Reichsrat von Buhl, VDP.Weingut

Reichsrat von Buhl is a large, prestigious Mittelhaardt estate, established in 1849 when the Andreas Jordan vineyards were split by inheritance, creating the three iconic Deidesheim estates: Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan, Reichsrat von Buhl, and Dr. Deinhard (today's von Winning). The three independently operated estates are again under a single owner, the Unternehmensgruppe Niederberger, after media and marketing titan Achim Niederberger (deceased) became interested in wine and decided to reassemble the original Andreas Jordan holdings.

After the inheritance split, Franz Peter Buhl founded Weingut Franz Peter Buhl (also known as F. P. Buhl). The word Reichsrat in the first part of the name translates to "Imperial Councilor." In 1885, King Ludwig II of Bavaria appointed Franz Armand Buhl as Reichsrat der Krone Bayerns (Councilor of the Bavarian Crown). German monarchical titles mostly disappeared after World War I, but the brand had already become a global hallmark. A wine of F. P. Buhl commemorated the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

Franz Armand Buhl served in the Reichstag and was a close friend of Otto von Bismarck. He gained nobility status in 1905 (becoming von Buhl), and the estate was officially renamed Reichsrat von Buhl in 1912. The estate passed through marriage to the Barons von und zu Guttenberg family in 1921. Von Buhl suffered a period of post-war decline, and the Guttenberg family leased the estate to a Japanese businessman, Toyohiro Tokuoka. The Armand Kabinett came about during this time.

The Japanese hired Frank John in 1994, who worked with Hans-Günter Schwarz at Müller-Catoir and ran von Buhl from 2002 to 2012. John, known for his expertise in biodynamics, converted the estate to organic farming, moved cellar practices toward tradition, reintroduced spontaneous fermentation, extended time on the lees, aged in Stück and Doppelstück, and gave serious attention to Sekt. John now runs his own estate: Frank John Weine - Hirschhorner Hof in Neustadt, Königsbach.

Niederberger bought von Buhl from the von Gutenberg family in 2005, but could not take operational control until 2013, the same year Achim Niederberger passed away at age 56 from a bout with cancer. Before his passing, Niederberger hired Mathieu Kauffmann, the former Chef de Cave of Champagne Bollinger. Kaufmann, building on von Buhl's already good Sekt program, took it to the stratosphere, instilled a new identity for "bone-dry" Riesling, and oversaw the transition to biodynamics. Under new management, Kaufmann left von Buhl in 2019, and since 2023, the Italian-born enologist Simone Frigerio (Technical Director and Winemaker) and Monika Schmid (Managing Director) have led von Buhl to its present day.

Von Buhl is fortunate to have a wonderful array of top vineyards in all the major villages of the Mittelhaardt, including Jesuitengarten, Ungeheuer, Pechstein, Kirchenstück, Kieselberg, Reiterpfad, and Paradiesgarten.