Sachsen, Germany
Weingut Martin Schwarz
Martin Schwarz is one of the leading winemakers in Sachsen (Saxony). His passion for work, his uncompromising approach to quality and his commitment to doing everything meticulously by hand in his steep vineyards along the River Elbe are the secret to producing expressive wines of immense precision, structure and minerality. People continue to underestimate Germany’s most easterly wine region, but they should look no further than Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to see how much potential there is in Sachsen.
Martin Schwarz’s route into the world of wine was unconventional. He studied electrical engineering but dropped out before finishing his degree in order to follow his true passion and enrol in the viticulture and winemaking course at Geisenheim. After learning the ropes at Dr. Heger in the Kaiserstuhl region, Schwarz was hired as winemaker in 1996 by Sachsen’s oldest privately owned winery Weingut Schloss Proschwitz. He and his partner Grit Geissler decided to go it alone in 2013, establishing their own winemaking business in Meissen.
A modern pioneer of Sachsen wine
Schwarz belongs to the first generation of top independent winemakers in Sachsen. One of smallest and, certainly, the most easterly of Germany’s wine regions, Sachsen has always remained under the radar. Cooperatives were responsible for much of the wine produced in the former East Germany. They prioritised mass volume over everything else. It was only after German reunification that quality-oriented growers emerged.
None of his family had a winemaking background. Despite or because of this, Schwarz wanted to leverage the potential of his home region by doing his own thing. From the outset, he was unyielding in his determination to make high-quality, dry, terroir-driven wines raised in oak. This approach was anything but typical for Sachsen at the time.
Through his courage, perseverance and innovation, Schwarz has played a key role in redefining Sachsen. Once dismissed as a viticultural backwater, the region is now proving many doubters wrong and slowly becoming one of the country’s most exciting places to make wine.
Steep vineyards along the Elbe
Schwarz and Geissler today farm six hectares of vines along the River Elbe in Radebeul, Meissen, Diesbar-Seusslitz and Merbitz. Dry-stone walls delineate these steep slopes, marking out some of the best and most distinctive vineyards in Sachsen.
Radebeuler Friedstein and Meissener Kapitelberg – both of them VDP.Grosse Lagen (grands crus) – are of special note. Vineyard soils consist of weathered granite, porphyry and syenite, with proximity to the River Elbe responsible for big temperature swings between day and night. These conditions translate into a long ripening period that gives freshness, elegance and pronounced minerality to the wines.
Diverse range of grapes
The estate grows Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) as well as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir originating from French clones. Sitting on poor granite soils, the Chardonnays and Pinots in particular show remarkable finesse and individuality. Schwarz has also experimented with Nebbiolo, Syrah and Tempranillo, successfully pushing the boundaries of what is possible in Sachsen.
He has a clear approach to winemaking, vinifying each plot separately to express the site’s individual character as precisely as possible. His new and used oak vessels are perfect for gentle vinification, resulting in complex wines that have structure, depth and excellent ageing potential.
Handcrafted and precise
Perfectionism and attention to detail inform the work of Schwarz and Geissler, who put in countless hours of work to farm all their vineyards by hand. Every decision they make in vineyard and cellar is focused on delivering quality and terroir expression.
The fruits of their labour now represent some of the most impressive examples of Sachsen winemaking.
“Everything needs time to develop, not just wine. It’s all about staying the course .”
Martin Schwarz
