Born of Drought – A Wine That Defies Time.

It is considered perhaps the oldest wine in the world—a liquid treasure cloaked in dust, slightly bowed as if time itself has left its mark. This bottle was filled during the age of Anne Boleyn, Martin Luther, Nostradamus, John Calvin, and Emperor Charles V, as the Renaissance finally began to blossom north of the Alps.

Today, this precious wine—intact and unopened—rests in the historic cellar of Bürgerspital zum Hl. Geist, a VDP estate in Würzburg. Housed in a wooden box behind glass, tucked safely into a stone alcove, it shares its sanctuary with other rare, historic vintages.

Harvested in the renowned Würzburg vineyard “Stein”, the grapes for the 1540 vintage ripened in a summer of extremes—the hottest and driest in recorded European history. Where and by whom the wine was vinified remains unknown. What is certain: no one at the time could have imagined that this wine would one day be known as the “Wine of the Millennium.”

I recently had the privilege to view this extraordinary bottle up close and speak with Robert Haller, managing director of the Bürgerspital estate, about its remarkable journey.

Henry G. Simon and Rudolf Fries – Guardians of a Treasure

Amid the chaos of World War II, the Jewish Simon family took what is now verifiably the last remaining bottle of the 1540 Stein wine into exile in England. In the 1960s, Henry G. Simon, descendant of the former winemaking family from Wiesbaden, first offered the bottle to the State Wine Cellar (Staatlicher Hofkeller)—ironically, the wine’s origin. But no one there expressed interest in acquiring it.

Simon then approached the Bürgerspital estate, where Rudolf Fries, then cellar master and later managing director, immediately recognized its significance. He managed to secure six bottles of the precious series from Simon on loan to the winery – including two of the legendary 1540 bottle. Simon’s instructions were clear:

“The wine,” Simon declared, “should return to its homeland—and remain in Würzburg.”

Henry G. Simon and his wife have since passed away. The decision over the wine’s fate rested with their two daughters, who ultimately chose to let the 1540 vintage remain at Bürgerspital—a gift to wine heritage.

“For a long time, the future was uncertain. Now we’re grateful to continue safeguarding this treasure,” says Haller.

In preparation for a possible recall or sale, the estate has a replica bottle made as a precaution
—a symbolic stand-in for the wine’s unique story.

“During guided tours,” Haller explains, “visitors can view our wine treasury—where the original 1540 Stein wine sits in its wooden case, just as it should.”

What does the 1540 vintage actually taste like?

An impertinent question, perhaps. And yet—there is an answer. In 1961, a rare wine tasting in London brought together a handful of vinous legends, including the esteemed “wine pope” Hugh Johnson. He was offered two small sips from a second bottle of the 1540 vintage—then still available.

Johnson wrote: “Before the wine succumbed to contact with air, it was still remarkably alive. Nothing else has ever shown me so vividly that wine is truly a living organism.”

The Heatwave of 1540 – Europe’s Forgotten Climate Catastrophe

What kind of year could give rise to such a wine? While modern times speak often of heatwaves, 1540 eclipses them all—including the summers of 2003 and 2015. An international team of researchers led by Dr. Oliver Wetter at the University of Bern examined over 300 historical chronicles and published their findings in the journal Climate Change.

Their conclusion: eleven consecutive months with virtually no rain, rivers running dry, scorched fields, widespread famine—a “mega-drought” of unprecedented scale.

Nothing had predicted the disaster. In the late 1530s, the climate was mild and generous; crops flourished, populations grew. Then came January 1540—and with it, the silence of a sky devoid of clouds.

Yet in this crucible of climate extremes, grapes ripened in Würzburg unlike any before or since—giving birth to a wine that would become legend.

A Drop of Eternity

The 1540 Stein wine is more than a vintage—it is a liquid time capsule, a survivor of war, exile, and oblivion. It is a tribute to craftsmanship, resilience, and the mysterious ways in which wine bridges time and generations.

That the 1540s, as well as other precious rarities – the oldest authentic wines in the world (see photo) – now rests safely in Bürgerspital’s cellar, visible to visitors and scholars alike, is a stroke of luck for German wine history. And perhaps, a reminder that certain treasures are not meant to be locked away—but shared, witnessed, and remembered.

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Photo Credit Titel: © Weingut Bürgerspital/C.Herdt (The oldest authentic vintage 1540 – the last of its series and probably the oldest wine bottle in the world)

Photo Credit Text: © Bürgerspital/C. Herdt Vineyard (the oldest authentic wines in the world. Formerly owned by the late King Ludwig of Bavaria 1786–1868) – from left to right: 1822 Rüdesheimer, 1822 Johannisberger, 1540 Steinwein (empty bottle), 1540 Steinwein (unopened), 1822 Rüdesheimer, 1857 Rüdesheimer

Wine lovers can find out more about the topic at the Bürgerspital winery:
https://www.buergerspital.de/wineestate/winetasting/index.html