Location and classification
Zollturm is an officially registered single vineyard in the Traben district of Traben-Trarbach on the Mosel. The site carries vineyard number 410946, comprises 1.6 hectares of planted vineyard area and belongs to the Großlage Schwarzlay.
Slope and soils
The vineyards are located in the Starkenburger Fels area between Traben-Trarbach and Enkirch near the Mosel. Zollturm is characterised by an extremely steep slope facing west. The overarching area Starkenburger Fels features steep slopes exposed to the south-west, with rock outcrops and dry-stone walls. The soils consist of shallow to medium-deep, weathered Devonian Hunsrück slate; within Zollturm, grey, quartz-bearing slate occurs.
Cultivation and history
Access to and farming in the Starkenburger Fels area are carried out via monorack railways and footpaths. In the Zollturm plots of Immich-Batterieberg, there are old, own-rooted Riesling vines trained in the traditional Mosel single-post system; the grapes are selectively hand-harvested. The name of the site is derived from a historical customs fortification, the ruins of which have been preserved as a landmark in or near the vineyards. Viticultural use of the overarching slope has been documented since the early Middle Ages.
Grape varieties and wines
Riesling is documented for Zollturm and is used for the bottlings from there. In the Zollturm holdings of Rainer Göbel, Spätburgunder, Weißburgunder and Rivaner are also cultivated. The documented wines include Rieslings classified as Großes Gewächs and/or as a Große Lage, as well as a Riesling Spätlese. The wines are described as concentrated, opulent and structured. For a Zollturm Riesling from Immich-Batterieberg, spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts and ageing in small, used wooden casks are documented.
