There was once a time, in the not too distant past, where certain Riesling wines were more expensive than a Château Lafitte or a Margaux. Van Volxem, located smack bang in the centre of Sarr, was one of these; and one man has set himself the heady task of restoring the vineyard to their former glory.

Originally planted in the Middle Ages by the Benedictine monks of the region, the land was acquired after Napoleonic secularisation by the Rheinart and Gebert families. Together they planted the steep-slopes with Riesling grapes, and by the 1890s, Van Volxem was a leader in the golden age of Riesling wine. However, fortunes suddenly faded, the economy went belly up and two world wars ensured that times would not be a-changing anytime soon. Sadly, by the 1970s, the once-famous Geisberg region had barely any vines left.

After four generations in the Van Volxem family, the estate was sold to Roman Niewodniscanski in 2004. Along with Dominik Völk, the former winemaker at Van Volxem, and Markus Molitor, a friend and viticultural colleague, the trio have risen to the huge challenge of replanting the 60-hectare estate. Although Niewodniscanski has abandoned the idea of using the Pradikat system (where quality Riesling wines are classified according to style), he has returned to traditional methods, such as: low yields per vine, strict selection, no harvest not before mid-October (if possible), physiological ripeness and spontaneous fermentation. Of course, this also holds true for all the estate's wines, from entry-level to Grand Crus (or Grosse Lagen in German).

It is still early days for Van Volxem but all the indications look good. Excellent scores year after year, fantastic quality-price rapport. However, beady-eyed wine investors will undoubtedly know that you can still find a very small amount of wine from the poorer years, incredibly rare and incredibly expensive, a half bottle of 1983 Van Volxem Scharzhofberger Riesling Eiswein Goldkapsel is something in the region of €350 (May 2019). Prices have been holding steady with a small drop in 24-months.