Nahe: Exquisitely Tuned

Hectares under vine: 4,239 (2023)

Climate: mild, low frost and low rainfall

Soils: Quartzite and slate soils on the lower Nahe; porphyry, melaphyre, and red sandstone on the middle Nahe; weathered soils and clay overlays of sandstone, loess, and loam near Bad Kreuznach

Varieties: [white 76.2%, red 23.8%]: Riesling (29%), Müller-Thurgau (12%), Pinot Gris (8.2%), Pinot Blanc (7.4%), Dornfelder (9.7%),  Spätburgunder (6.7%)

Bereich: Nahetal

Einzellagen: 310, including Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle, Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube, Königsfels, Felsenberg, Monzinger Frühlingsplätzchen, Dorsheimer Goldloch

“The best [Nahe Rieslings] are exquisitely tuned…” – Ian Jamison, German Wines

When Ian Jamison’s German Wines came out in 1990, Müller-Thurgau was still the dominant variety in the Nahe, with 23.2% of the vineyard area. Riesling was in second place at 12% (his figures were from 1988), and unless you’ve been following Nahe wines long enough to observe this evolution, it’s a shocking statistic given the number of benchmark Riesling producers clustered here today. These include Dönnhoff, Schäfer-Fröhlich, Schlossgut Diel, Emrich-Schönleber, and Gut Hermannsberg, all first-rate VDP estates whose GG Rieslings I’ll often rate among the best in Wiesbaden each August. Riesling is now in the first position in the Nahe, and rightly so. Jamison writes, “It is perfectly possible to persuade yourself that the River Nahe produces the finest Riesling wines in the Rheinland and, therefore, in the world.” For this taster, no further persuasion is necessary.

The Nahe became an independent wine region in 1971. Before that, wines from the river Nahe were labeled simply as Rhein wines, and, as Frank Schoonmaker writes in The Wines of Germany, “All Nahe wines, being more akin to Rhine than to Mosel, are shipped in brown bottles.” It’s essential to clarify that Nahe wines are, stylistically speaking, not some halfway point between Mosel and Rheingau or Rheinhessen. The wine trade (me included) has repeated this almost as frequently as “Gigondas is like a baby Châteauneuf-du-Pape!” Hey, when a sale is on the line, I get it, but there’s no reason to “sell” Nahe wines this way, not when they’re some of the finest in Germany. There is indeed Riesling from steep slate slopes in the Nahe, and like the Mosel, Nahe producers can make stunning Prädikatswein, but Nahe wines do not smell or taste like Mosel, or Rheingau, or Rheinhessen. Nahe is unique, and much of its uniqueness comes from the soil.

The Nahe has the widest variety of soils in Germany due to 400 million years of geological upheaval. Schist, volcanic, loess, clay, and limestone are some of the 180 or so assumed soil types within the Nahe wine region. Britta Korrell of Weingut Korrell in Bosenheim told me the Nahe gained the nickname das Probiertstub’chen (the tasting room of Germany) because they have so many different soils, varieties, and microclimates. Protected from the cold winds by the high Hünsruck mountains, mild temperatures, much sunshine, and very little rain create an excellent climate for the vine. Although administratively, a single Bereich (Nahetal) covers the entire Weinanbaugebiet. Practically speaking, there are three subdivisions of the Nahe region and its 116-kilometer river: lower, middle, and upper. Generally, the Upper Nahe vineyards are cooler, while the Middle and Lower Nahe get progressively warmer, and harvest occurs earlier in Lower Nahe than in the Middle or Upper.

Lower Nahe

Beginning at Bingen, where the Nahe joins the Rhein, to Bad Kreuznach is the Lower Nahe. Directly across the Rhein from Bingen is the Rheingau’s Rüdesheimer Berg. Upriver, several famous wine villages are found, starting with Münster-Sarmsheim (home of the excellent VDP.Weingut Kruger-Rumpf) and Rümmelsheim/Burg Layen (home of Diel). There’s grey Devonian slate at Münster-Sarmsheimer Im Pitterberg, then loam, clay, and gravel at a trio of superb Grosse Lage sites in Burg Layen (technically belonging to Dorsheim): Pittermännchen, Goldloch, and Burgberg. The next grouping of Grosse Lagen in the Lower Nahe is at Bad Kreuznach, Nahe’s commercial center. Kahlenberg and Krötenpfuhl (produced by Dönnhoff) feature loam, loess, and gravel, and off to a side valley in Wallhausen, Felseneck (Prinz Salm) has green schist. By the way, Bad Kreuznach is also home to Weingut Korrell (Bosenheim) and their excellent Paradies vineyard with shell limestone and marl. A final note about the charming spa town of Bad Kreuznach is to mention the Anheuser name; the same Anheuser family (cousins) as St Louis’ Anheuser-Busch are wine producers here.

Middle Nahe

Five kilometers upriver from Bad Kreuznach are Bad Münster and Traisen, where massive porphyry rocks are both a tourist attraction and a gate to the Middle Nahe. The steep and volcanic Traisner Bastei is the first significant site, then Rotenfels, then Mühlberg and Steinberg (both produced by VDP.Weingut Dr. Crusius), before slate sets in at Norheimer Kirscheck and Dellchen. Neighboring VDP estates Dönnhoff and Gut Hermannsberg exploit the vineyards at Niederhausen and Oberhausen. Grey slate and limestone make Hermannshöhle one of the most highly reputed sites in the Nahe, while Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg and Kupfergrube did not even exist before they were created by the State Domain (with the help of convict labor) in 1901. These volcanic sites and the top-class Oberhausen Brücke are some of Germany’s best.

Upper Nahe

After Schloßböckelheim, I’ll point out Königsfels and In den Felsen, which make their way into Korrell’s Von den Ersten Lagen bottling along with the previously mentioned Rotenfels and Felsenberg. At Bockenau (Schäfer-Fröhlich) and Monzingen (Emrich-Schönleber) are Felseneck with Devonian slate and Monzingener Frühlingsplätzchen with red slate. These are the coolest vineyards in the Nahe and arguably some of the best. The Nahe wine region ends at the wine village of Martinstein.