This estate holds vines in both the Nahe and the Rheinhessen areas, but the Rheinhessen vines are just over the boundary in Bingen, so that for all but the political boundary purposes, they are Nahe wines.
Production in the Nahe is small but there are many high-quality producers. The two best-known in recent decades have been Dönnhoff and more recently, Schäfer-Fröhlich, but there are a number of others that are worth seeking out, including the wines from Salm, at the northern end of the Nahe region.
The estate dates to 1200, the oldest German estate still in private hands, and one of the oldest estates in operation anywhere.
The estate was a founding member of the Nahe chapter of the prestigious VDP organization. Moreover, Prinz Michael Salm, former head of the estate, was for 17 years the president of the overall VDP. His son, Felix Salm, has in recent years taken over the estate and the wines, which were already excellent here, are now perhaps even better.
Beginning in 1988, the estate converted to organic agriculture, one of the early estates in Germany to do so. (Continue reading here.)