Location and Classification
Karthäuser is a registered vineyard site in Laubenheim in the Nahe. The site lies above Laubenheim, while the Nahe flows below the vineyard. In the vineyard register of the Chamber of Agriculture Rheinland-Pfalz, it is listed as Karthäuser (Laubenheim). The VDP classifies Laubenheimer Karthäuser as VDP.ERSTE LAGE®; this classification is a VDP classification and not a statutory German vineyard classification.
Topography and Soils
The vineyard is laid out in an amphitheatre shape and is oriented to the south to south-east. It lies at an altitude of 160 to 220 metres above sea level and has a slope gradient of 10 to 35 per cent. The classified area covers 23.18 hectares.
The geological subsoil is described as sandy terrace sediments with boulders and conglomerates from the Permian Rotliegend. Further descriptions mention weathered red sandstone with a high iron content, as well as a soil made of weathered red rock and loess clay.
Climate and Grape Variety
The sheltered amphitheatre site has a high capacity for storing warmth and is described as warm and ripening early. Riesling is recorded as the classified grape variety.
Name and Wine
The name Karthäuser is traced back to the former ownership and the medieval cultivation by the Carthusian monastery in Mainz. A documented dry Riesling from the 2022 vintage from Karthäuser is described as ripe, powerful and spicy, with a tight structure and restrained acidity. This wine from Weingut Tesch was bottled under screw cap.
