrant, and enticing, always bearing a unique signature from the vineyard and its local terroir.

All of the Saalwächter wines ferment spontaneously and are matured in oak barrels before being bottled unfiltered and unfined. All the vineyards are managed without herbicides, and are in the process of transitioning to full organic certification.