Erbach: Marcobrunn (Rheingau Grosse Lage)

The VDP traces the name 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. According to the VDP, the people of Erbach encased the spring in a neoclassical construction in 1810 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!' The VDP names Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the Shakespeare translator August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845), Goethe (1749-1832) and the writer Theodor Fontane (1819-1898) among the site's visitors, and quotes Fontane: '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, per the VDP
• In 1810 the people of Erbach encased the border spring in a neoclassical construction; Hattenheim answered with its own inscription, per the VDP
• Visitors named by the VDP: Thomas Jefferson, August Wilhelm Schlegel, Goethe and Theodor Fontane
• Schloss Schönborn, owned by the Counts of Schönborn since 1349 per its own site, says it owns Marcobrunn vines planted in 1932, which it calls the oldest plantings

The VDP describes Marcobrunn as following 700 metres of the old country road between Erbach and Hattenheim, just a small distance away from the Rhine, and as completely south facing at 90 to 100 metres above sea level (VDP site profile, fetched 2026). For the Rheingau as a whole, the DWI notes 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 VDP gives the soil as tertiary marl and deep loess loam with mica content, parts of it highly calcareous, with subterranean water availability that is quite good and benefits the vines particularly in hot and dry years. Schloss Reinhartshausen describes the site as a gently inclined south-facing slope in the Erbach district, and Schloss Schönborn describes a medium-heavy, mica-bearing tertiary marl whose lime content keeps the vines supplied with water even in dry years.

• Completely south facing (S/SW in the VDP's data), 90 to 100 metres above sea level, slope 15 to 30 percent (VDP, fetched 2026)
• Tertiary marl and deep loess loam with mica content; parts highly calcareous; subterranean water availability quite good (VDP)
• Rheingau climate per the DWI: mild winters and warm summers, shelter from cold winds by the Taunus Hills, and heat reflected from the Rhine
• Schloss Reinhartshausen places the site in the Erbach district (Gemarkung Erbach) and credits its loess loam and calcareous marl soils with sand for regulating water in dry periods

The VDP's profile lists Riesling as the graded variety and says Marcobrunn is planted mostly with Riesling; for VDP.Grosse Lage wines in the Rheingau, the VDP's classification page permits Riesling and Pinot Noir. Under the VDP's rules, 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 on the estate's data sheet; 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, per the VDP profile; 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 (VDP)
• Künstler 2022 Marcobrunn Riesling GG: 13% alcohol, 6.6 g/L residual sugar, 7 g/L acidity, aged in large wooden casks (estate data sheet, 2022 vintage)
• Corvers-Kauter's March 2026 price list includes a Marcobrunn Erbach Spätlese 2024 and a Marcobrunn Erbach Auslese 2025

The VDP's site profile (fetched 2026) lists five VDP estates working Marcobrunn: Baron Knyphausen, von Oetinger, Kloster Eberbach, Prinz and Künstler. Baron Knyphausen is based at the Draiser Hof in Eltville-Erbach, which its own site says has been owned by the Barons zu Knyphausen since 1818; on the estate's VDP page, Frederik zu Knyphausen calls its small holding in Marcobrunn a particular point of pride, and the VDP gives the estate's membership since 1972 and 16.70 hectares of vineyard (VDP, fetched 2026). Achim von Oetinger told the VDP, in an interview on a page dated 2022, that his Marcobrunn GG runs to only 500 bottles every year. Schloss Reinhartshausen, which dates its place in Rheingau wine culture to 1337, bottles Erbacher Marcobrunn wines; its site dates the current stewardship to 2013, and its imprint names Stefan and Jürgen Lergenmüller as managing directors. Schloss Schönborn says the Counts of Schönborn have owned the estate since 1349 and that it owns Marcobrunn vines planted in 1932, which it calls the oldest plantings. 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, per a 2018 wein.plus report, and now lists a Marcobrunn Riesling in its Grosse Lage range.

• Baron Knyphausen: Draiser Hof family-owned since 1818; VDP member since 1972; 16.70 ha per the VDP and just under 17 ha per the estate (both fetched 2026); run by Frederik zu Knyphausen in the eighth generation
• Schloss Reinhartshausen: part of Rheingau wine culture since 1337 per its own site; current stewardship since 2013; Stefan and Jürgen Lergenmüller named as managing directors; certified organic since 2021
• Schloss Schönborn: owned by the Counts of Schönborn since 1349; about 30 ha, around 95 percent Riesling, per its own site (fetched 2026); owns Marcobrunn vines planted in 1932
• Corvers-Kauter: 15 ha leased long-term from Langwerth von Simmern, including Marcobrunn parcels; announced it would vinify part of the 2018 crop and farm the vineyards entirely itself from 2019 (wein.plus, 2018)

The Rheingau is one of the 13 bestimmte Anbaugebiete for quality and Prädikat wines listed in Section 3 of the Weingesetz (consolidated text, fetched 2026). The VDP.Classification that ranks Marcobrunn is, in the VDP's own words, not stipulated in German wine law but reflects the VDP's own private regulations. The VDP records that 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, and that its 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 VDP caps the harvest at 50 hectoliters per hectare and requires selective hand harvesting (VDP, fetched 2026); white GGs are released on September 1 and fruity and noble-sweet Prädikat wines on May 1 of the year after harvest. The VDP's history states that from the 2006 vintage its Grosses Gewächs wines were dry in accordance with the legal standard, meaning a maximum of nine grams of residual sugar.

• VDP.Grosse Lage: the VDP's top tier; the VDP likens its four-stage model 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 (VDP)
• Rheingau Erstes Gewächs: Hessen's quality classification regulation, usable on labels from the 1999 vintage, per the VDP
• The VDP.Classification is the VDP's own private regulation, not part of German wine law, per the VDP

The Marcobrunnen spring, encased by Erbach in 1810 and answered by a Hattenheim inscription, marks the border the vineyard is named for, per the VDP. Baron Knyphausen's Draiser Hof in Erbach, which the estate says was 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 per its imprint, invites visitors to its Vinothek. Across the Rheingau, the DWI lists 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 (VDP)
• Draiser Hof, Erbach: Baron Knyphausen's 1818 Gutsrestaurant & Weinbar and Weinlounge 1141
• Schloss Reinhartshausen in Eltville-Erbach welcomes visitors to its Vinothek
• Rheingau events per the DWI: 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 2026-09-28