Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken

The Zilliken family traces its winegrowing tradition back to 1742, with early generations working in Saarburg and Ockfen. Royal Prussian Forest Superintendent Ferdinand Geltz (1851-1925) laid the groundwork for the estate, which bears his name. Geltz was a co-founder of the 'Vereins der Naturweinversteigerer Großer Ring', known today as the VDP Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, which promoted the sale of unchaptalized wines. His vineyards were later divided between his two daughters, Antoinette and Ella. In honour of Antoinette's husband, a Prussian major, the estate was renamed Forstmeister Geltz Krick, and Ella's share passed to her daughters Marianne and Henriette. The estate's house and cellar were destroyed in a bombing raid at Christmas 1944. In 1947 Marianne married Fritz Zilliken, and from then on the estate has carried the name Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken. The couple acquired a cellar on Heckingstrasse in 1950, which remains the centre of the estate's operations. Dorothee Zilliken is the owner.

• 1742: the family's winegrowing tradition begins, in Saarburg and Ockfen.
• Ferdinand Geltz (1851-1925): Royal Prussian Forest Superintendent and co-founder of the Großer Ring, today the VDP Mosel-Saar-Ruwer.
• Christmas 1944: house and cellar destroyed in a bombing raid; 1947: Marianne married Fritz Zilliken and the estate became Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken.
• 1950: the cellar on Heckingstrasse was acquired; it remains the centre of operations.

Dorothee Zilliken took over from her father Hanno in 2016. Dorothee leads the estate, supported by her father Hanno as cellar master, her husband Philipp, her mother Ruth and several employees. Dorothee Zilliken is the owner, and Hanno Zilliken, Philipp Zilliken and Niclas Reis are the cellar masters. As of February 2021, at harvest Philipp led the pressing room and the cellar, guided and supported by Hanno; Dorothee was responsible for the vineyard and a team of around 20 pickers; and Ruth was in charge of sales.

• Owner and head of the estate: Dorothee Zilliken, who took over from her father Hanno in 2016.
• Cellar masters: Hanno Zilliken, Philipp Zilliken and Niclas Reis.
• Ruth Zilliken, Dorothee's mother, was in charge of sales as of February 2021.

The estate farms 13 hectares and grows one variety, Riesling, on steep slopes that face exclusively south and are classified VDP.GROSSE LAGE. Its most important site is the Saarburger Rausch, where its 11 hectares sit on soils ranging from medium-gray, finely layered Devonian slate to diabase, a rock that originated as volcanic magma; the vine roots reach up to 10 meters into the rock. In the Ockfener Bockstein, in Ockfen, the estate cultivates a single hectare of steep slopes of large gray Devonian slate laced with quartz and yellow clay. The Saar, a tributary of the Mosel, is one of Germany's coolest wine regions. Grapes are picked selectively by hand; in 2023 the harvest ran from September 25 to October 18. Frost in the lower part of the Rausch holdings in 2019 meant some fruit had to be discarded, and in 2024 the family reckoned to have lost up to 70% of its potential crop to frost.

• Saarburger Rausch: 11 hectares, VDP.GROSSE LAGE; soils from Devonian slate to diabase of volcanic origin; roots up to 10 meters deep.
• Ockfener Bockstein: one hectare, VDP.GROSSE LAGE; Devonian slate laced with quartz and yellow clay.
• 100% Riesling on steep, exclusively south-facing slopes.

Nearby underground springs keep the estate's cellar cool and extremely moist, at a natural temperature of around 11 degrees Celsius. Gravity is used to fill the barrels for fermentation, and the wines are vinified from start to finish in those same wooden barrels. As of 2021, all the wines were fermented in Fuder, untoasted German oak casks of around 1,000 litres that were 60 to 70 years old and imparted no oak flavour; a new cask took three years to arrive after ordering. Because the cellar is so cool, as of 2021 some casks were inoculated to start fermentation, particularly for the dry wines, while some casks of the wines that do not need to ferment to dryness were allowed to ferment spontaneously. Bottled wines are stored in the cellar to mature, and it also holds a library of historic vintages from the estate.

• Natural cellar temperature of around 11 degrees Celsius, with high humidity from nearby underground springs.
• Barrels filled by gravity; the wines are vinified from start to finish in the same wooden barrels.
• Fuder casks of around 1,000 litres, 60 to 70 years old as of 2021, imparting no oak flavour.
• As of 2021, some casks were inoculated, particularly for dry wines, and some casks of the sweeter wines fermented spontaneously.

All the estate's wines, from Gutswein (entry level) through Ortswein (village) to Grosse Lage (single vineyard), are made from 100% estate-grown grapes and are estate bottled. The range runs from dry Rieslings to the noble sweet Auslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein, and the best wines are sent to auction. The labels are the same as those the family's grandfather placed on his bottles. The 2023 vintage includes two VDP.GROSSE GEWÄCHSE, from the Ockfener Bockstein and the Saarburger Rausch, alongside the Zilliken Riesling Butterfly, Saarburg Riesling feinherb, Saarburg Riesling Kabinett, Rausch Riesling Kabinett and Rausch Riesling Spätlese. The 2022 range also included a Bockstein Riesling Großes Gewächs, Rausch Riesling Diabas, Bockstein Riesling Kabinett and Saarburg Riesling Alte Reben trocken. The 2023 harvest also produced a Rausch Auslese Gold Capsule, scheduled for auction on November 8, 2024, at the VDP.Mosel Großer Ring auction in Trier.

• 100% estate-grown and estate-bottled, across Gutswein, Ortswein and Grosse Lage levels.
• Styles from dry Riesling to Auslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein; the best wines are sent to auction.
• 2023 vintage: Großes Gewächs from the Rausch and the Bockstein; Rausch Kabinett and Spätlese; Saarburg Kabinett and feinherb; Butterfly.
• Rausch Auslese Gold Capsule 2023: scheduled for the VDP.Mosel Großer Ring auction in Trier on November 8, 2024.

In 2016 the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland named Hanno and Dorothee Zilliken its Winemakers of the Year, and its 2017 edition rated the estate's Riesling Kabinett and Riesling Auslese the best in Germany in their categories. In November 2017 Gault Millau's judges rated three of the estate's 2016 Saarburger Rausch wines the best in Germany in their categories, the Spätlese Versteigerungswein (auction wine) at 99 points, the Auslese at 98 points and the Kabinett at 96 points, and the estate kept the guide's highest rating of five grapes.

• Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland: Winemakers of the Year 2016 (Hanno and Dorothee Zilliken); in November 2017, best Riesling Spätlese (99 points), Auslese (98) and Kabinett (96) in Germany, all 2016 Saarburger Rausch, and five grapes kept.

Dorothee Zilliken has written that Kabinett is always her favourite 'because it offers so much intensity of fruitiness and juiciness, but concomitant with a light alcohol level', and on taking over she was clear: 'I don't want to change the style of the wines.' Of the old casks she explained: 'we think the fermentation in those barrels is fining the wine a tiny bit and offers a round mouthfeel.' In 2024 Jancis Robinson wrote that Dorothee and Philipp were deliberately making wines even lighter and perceptibly drier than those of the previous generation. The estate holds that 'a slow, steady ripening is the key to exceptional aromatics' and that its wines 'are intended to mature', adding: 'Many wines take decades to reach their peak.'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/en/winery/history.html, https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/en/winery/cellar.html, https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/en/vineyards.html, https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/en/vineyards/saarburger-rausch.html, https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/en/vineyards/ockfener-bockstein.html, https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/en/wines.html, https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/en/wines/2023.html, https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/en/wines/2022.html, https://www.zilliken-vdp.de/weingut.html. Secondary sources: VDP estate profile, https://www.vdp.de/de/die-weine/weinbergonline/weingut/forstmeister-geltz-zilliken; Jancis Robinson (Julia Harding MW, 26 February 2021), https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/zilliken-saarburger-rausch-riesling-kabinett-2019-saar; Jancis Robinson (25 May 2024), https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/german-wine-next-generation; Weinland Mosel (9 December 2016), https://www.weinland-mosel.de/de/aktuelles/show/mosel-gewinnt-wichtige-auszeichnungen/; Weinland Mosel (28 November 2017), https://www.weinland-mosel.de/de/aktuelles/show/auch-gault-millau-faz-und-focus-feiern-den-steillagen-riesling. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Last verified 2026-10-19