Rauenthal (Baiken & Gehrn)

Rauenthal is the highest-lying wine village in the Rheingau, and the Baiken is regarded as its heart. Baiken lies in a crook at the base of the Rauenthal mountain near the Sulzbach tributary, and its name stems from the Old High German word for "Beuge", meaning crook. The vineyard faces south to southwest, with optimal sun exposure and cool, fresh air from the Taunus forest. The figures for Baiken differ by source: the VDP's site description places it between 150 and 210 meters above sea level on a gentle 20 percent slope, its site profile lists 100 to 180 meters and a 35 to 38 percent slope, and Kloster Eberbach gives the steep south slope gradients of up to 60 percent. Gehrn is south-facing and rises from 150 to 180 meters above sea level at a 55 percent gradient. Across the wider Rheingau, the forest-capped Taunus Hills protect the vineyards from cold winds.

• Baiken: south to southwest facing, with optimal sun exposure and cool, fresh air from the Taunus forest
• Baiken: underground aquifers provide the vineyard with good water availability
• Gehrn: south-facing, 150 to 180 meters above sea level, 55 percent gradient
• Graded area: Baiken 30.81 acres, Gehrn 40.13 acres

Baiken's soils are weathered phyllite slate, quartzite and loess loam, with grey, weathered clayey slate as the ground. They are medium to deep, stony and mostly lime-free, composed of weathered slate, phyllite, quartzite and loess loam, and the steep south slope receives optimal sun and warms easily. Gehrn's soils are quartzite and slate with wind-deposited loess.

• Baiken: weathered phyllite slate, quartzite and loess loam
• Baiken: medium to deep, stony, mostly lime-free soils of weathered slate, phyllite, quartzite and loess loam
• Gehrn: quartzite and slate with wind-deposited loess

The property register of Kloster Tiefenthal, which was subordinate to Kloster Eberbach, first records land holdings in the Rauenthaler Berg in the early 13th century. In the VDP's account, Rauenthal wines already enjoyed an excellent international reputation by the end of the 19th century, which led the Royal Prussian estate administration to use the proceeds from selling property on the Neroberg in Wiesbaden to buy the Wilhelmy wine estate in Rauenthal; this is why Hessische Staatsweingüter buildings stand in the Baiken today. Documents from 1900 record that the Baiken was acquired by the Prussian government for 1.12 million gold marks. Kloster Eberbach's Domäne Rauenthal was built between the Baiken vine rows in 1928 and enlarged to its present size in the 1950s. The Prussian state acquired around 20 hectares of vineyards there and expanded them to almost 50 hectares under domain director Jacob Diefenhardt, and the Rauenthal sites were then the Prussians' most valuable vineyard holdings. For Gehrn, the vineyard "ufm Giren" was mentioned in documents dating from 1688, and the Old High German word "Ger", meaning spear, refers to the site's wedge shape. VDP.GROSSE LAGE is the designation for the highest quality German vineyards in the VDP classification, and dry wines from them are called VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS. Baiken and Gehrn are classified VDP.ERSTE LAGE, and Baikenkopf and Gehrn Kesselring VDP.GROSSE LAGE. Kloster Eberbach calls the Baikenkopf the "Filetstück" (prime cut) of the Rauenthaler Baiken.

• Early 13th century: first recorded holdings in the Rauenthaler Berg, in the register of Kloster Tiefenthal
• 1688: the Gehrn vineyard "ufm Giren" mentioned in documents
• 1900: the Prussian government acquired the Baiken for 1.12 million gold marks
• 1928: Domäne Rauenthal built in the middle of the Baiken
• VDP classification: Baiken and Gehrn VDP.ERSTE LAGE; Baikenkopf and Gehrn Kesselring VDP.GROSSE LAGE

Kloster Eberbach sells a Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling trocken and a Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling Spätlese as VDP.ERSTE LAGE wines, and a BAIKENKOPF Rauenthal Riesling GG from the VDP.GROSSE LAGE parcel. VDP members August Eser and Kloster Eberbach both work the Gehrn. Corvers-Kauter offers a 2025 Baiken Riesling from the Rauenthaler Baiken and a 2025 Baiken Rauenthal Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, and Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn offers a 2024 Rauenthaler Baiken Riesling trocken, VDP.ERSTE LAGE, and a 2025 Baiken Auslese. Weingut Georg Breuer farms 6.5 of its 40 hectares in Rauenthal and counts the Nonnenberg monopole among its best vineyard sites there.

• Kloster Eberbach: Baiken trocken and Spätlese (VDP.ERSTE LAGE), BAIKENKOPF GG (VDP.GROSSE LAGE)
• Gehrn: VDP members August Eser and Kloster Eberbach work the site
• Corvers-Kauter and Peter Jakob Kühn: Baiken Rieslings from dry to Trockenbeerenauslese and Auslese
• Georg Breuer: 6.5 hectares in Rauenthal, including the Nonnenberg monopole

Producers bottle Rauenthal's Baiken across the sweetness range, from dry Riesling to Spätlese, Auslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. Kloster Eberbach's dry 2024 BAIKENKOPF GG carries 12.0 percent alcohol, 4.2 grams per liter of residual sugar and 7.5 grams per liter of acidity, and the estate's tasting note pairs fine citrus notes with hints of fennel, anise and ripe pineapple, precise structure, fine minerality and a long finish. Corvers-Kauter's note for its 2025 Baiken Riesling gives a hint of citrus zest, some nashi pear and a fingertip of rock dust.

• Styles from Baiken: trocken, Spätlese, Auslese and Trockenbeerenauslese
• 2024 BAIKENKOPF GG: 12.0 percent alcohol, 4.2 g/l residual sugar, 7.5 g/l acidity
• Producer tasting notes cite citrus, fennel, anise, pineapple, nashi pear and rock dust

Primary sources (VDP, Deutsches Weininstitut and the named producers' own sites): https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/vineyardonline/lage/7001-baiken, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/vineyardonline/lage/7046-gehrn, https://www.vdp.de/en/the-wines/classification, https://www.winesofgermany.com/our-regions/growing-area/69/rheingau, https://kloster-eberbach.de/de/wein/weingut, https://kloster-eberbach.de/de/wein/weingut/domaene-rauenthal, https://www.weingut-kloster-eberbach.de/2024-BAIKENKOPF-Rauenthal-Riesling-GG-VDP.GROSSE-LAGE/11301-24, https://www.weingut-kloster-eberbach.de/2024-Rauenthaler-Baiken-Riesling-Spaetlese-VDP.ERSTE-LAGE/11001-24, http://www.corvers-kauter.de/weine/grosse-bergweine, https://www.weingutpjkuehn.de/weinshop/, https://www.georg-breuer.com/index.php?s=e_weingut. Last verified 2026-10-05