Location and classification
Staudenberg is an inter-municipal single vineyard in the wine-growing region Baden. It comprises Leutershausen, a district of Hirschberg an der Bergstraße, as well as Schriesheim, and belongs to the Großlage Rittersberg in the Badische Bergstraße area. Common designations are Leutershausener Staudenberg and Schriesheimer Staudenberg.
Landscape and soils
The vineyards lie on the Bergstraße at the transition between the Upper Rhine Plain and the foothills of the Odenwald. The Hirschberg section is situated in a particularly mild and sunny landscape with an early spring; for Hirschberg, a mean annual temperature of over 11 °C is given. In the Schriesheim part, fertile loess-clay soils with partly crystalline inclusions have been documented.
Historical background
Winegrowing in Leutershausen has been documented since 879. Around 1830, the Staudenberg was documented there as a contiguous vineyard area, while other vineyard parcels were strongly fragmented.
Grape varieties and vinification
In Leutershausener Staudenberg, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Riesling, Grauburgunder, Weißburgunder, Gewürztraminer, Scheurebe and Spätburgunder are documented. In Schriesheimer Staudenberg, Riesling, Merlot and Lemberger are grown. From these grapes, among other things, dry Riesling, dry Lemberger and dry Merlot are produced. For a Lemberger, eight days of open-must fermentation, spontaneous malolactic fermentation, and eight months of ageing in used barriques are documented. A Merlot originating partly from Schriesheimer Staudenberg was fermented open for 14 days, spontaneously malolactically fermented in the wood, and matured for 14 months in new and used barriques.
