Riesling Berg Schlossberg Grosses Gewächs 2023

Wine Description for Riesling Berg Schlossberg Grosses Gewächs 2023 by Peter Jakob Kühn

Colour & Appearance

Shimmering greenish-yellow with clear, brightly luminous pale green reflections – an optical promise of freshness and youthful vitality.

Nose

A monument of precision. The nose initially reveals pure stone minerality – an expression of place and origin that radiates sovereignty and composure. Woven into this stony foundation: juicy, melting fruit of mirabelle plum, vineyard peach and freshly cut Conference pear. Nothing opulent about it, rather precise and elegant. Above this hovers a barely tangible note of cold smoke, atmospheric rather than aromatic. In the background, subtle herbal notes unfold: mint, chervil, lemon balm – cool, ethereal, a promise of clarity.

Palate

Here Riesling in its purest form unfolds: racy and yet perfectly composed within itself. The energy does not come from harshness, but from impressive inner tension. Vital, vibrant, fine-boned – and yet sovereign. The balance of 4.5g/l residual sugar and 7.6g/l acidity creates an organism that sustains itself. Quiet in character, almost modest, yet suffused with enormous gripping power. Fascinatingly accessible even now, yet with a perspective that promises years ahead.

Finish

Long, mineral, with cool precision. The wine lingers with stony elegance and leaves an impression of depth and self-assurance – a finish that does not fade away, but resonates.

Terroir & Origin

Peter Jakob Kühn’s parcel lies in the western part of the legendary vineyard site Berg Schlossberg near Rüdesheim – one of Germany’s most historically significant sites. Slopes of up to 65% gradient, south-facing, at 160 metres elevation. Forty-year-old vines are rooted in a complex mixture of quartzite, phyllite schist and loess loam – a terroir that dictates structure and depth.

Grape Variety & Vinification

100% Riesling. Whole bunches are pressed gently and slowly, fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts. Maturation over sixteen months on full lees in large wooden casks – a vinification that gives the wine time to find itself without robbing it of its vitality.

Food Pairing Recommendations

Turbot in champagne sauce, scallops with celeriac cream, pan-fried char with herb butter, sweetbreads with morels, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, or aged Comté. A wine that demands finesse, not richness.

Special Features

The first vintage in which Peter Jakob Kühn vinifies this great vineyard site as a Grosses Gewächs – a historic moment. The winery’s signature merges so clearly with the character of the site that something new and distinctive emerges. A wine with enormous ageing potential and yet already possessed of a moving presence.