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Prince Metternich: the wine seeking to epitomise Rheingau Riesling

02 July 2025 By Michael Huband

Schloss Johnannisberg is known for its single vineyard expertise, but its new Prince Metternich release aims to bring drinkers to the category of Rheingau Riesling.

The name Schloss Johannisberg should be well known to lovers of fine wine. It has around 1200 years of winemaking history behind it. It sits in the portfolio of one of the UK’s leading wine agencies, Jascots Wine Merchants. It even has the significant title of the world’s first known vineyard dedicated to Riesling. For lovers of the grape – itself often a marker of the wine enthusiast – the winery should already be on their radar.

Yet Riesling addicts are not the entirety of the wine world. For many, the notion of Riesling is unfamiliar territory, with consumers only just branching out and trying the grape variety. The idea of geographical benchmarks like Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio delle Venezie or Chablis has not yet reached the mainstream for Riesling.

Hence Schloss Johannisberg is working to spread the gospel of Rheingau Riesling. Its answer? That is a new cuvée that both references its range and sits apart from it, named Prince Metternich.

“There is an upcoming trend worldwide for white wines made from Riesling,” explains Stefan Doktor, head of wine at Schloss Johannisberg. “But to name the grape variety isn’t enough for consumers to clearly identify the style of the wine.”

He continues: “Our goal is to establish the designation “Rheingau Riesling” or even better the acronym ‘RR’ as a synonymous for a certain taste profile. Dry but well balanced. Light and juicy, charming and finessed with a good portion of intensity and grip on the palate.”

Prince Metternich offers both authenticity and accessibility. Its fruit is sourced solely from Schloss Johannisberg’s own vineyards, showing the best of the Rheingau, while its stainless steel winemaking preserves the clarity of that origin. Yet it is also keenly priced and at the drier end of the spectrum (8.5g/l), both of which can broaden its appeal.

“It is the right choice for sophisticated and educated restaurant visitors, especially wine drinkers with an international mind-set,” explains Doktor.

Moreover, he frames it as quite a deliberate effort to balance authenticity with consumer appeal: “Shaped in classical but high-quality packaging. Tasteful and intense, but at the same time easy to enjoy, easy to understand, easy to recognize again and again.” The aim, evidently, is to offer a gateway into Rheingau Riesling.

Building an identity

Rather than extend an existing range, Doktor and his team have crafted a standalone identity for Prince Metternich. Yet that has not come at the expense of pride in the prestigious Schloss Johannisberg winery and its history.

Hence the label is easily approachable, unfussily conveying the key information of name, vintage and those crucial words ‘Rheingau Riesling’. The simple colour palette, accentuated by gold details, further demonstrates the intended accessibility.

Crucially, the bottle does not prioritise the winery name. All Schloss Johannisberg branded Riesling is sourced from the namesake single vineyard, itself a designation of origin, and so offers a highly specific snapshot of Rheingau.

Prince Metternich, on the other hand, is made from grapes across the estate surrounding the castle. It is thus a separate project, designed to represent a region rather than an individual plot. It is “a prototypical Rheingau Riesling made from the stony vineyards,” according to Doktor.

The estate’s history, however, is worn proudly. The name comes from the prince, born in 1773, who was gifted the Schloss Johannisberg estate after organising the Congress of Vienna in 1815, a diplomatic effort to restore order to Europe after Napoleon’s defeat. His portrait graces every bottle.

His name was chosen for both the historic ownership and his relentless pursuit of perfection. It is an attitude now shared by Doktor and his colleagues. The message is plain: whether making the case for Rheingau Riesling or the historic single vineyard, these are wines aspiring to quality, influence and prestige.

Patrick Schmitt MW tasted the Schloss Johannisberg range, available through its UK agent Jascots Wine Merchants, and offers his notes below.

Prince Metternich Rheingau Dry Riesling

Winery: Schloss Johannisberg
Region: Rheingau
Country: Germany
Vintage: 2023
ABV: 12%
Residual sugar: 8.5g/l
RRP: £22

An enjoyable fruity-floral Riesling with the grape’s signature note of rubber band, complemented by a touch of grape juice, ripe orange, and fleshy peach, as well as a firm, fresh acid on the finish, making this gently sweet wine a mouth-watering drink.

Bronzelack Trocken

Winery: Schloss Johannisberg
Region: Rheingau
Country: Germany
Vintage: 2022
ABV: 12.5%
Residual sugar: 5g/l
RRP: £35

A magnificent youthful, dry Riesling with wonderful depth – even an oily richness – and then lively freshness, featuring a core of ripe yellow peach and juicy lime zest, with a touch of petrol, bitter lemon, and then a salty, chalky finely-phenolic finish.

Silberlack Trocken Grosses Gewächs

Winery: Schloss Johannisberg
Region: Rheingau
Country: Germany
Vintage: 2021
ABV: 13%
Residual sugar: 3g/l
RRP: £60

An outstanding wine that entices with aromas of honey and tangerine and then indulges and refreshes with its rich palate, intense flavours, and zesty, bone-dry finish. In terms of characters, there are so many layers, from ripe orange to beeswax, white peach to crisp apple, juicy lime to rock dust, and then a touch of Riesling’s famous petrol-like note.

Goldlack Trocken

Winery: Schloss Johannisberg
Region: Rheingau
Country: Germany
Vintage: 2020
ABV: 13%
Residual sugar: 1.8g/l
RRP: £170

This fascinating oak-influenced Riesling starts with an intriguing and enticing mix of vanilla pod and matchstick, tangerine and lemon zest before unfolding in the mouth to reveal yet more characters, from grilled lemon and marmalade to petrol and tangerine, even a touch of toasted marshmallow and honeycombe. Texturally, it’s rich and creamy at its core, but with a zesty finish, even a firm acid edge. It’s also amazingly persistent, and bone dry, while being so complex and palate-cleansing too.

Grünlack Spätlese

Winery: Schloss Johannisberg
Region: Rheingau
Country: Germany
Vintage: 2022
ABV: 8%
Residual sugar: 76.7g/l
RRP: £45

Wonderful Riesling aromatics draw you into this delicious wine, from petrol and lime to chalk and grapefruit. Palate-wise it’s sweet peach and crystallised lemon, with a lovely youthful sugary richness, but balanced by a mouth-watering zesty freshness. The combination makes for a deeply satisfying drop that’s very hard not to drink.

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