Schloßberg

The Schloßberg is a registered single vineyard in the Mosel winegrowing region, in the Burg Cochem area and Großlage Weinhex. The parcels are located in the cadastral districts of Kobern and Gondorf in the municipality of Kobern-Gondorf in the Mosel. The current register shows 5.7 hectares of planted vineyard area: 1.2 hectares in Gondorf and 4.5 hectares in Kobern.

The vineyard lies above the Kobern district on the Koberner Schloßberg between the deeply incised side valleys of the Hohesteinsbach and the Eiligbach. The landscape rises by about 130 metres above the Mosel. The terraced steep slope has a gradient of more than 60 per cent. The Koberner Schloßberg slopes in almost all directions; the vineyard terraces are particularly located on the warmer south-east to south-west facing slopes.

The site belongs to the Terrassenmosel, which the DLR describes as one of the warmest regions of the Mosel and of western Germany. For the period 1961 to 1990, a mean annual temperature of 10.4 °C has been documented.

The geological subsoil dates back to Devonian marine sediments from which clay and quartz slate, sandstone and siltstone emerged. Faults result in a close alternation of these layers of rock. For the vineyard, stony, skeletal-rich soils have been documented; as the starting material, clayey slate is also given.

The vineyards are terraced with dry-stone walls. Numerous terraces in Kobern are still being farmed, and the walls are preserved as part of the winegrowing landscape. In the Schloßberg parcels cultivated by the Dötsch-Haupt winery, around 90 per cent is Riesling and 10 per cent is Spätburgunder. Mainly Kabinett wines are produced there, with mineral notes and freshness; the DLR describes the wines of the Koberner Schloßberg as dry and lively.

The Koberner Schloßberg has a long tradition of winegrowing. According to the DLR documentation, the construction of the vineyard dry-stone walls began with the building of the castle about 1,000 years ago and continued into the 19th century.