Riesling Jungfer Grosses Gewächs 2018

Wine Description for Riesling Jungfer Grosses Gewächs 2018 by Peter Jakob Kühn

Colour & Appearance

Medium straw yellow with brilliant clarity – a Riesling that displays its maturity without sacrificing freshness.

Nose

Here Peter Jakob Kühn’s biodynamic signature reveals itself in all its complexity: citric fruit and hop meet tobacco and dried wild herbs. Added to this are apple skins, forest floor, moss and mushrooms – an aromatic profile that appears wild and unbound, yet possesses a fascinating precision. This nose is no obliging fruit basket, but rather a walk through the Rheingau forest after a rainfall.

Palate

Juicy and bright, the palate begins with citric and appley fruit, oscillating between freshness and ripeness. The apple skin brings a subtle bitterness into play, whilst a silky creaminess – the result of ageing in Stockinger barrels – provides texture. Remarkable is the phenolic grip, which lends the wine structure and tension without being obtrusive. The vibrant acidity provides drive and direction.

Finish

Long and multifaceted: stone and salt dominate, accompanied by flowers and that herbal spice already announced on the nose. The deeply rooted minerality lingers – a finale that evokes geology rather than oenology.

Terroir & Origin

The Hallgartener Jungfer lies at approximately 220 metres elevation, directly above the Doosberg. The soil, composed of quartz-bearing erosion material from the Rheingau mountains, mixed with loess loam, and the gentle south-easterly slope make this vineyard cooler than its famous neighbour – a characteristic reflected in the wine’s tension and freshness.

Grape Variety & Vinification

100% Riesling, cultivated biodynamically. Ageing takes place in Stockinger wooden barrels, year after year in the same barrel, whereby the wood influence continuously diminishes. In the 2018 vintage, this development is palpable: the wood integrates perfectly without dominating.

Food Pairing Suggestions

Rabbit rillettes with sage, cognac and bay leaf, marinated mackerel with horseradish and radishes or scallop skewers with lardo and shiitake – the wine demands dishes that are equally complex and characterful.

Special Characteristics

A Grosses Gewächs that perfectly embodies Kühn’s biodynamic philosophy: wild, unconventional, terroir-driven – and definitely nothing for lovers of approachable fruit bombs.