By Linden Wilkie, Jan 2021

Weingut Geltz-Zilliken – referred to simply as Zilliken - is one of the great family estates in the Mosel, located in the Saar at Saarburg, and a specialist of the Rausch vineyard. The wines are very special, and our selection here covers both the dry ‘grand cru’ (grosses gewächs) and the fruity style, at the top of the quality pyramid.
 
Today the estate is managed by Hanno Zilliken and his daughter Dorothee Zilliken, with the key to this estate already officially passed down. Saarburger Rausch is an impressive hillside rising high enough to warrant a cable car for visitors to enjoy the sweeping views from the top. Here the Zillikens manage 11ha of vines in multiple sections, and as they explain it has ‘everything from medium-gray, fine layered Devonian slate to diabase, which originated as volcanic magma. The roots of the Riesling vine penetrate up to 10 meters deep in the rock face. From the depths of the Rausch soil the Riesling draws its characteristic minerality and an incomparable elegance.’ The wines are classic, distinctly ‘Zilliken’, and show the personality and nuances this vineyard has to offer.
 
Performance in the latest vintages on offer – 2019 and 2018 – is exceptional, and we also have on offer small quantities of superb back vintages, supplied direct from the cold cellars of Zilliken - 2007 spätlese, 2010 auslese, and 2010 auslese goldkap, ideal for wine lists wanting to offer the best.