SAAR STARS or SAAR SHARDS?

By Stuart Pigott - last revision: 21.07.26

This story is the longest one published so far on StuartPigott.com and that's why it took so long to write and edit, also to taste additional wines sent by a couple of the producers. 124 tasting notes is a lot in one go, but it does give you something close to an overview.

In that distant age before the Covid Crisis hit and Russia invaded Ukraine it was much easier to see positive prospects for the global wine industry. Back then I had the idea of writing a story about the leading winemakers of the Saar, the most important sub-region of the Mosel, called Saar Stars. The Saar seemed to be more focused on producing high quality wines - primarily from the Riesling grape in steeply sloping sites -  than the central section of the Mosel Valley where there’s a long-standing divide between that kind of wine and the other type of Mosel wine which is cheaply produced inmore or less flat vineyards using mechanisation. There never was much of the latter in the Saar, and the great wines shone brightly without being obscured by clouds of dusty mediocrity. So what happened? 

The truth is that we’re always projecting our wishes onto the world to some degree, in particular tending to idealize the things we love and cherish. Looking back I think it’s fair to say one of the wine region’s I over-dealized was the Saar. This was rooted in my deep memories of this landscape where vineyards, forest and meadows alternate, as much as it was in the hypnotic beauty of great wines when they reached 20, 30 or more years of age. And then there were and are the remarkable personalities of the leading winemakers who I found both appealing and fascinating. Even the way I’m writing these lines is affected by idealization, and that’s why the events of the last couple of years came as such a terrible shock.   

When a beautiful piece of glass or porcelain is suddenly smashed - by design or by accident - then shards scatter around the room. What look inviolable in its beauty up on the pedastle where it had been carefully place is suddenly reduced to a chaotic mass of sharp fragments; to worthless debris that must be swept up. How easily idealization can flip in the opposite direction and become denigration. If this sounds reminiscent of contemporary politics that’s because there are parallels between the pyschological processes operating in the realm of politics and in the field of wine. So, is it now Saar Shards, or is that way too negative?

Let’s take a look at the details. Firstly, the Dr. Wagner estate in Saarburg, a member of the elite VDP wine producers association, closed down. I’ve known the Wagner family since the middle of the 1980s and they had a lot of lovingly-cared for old vineyards. The dry, off-dry and sweet wines from them had excitied me again and again. What happened to the daughter, Christiane Wagner, who ran the winery after her father Heinz retired? 

The next shock came from the von Hövel winery in Oberemmel owned by the von Künow family. I always liked them, but the last couple of yaer's Max von Künow’s psychological problems became ever more obvious. At the end of 2025 the winery closed down, its future hunging in the balance. Von Hövel had made a string sensational Riesling Kabinett wines during the last years, not least from the monopole Hütte site; a Saar Jewel. How could all that suddenly end?

Finally, Florian Lauer announced that he would no longer be making the wines at the Peter Lauer estate in Ayl. Since fully taking over responsibility with the 2005 vintage Florian had revolutionized dry Riesling from the Saar and while I was working for James Suckling I gave the Peter Lauer Schonfels GG 2023 the full 100 points. It was the first dry Saar wine to do thatand it was one of the great masterpieces of that vintage in Germany! How could that stop dead in its tracks? What was going on?

Terrible spring frost damage to the vines in April 2024 dramatically reduced the crop size that year and my previous visit to the Saar had been during the 2024 wine harvest. I was shocked to discover just how small the crop was For example, at Egon Müller-Scharzhof - the most famous producer on the Saar, and one of Germany’s wine legends - vineyard manager and winemaker Heiner Bollig told me he’d harvested just 1,000 litres from 4 hectares of vineyards in Saarburg (for the entry-level Scharzhof 2024). That’s a microscopic 2.5 hectoliters per hectare! Obviously, this resulted in considerable financial stress for the region’s producers, legendary and unknown. It was also the reason I didn'tvisit the Saar in 2025.

So, when I travelled to the region on the 8th June this year I had no idea what I would find: Saar Stars or Saar Shards? Here, in the order I visited them are my impressions of the most famous producers, and each visit was an attempt to find answers to that question.

VON OTHEGRAVEN

This winery in Kanzem has been owned by German TV presenter Günther Jauch and his wife Thea since 2010. They’re the seventh generation of the family here, so for them it’s about heart, not ego. Winemaker, Swen Klinger, faces a challenging task, because allthe the winery’s holdings are in top sites. As he put it to me, „with these sites it’s really difficult to make any mainstream wines!“ It was a long tasting, because I hadn’t visited for a while, and the all the wines Swen poured for me were either impressive or amazing. If you’re idea of Saar Riesling is a wine that’s all about elegance and finesse, then this is the address for you! And for anyone who thinks that only the Germans drink this stuff, because they’re „Jauch Wines“ I point out that Italy has become a major export market, and Günther Jauch the quiz master is unknown there!

STANDOUT WINES

Von Othegraven  Mosel  Riesling  Altenberg Kabinett  2025 - ??% / This light-footed Saar masterpiece marries serious concentration with mouthwatering slatey acidity! Extremely refined finish with vivid stone fruit flavors that doesn’t want to stop! 96 (SP)

Von Othegraven  Mosel  Riesling   Altenberg GG   2023 - 12% / A dry Saar masterpiece! This is like biting into a perfectly ripe Amalfi lemon, the interplay of racy acidity, salty minerality and complex citrus character is so exciting. An intense slatey character is woven into all of this right through the extremely long and precise finish. 97 (SP)

EGON MÜLLER SCHARZHOF

The first big surprise came at Egon Müller-Scharzhof where Isabelle Müller (the daughter of Egon Müller IV) told me that they had recently acquired the von Hövel vineyards in the Scharzhofberg site (but neither the other vineyards nor the winery). This made a lot of sense, because the Scharzhofberg is the main vineyard site for Egon Müller-Scharzhof. I was taken aback by the self-confidence with which Isabelle talked about how they’d dropped their prices for the 2025 vintage. This means that the entry-level Scharzhof 2025 is the most affordable way to get to know the wines of this producer. Yes, it’s a gigantic leap in price from there to the Scharzhofberger TBA 2025, but this is one of the greatest wines in the ultimate nobly sweet category of German Riesling I ever encountered! If this isn’t a Standout Wine, then I don’t know what those words mean. Everything between these extremes is highly recommended and 2025 is obviously a very great vintage for Egon Müller-Scharzhof.

STANDOUT WINES 

Egon Müller-Scharzhof  Mosel  Riesling  Scharzhof  2025 - ??% / Very juicy and vibrant with bright white tree fruits and delicate white flower nuances. Very bright and cool finish with plenty of wet-stone minerality. Barely off-dry and wonderfully refreshing. 92 (SP)

Egon Müller-Scharzhof  Mosel  Scharzhofberger  Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese  2025 - 5.5% / An extraordinary Riesling TBA that has the unmistakable personality of the Schrzhofberg vineyard to the the highest degree. The finesse and filigree of this are every bit as important to that as the gigantic concentration. Dried papaya and mushrooms are the most important of the aromas, but there are so many shadings and nuances that a list would end up being absurdly long and confusing. And it would distract from the most important thing of all: the diamond brightness of the finish. 100 (SP)  

PETER LAUER

In October 2025 Florian Lauer realized he could no longer even taste wine because of a medical problem. Right in the middle of the harvest he asked Max Zellerhof, 26 years old and an ex-stagist of the winery, to take over the winemaking. Florian spoke of all this with a heavy heart: „no more winemaking virtuosity!“ The 2025 wines I tasted are a mixed bag, but clearly the handover happened during an extremely demanding harvest (due to all the rain). The 2025 vintage GGs weren’t yet fit for tasting, so those notes will be published later and a final judgement on the vintage here can’t be passed until then. It will be several years before a considered assessment of Max Zellerhof's impact on the house style can be made. Watch this space!

STANDOUT WINES

Peter Lauer  Mosel  Riesling  Saar Kern Grosse Lage No 9  2025 - 9% / The extreme slatey minerality makes this a love it or loath it wine, and I’m clearly on the former side. It’s amazing how well the very racy acidity enables this to integrate the touch of grape sweetness. Super-crisp finish with so much positive energy. The minty freshness in the delicately tropical nose accentuates this effect. 93 (SP)

Peter Lauer  Mosel  Riesling  Saar Schonfels Kabinett No 111  2025 - 8% / This dramatic Riesling Kabinett makesyou feel like you’re standing right on the edge of the abyss! The wild berry aromas leap out at you and the electric acidity drives you over the edge in the nicest possible way. 95 (SP)

VAN VOLXEM

Christoph Friedrich arrived here as winemaker in 2022 from Schlossgut Diel in the Nahe where he’d done a great job working with Caroline Diel. His new boss Roman Niewodniczanski, or Niewo, is not only the tallest man in almost any room, he’s also a larger than life personality who’s charisma can fill almost any room. In Niewo’s shadow - there’s no alternative location at Van Volxem! - Christoph could look small. However, that’s an optical illusion, for he’s a deep and adventurous thinker, as well as a talented winemaker. Take this observation, for example: „On the Saar the differences between the vineyard sites, between the character of their wines, is immense. It’s almost like each one belongs to another wine region!“ Here the focus has been on dry wines since the first „Niewo vintage“at Van Volxem, 2000,and this is where Christoph's talent shows itself most impressively.

During my visit I bumped into Christiane Wagner, and discovered that the Ex-Dr. Wagner vineyards have all been incorporated into Van Volxem. She is also now part of the winery’s team and seems very happy there. All's well that ends well!

STANDOUT WINES

Van Volxem  Mosel  Riesling  Golberg GG  2023 - 12.5% / Why don’t you slide my way? A creamy and silky dry Riesling for the Saar, this is such an easy wine to enjoy, but also really sophisticated. Only right at the end does it taste emphatically dry, but this tension between beginning and end is what makes the wine so satisfying. 95 (SP)

Van Volxem  Mosel  Riesling  Scharzhofberg P GG  2023 - 12.5% / Dangerously vibrant, energetic and flinty, this is a radically  exciting expression of the Saar. More minerals than you can ever take in, no matter how much time you give it. Staggering brilliance at the finish! Enromous aging potential. 98 (SP)   

ZILLIKEN

Since the 1980s this has been one of the most consistently excellent producers not only on the Saar, but in Germany as a whole. This legendary producer is very much a family affair, and though Dorothee has done some reorganization since she came back home, the style of wines didn't change signifcantly during the four decades I've been following them. What did change was the quality of the dry wines, and for them 2025 is a spectacular vintage. The wines with natural grape sweetness have always been brilliant, in every sense of the B-word! Riesling Auslese from the Rausch site of the 2003 and 2005 vintages drunk recently were divine, and still had decades of life ahead of them. This gives you an idea just how long real Saar Stars can age. The secret? A perfectionism that begins in the vineyard and ends in the deepest cellar in the region where dripping stalactites hang from the ceiling. Time seems to almost stopdown there.

STANDOUT WINES

Zilliken  Mosel  Riesling  Saarburger Alte Reben trocken  2025 - 11% / Wonderful floral complexity plus ripe mango, this is at once very juicy with terrific freshness and mineral power, but without weight. Great spicy finish! From 72 year old vines. 94 (SP)

Zilliken  Mosel  Riesling  Rausch Spätlese  2025 - 8% / Incredible vibrancy and cool elegance, the wild strawberry aroma so expressive! Then, a giant wave of mint, citrus and lemon blam freshness picks you up and sweeps you away. The enormous minerality is like a searchlight seeking you out in the darkness of our present. 97 (SP)

THE COMPLETE TASTING NOTES

124 wines tasted, and more will follow!