Grape: Riesling
Vine age: over 100 years old
Production: 2,000 bottles
Schonfels is a steep, south-facing vineyard in Saar's Ayl village, owned exclusively by Weingur Peter Lauer. The name means "beautiful rock", and the site lives up to it: a dramatic cliff face rising 50 meters above the river, with gradients reaching 75% on grey Devonian slate. Farming it is perilous, requiring harnessed workers, which is why the vineyard was abandoned for decades before Florian Lauer revived it in 2005.
What makes Schonfels extraordinary is its vines. The vineyard holds some of the few remaining ungrafted Riesling vines in the Saar, most over 100 years old, with some parcels dating to 1912. These old rootstocks dig deep into the fractured slate, yielding tiny quantities of intensely concentrated fruit. Even in good years, the yields are paltry.
Schonfels is classified as a VDP.Grosse Lage (Grand Cru), and under Florian Lauer it has become a benchmark for Saar Riesling. The wines are Lauer's most mineral expression, combine a crystalline and saline core with fine acidity. All of these defines Saar's greatest sites. To taste a Schonfels is to taste a singular place: a resurrected cliffside, century-old vines, and the uncompromising vision of Florian Lauer.