Location and Landscape
Kastel-Staadt is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district in Rhineland-Palatinate. The municipal area comprises 5.31 square kilometres. The municipality lies on a Buntsandstein plateau above the Saar, whose steep rock faces slope down to the river. A distinctive honeycomb weathering is documented in the rock formations.
History
In Celtic times, the plateau was occupied by a fortified settlement of the Treveri and was later taken over and expanded by the Romans. In 2006, a Roman amphitheatre was discovered there and subsequently restored.
Viticulture
Among the official vineyard names of Kastel-Staadt is Maximiner Prälat. The vineyards are described as steep sites with a southerly aspect; their average slope gradient is 54 percent, with individual sections exceeding 80 percent.
Maximiner Prälat
The Maximiner Prälat is a semi-dry Riesling with around 15 grams of residual sugar per litre. When young, it is described as fresh, mineral and fruity, and at bottle maturity it develops into a matured Riesling character. For production, 24 hours of maceration time, twelve months of ageing in oak barrels and an early termination of fermentation to preserve the residual sugar are specified. The name refers to Saint Maximin and the former Maximiner Abbey in Trier, as well as to an old vineyard site before the manor house.
