Erbach: Marcobrunn (Rheingau Grosse Lage)

The name goes back to before the year 1200, when the site was referred to as 'Markenburne', and to 'Markenborne' from 1275, likely from the word 'Marka', meaning border; a spring lies on the border between Erbach and Hattenheim. In 1810 the people of Erbach encased the spring in a neoclassical construction and engraved it 'Marcobrunnen Gemarkung Erbach', and the people of Hattenheim countered with the inscription 'So is just and so shall it be. For Erbach the water and for Hattenheim the wine!' Visitors to the site have included Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the Shakespeare translator August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845), Goethe (1749-1832) and the writer Theodor Fontane (1819-1898), who commented on the wine: 'It is miraculous what blows the heart can bear, when each stroke is parried with a bottle of Marcobrunn.'

• Recorded as 'Markenburne' before 1200 and 'Markenborne' from 1275; likely from 'Marka' (border) and the spring on the Erbach-Hattenheim border
• In 1810 the people of Erbach encased the border spring in a neoclassical construction; Hattenheim answered with its own inscription
• Notable visitors: Thomas Jefferson, August Wilhelm Schlegel, Goethe and Theodor Fontane
• Schloss Schönborn, owned by the Counts of Schönborn since 1349, holds Marcobrunn vines planted as early as 1932

Marcobrunn follows 700 metres of the old country road between Erbach and Hattenheim, a small distance from the Rhine, and is completely south facing at 90 to 100 metres above sea level. The Rheingau has mild winters and warm summers, with vineyards protected from cold winds by the forest-capped Taunus Hills and benefiting from the heat-reflecting surface of the Rhine. The soil is tertiary marl and deep loess loam with mica content, parts of it highly calcareous, and subterranean water availability is quite good, which benefits the vines particularly in hot and dry years. The slope is gently inclined, and the medium-heavy, mica-bearing tertiary marl has a lime content that keeps the vines well supplied with water even in dry years.

• Completely south facing (S/SW alignment), 90 to 100 metres above sea level, slope 15 to 30 percent
• Tertiary marl and deep loess loam with mica content; parts highly calcareous; subterranean water availability quite good
• Rheingau climate: mild winters and warm summers, shelter from cold winds by the Taunus Hills, and heat reflected from the Rhine
• A gently inclined south-facing slope in the Erbach district (Gemarkung Erbach), where loess loam and calcareous marl with sand help regulate water in dry periods

Riesling is the graded variety and Marcobrunn is planted mostly with Riesling; for VDP.Grosse Lage wines in the Rheingau, the VDP permits Riesling and Pinot Noir. Dry wines from VDP.Grosse Lage sites are called VDP.Grosses Gewächs, while fruity and noble-sweet wines carry the classic Prädikat names. Producers bottle Marcobrunn in several styles: Künstler's 2022 Marcobrunn Riesling GG is dry, with 6.6 g/L residual sugar and 7 g/L acidity; Schloss Reinhartshausen sells a 2022 Erbacher Marcobrunn Kabinett labelled feinherb and a dry 2018 Erbacher Marcobrunn Reserve; and Corvers-Kauter's March 2026 price list carries a Marcobrunn Erbach Spätlese and Auslese alongside its dry Marcobrunn Riesling.

• Mostly Riesling; the VDP permits Riesling and Pinot Noir for Rheingau VDP.Grosse Lage wines
• Dry wines from VDP.Grosse Lage sites are VDP.Grosses Gewächs (GG); fruity and noble-sweet wines carry the classic Prädikat names
• Künstler 2022 Marcobrunn Riesling GG: 13% alcohol, 6.6 g/L residual sugar, 7 g/L acidity, aged in large wooden casks
• Corvers-Kauter's March 2026 price list includes a Marcobrunn Erbach Spätlese 2024 and a Marcobrunn Erbach Auslese 2025

Five VDP estates work Marcobrunn: Baron Knyphausen, von Oetinger, Kloster Eberbach, Prinz and Künstler. Baron Knyphausen is based at the Draiser Hof in Eltville-Erbach, a former Cistercian estate of Kloster Eberbach owned by the Barons zu Knyphausen since 1818; the estate has been a VDP member since 1972 and farms just under 17 hectares of vineyard. Frederik zu Knyphausen calls its small holding in Marcobrunn a particular point of pride. In a 2022 interview on the VDP site, Achim von Oetinger named his Marcobrunn GG, at only 500 bottles every year, as the wine he is particularly proud of. Schloss Reinhartshausen, part of Rheingau wine culture since 1337 and under its current stewardship since 2013, bottles Erbacher Marcobrunn wines; Stefan and Jürgen Lergenmüller are its managing directors. The Counts of Schönborn have owned Schloss Schönborn since 1349, and the estate holds Marcobrunn vines planted as early as 1932. In 2018 Corvers-Kauter took over 15 hectares on a long-term lease from the now defunct Langwerth von Simmern estate, including parcels in the Erbacher Marcobrunn, and it now lists a Marcobrunn Riesling in its Grosse Lage range.

• Baron Knyphausen: Draiser Hof family-owned since 1818; VDP member since 1972; just under 17 ha; taken over by Frederik zu Knyphausen in the eighth generation
• Schloss Reinhartshausen: part of Rheingau wine culture since 1337; current stewardship since 2013; Stefan and Jürgen Lergenmüller managing directors; certified organic since 2021
• Schloss Schönborn: owned by the Counts of Schönborn since 1349; about 30 ha, around 95 percent Riesling; Marcobrunn vines planted in 1932
• Corvers-Kauter: 15 ha leased long-term from Langwerth von Simmern, including Marcobrunn parcels; planned in 2018 to vinify part of that year's crop and to farm the vineyards entirely itself from 2019

The Rheingau is one of the 13 bestimmte Anbaugebiete for quality and Prädikat wines listed in Section 3 of the Weingesetz. The VDP.Classification that ranks Marcobrunn is not stipulated in German wine law but reflects the VDP's own private regulations. In 1999 the quality map for the Rheingau sites was presented and Hessen's Erstes Gewächs regulation passed, allowing the term on labels from the 1999 vintage; the four-stage classification (VDP.Gutswein, VDP.Ortswein, VDP.Erste Lage and VDP.Grosse Lage) was unanimously adopted in January 2012, applying from the 2012 vintage, analogous to the Burgundian classification with Premier Crus and Grands Crus. For VDP.Grosse Lage sites, the harvest is capped at 50 hectoliters per hectare and the grapes are harvested selectively by hand; white GGs are released on September 1 and fruity and noble-sweet Prädikat wines on May 1 of the year after harvest. From the 2006 vintage, Grosses Gewächs wines were dry in accordance with the legal standard, meaning a maximum of nine grams of residual sugar.

• VDP.Grosse Lage: the designation for the highest quality German vineyards; the four-stage model is analogous to Burgundy's Premier Crus and Grands Crus
• VDP.Grosses Gewächs (GG): the dry wine of a Grosse Lage; white GGs released September 1 after roughly one year of maturation
• Rheingau Erstes Gewächs: Hessen's quality classification regulation, usable on labels from the 1999 vintage
• The VDP.Classification is the association's own private regulation, not part of German wine law

The Marcobrunnen spring, encased by Erbach in 1810 and answered by a Hattenheim inscription, marks the border from which the vineyard likely takes its name. Baron Knyphausen's Draiser Hof in Erbach, founded in 1141 by the Cistercian monks of Kloster Eberbach, runs the 1818 Gutsrestaurant & Weinbar and the Weinlounge 1141. Schloss Reinhartshausen, at Hauptstrasse 39 in Eltville-Erbach, invites visitors to its Vinothek. Across the Rheingau, the calendar includes the Gourmet & Wine Festival in March, the Schlemmerwochen in late April, the Rheingau Music Festival during the summer months and the Glorious Rheingau Days in November.

• Marcobrunnen spring (encased 1810) on the Erbach-Hattenheim border, with inscriptions from both villages
• Draiser Hof, Erbach: Baron Knyphausen's 1818 Gutsrestaurant & Weinbar and Weinlounge 1141
• Schloss Reinhartshausen in Eltville-Erbach welcomes visitors to its Vinothek
• Rheingau events: Gourmet & Wine Festival (March), Schlemmerwochen (late April), Rheingau Music Festival (summer), Glorious Rheingau Days (November)

Primary sources (the VDP, the Deutsches Weininstitut, the Weingesetz and the named producers' own sites): https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/vineyardonline/lage/7127-marcobrunn, https://www.vdp.de/de/die-winzer/rheingau/baron-knyphausen, https://www.vdp.de/en/die-winzer/rheingau/vdpweingut-von-oetinger, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/classification, https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions/growing-area/69/rheingau, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/weing_1994/__3.html, https://www.schloss-reinhartshausen.de/, https://www.schloss-reinhartshausen.de/lagen-exptertisen/, https://www.schloss-reinhartshausen.de/en/produkt/erbacher-marcobrunn-kabinett/, https://www.schloss-reinhartshausen.de/produkt/marcobrunn-riesling-rr/, https://www.schloss-reinhartshausen.de/impressum/, https://weingut-schloss-schoenborn.de/weingut/, https://weingut-schloss-schoenborn.de/lagen/, https://www.baron-knyphausen.de/, https://knyphausen-wein.de/homepage/das-weingut/, https://www.baron-knyphausen.de/weine, https://www.weingut-kuenstler.de/online-shop/expertise/produkt/22960-marcobrunn-riesling-gg-419.html, http://www.corvers-kauter.de/weine/grosse-bergweine, http://www.corvers-kauter.de/sites/default/files/2026_03-Preisliste-ab-Hof.pdf. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/germany/rheingau/kloster-eberbach-marcobrunn-riesling-grosses-gewaechs-2016-21798/, https://magazine.wein.plus/news/corvers-kauter-rheingau-takes-over-15-ha-of-vineyards-from-langwerth-von-simmern-rheingau-traditional-farm-closed-down-in-2017. Last verified 2026-10-05