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IT Near Wiesbaden, the Rhine bends westwards, and along this detour the vineyards of the Rheingau stretch like a single south-facing slope between the Taunus hills and the river. The forests on the heights shield the area from cold northerly winds, while the broad expanse of water reflects light and warmth, allowing the Riesling here to ripen slowly and retain its taut acidity. Our wines from the Rheingau come almost entirely from Peter Jakob Kühn in Oestrich, who has been farming biodynamically according to Demeter standards since 2004 and exercises great restraint in the cellar. Those seeking natural wine in the Rheingau will find Rieslings and sparkling wines of cool clarity at his estate, ranging from Kabinett wines from Lenchen to the Grosses Gewächs from Doosberg and Jungfer.
More about Rheingau
A South-Facing Slope between the Taunus and the Rhine
Up at the edge of the forest, towards the Taunus, the vines grow on Taunus quartzite and slate, meagre soils that warm up quickly. Further down, towards the river, loess, loam and marl take over; they retain more water and give the wines body and juiciness. At the western end, where the Rhine turns north again at Rüdesheim, the Rüdesheimer Berg drops steeply to the water; just beyond, in Assmannshausen, Spätburgunder has long been grown on slate. The Cistercians of Kloster Eberbach shaped these slopes over centuries, and the Prädikat levels Spätlese and Auslese have their roots in the Rheingau.
Rheingau Riesling from Quartzite to Loess
Riesling is the grape that carries the Rheingau. On quartzite and slate it becomes slender, smoky and cool, with citrus, white blossom and herbal spice; on the deeper loess soils it shows more yellow fruit, peach and greengage. Made dry, it is taut and long-lived; as a Kabinett with delicate residual sweetness it seems to float; and from botrytised grapes come Auslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen whose sweetness is carried by acidity. Spätburgunder also belongs to the Rheingau, as a red with cherry fruit and fine tannins. Anyone wanting to get to know wine from the Rheingau would do best to start with an Ortswein: the Riesling Oestrich Quarzit 2023 from Peter Jakob Kühn shows the stony, cool character of these soils with a slightly smoky note and earthy spice.
Natural Wine from the Rheingau: the Work of Peter Jakob Kühn
The Kühn family has grown wine in Oestrich since 1786. Peter Jakob Kühn converted the estate to biodynamic farming and has been Demeter-certified since 2004. In the vineyard he works with the biodynamic preparations; in the cellar he intervenes as little as possible, so that his Riesling from the Jungfer, for instance, ferments spontaneously with yeasts from the vineyard. The Sekts mature by traditional bottle fermentation, and the Blanc de Blancs and the Blanc de Noirs are bottled as Brut Nature without dosage. This is how natural wine comes about in the Rheingau: from living soils and with a great deal of patience in the cellar.
From Oestrich to Hallgarten: Sites in Our Range
Kühn's vineyards lie around Oestrich and climb up towards Hallgarten. The Lenchen on the edge of Oestrich yields juicy, mineral Rieslings, such as the Riesling Lenchen Kabinett VDP Grosse Lage 2024 with delicate residual sweetness, but from old vines also a dry Grosses Gewächs and nobly sweet rarities. The Doosberg is an open hilltop in Oestrich whose Rieslings start out slender and gain power on the palate. Higher and cooler, in Hallgarten, lie the Jungfer and the Hendelberg, whose wines turn out particularly crystalline and taut; from the Frühernberg comes a Spätburgunder from a Burgundian massal selection. Then there are the Baiken in Rauenthal and the Berg Schlossberg in Rüdesheim. In our range you will find these wines from Kabinett to magnum, with several vintages side by side.