Riesling Jungfer Grosses Gewächs 2023

Wine Description for Riesling Jungfer Grosses Gewächs 2023 by Peter Jakob Kühn

Colour & Appearance

Bright pale straw yellow with delicate green, shimmering reflections – a wine that already reveals its youthful freshness and crystalline purity in the glass.

Nose

Peter Jakob Kühn delivers a textbook Rheingau Riesling of impressive clarity here. The nose is reductive, cool, stony – slate and limestone speak more distinctly than the fruit. Delicate citrus notes of lime zest, kaffir lime and grapefruit remain restrained, whilst lemon balm, chervil and fennel seed develop a fascinating, almost aniseedy depth. A wine that prioritises transparency over opulence.

Palate

On the palate, the true greatness of this vineyard site reveals itself: a razor-sharp, linear acidity (7.6 g/l) meets phenolic precision. The texture reminds one of chewing on apple skins – astringent, marked, yet infused with impressive energy. The 3.6 g/l residual sugar is perfectly integrated, the minerality bright and incisive. Here aromatic depth combines with an almost weightless structure – a paradox that only great Rieslings master.

Finish

Long, herbaceous and fresh, vibrant. The inner tension is maintained until the very end, carried by that mineral energy which characterises great terroir wines.

Terroir & Origin

The vineyard site Jungfer lies at 200 metres elevation east of Hallgarten, with a 12% gradient and south-east exposure. Calcareous terrace sediments, interspersed with phyllite slate and quartz, shape the character. The high day-night temperature variations create that vibrant tension which defines the wine.

Grape Variety & Vinification

100% Riesling, spontaneously fermented with natural yeasts. Gentle whole-bunch pressing, followed by sixteen months of maturation on full lees in traditional wooden cask. Kühn works with minimal intervention – the result is a wine of uncompromising clarity.

Food Pairing Suggestions

A wine for discerning cuisine: scallops with fennel foam, turbot with herb butter, pike-perch with lemon balm risotto or young goat’s cheese. The phenolic structure also pairs well with pan-fried calf’s sweetbreads or asparagus with hollandaise sauce.

Special Characteristics

A Grosses Gewächs that replaces power with precision. Biodynamically farmed, this 2023 already shows fascinating drinking pleasure now, but will continue to gain in complexity over the next 10–15 years.