Kunstler Wines

2024 Künstler Estate Riesling Trocken | 92 points James Suckling

Name: 2024 Künstler Estate Riesling Trocken | 92 points James Suckling
Brand: Kunstler Wines
Price: 50.00 AUD
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A brilliant introduction to one of the Rheingau's great Riesling estates

A beautifully energetic dry Rheingau Riesling

92 Points – James Suckling

RRP $50

Rheingau, Germany | VDP.GUTSWEIN | 100% Riesling | Dry • Juicy • Mineral • Fresh

A beautifully energetic dry Rheingau Riesling — citrus blossom, lime and yellow apple with juicy fruit, restrained creaminess, smoky complexity and a long mineral finish.

This Is Where the Künstler Journey Begins

We've got some seriously impressive Künstler wines in the range.

Hochheimer Hölle.

Kirchenstück.

Domdechaney.

And the extraordinary Grosses Gewächs wines that sit among the greatest dry Rieslings in Germany.

But you don't need to spend $100, $150 or $200 to understand why Künstler has become such an exciting producer.

Start here.

2024 KÜNSTLER ESTATE RIESLING TROCKEN

This is the estate-level introduction to the Künstler style.

And it received:

92 POINTS – JAMES SUCKLING

At:

RRP $50.

That's a seriously good entry point.

92 Points – James Suckling

Stuart Pigott found a wonderfully joyful and immediately appealing dry Riesling.

The aromatics are driven by:

Citrus blossom

Yellow apple

before a juicy palate combines beautiful freshness with restrained creaminess, smoky complexity and a subtle natural spritz.

It's exactly what you want from an estate Riesling.

Fresh.

Juicy.

Mineral.

Energetic.

And bloody easy to drink.

There's enough complexity to keep serious Riesling drinkers interested, but you don't need to analyse it.

Put it in the fridge and enjoy it.

Künstler – One of the Great Names of the Rheingau

The producer is the big story here.

GUNTER KÜNSTLER

has built one of the benchmark estates for dry Riesling in the Rheingau.

The estate is based in Hochheim, at the eastern end of the Rheingau, and today works with an extraordinary collection of vineyards.

We're talking names like:

Hochheimer Hölle

Hochheimer Kirchenstück

Hochheimer Domdechaney

Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg

Marcobrunn

These are some of the great vineyard names of Germany.

And Künstler's top wines regularly sit among the country's highest-rated dry Rieslings.

In 2023, the estate's Hölle GG received a perfect 100 points from James Suckling.

The Kirchenstück GG received 99 points.

That's the level this estate is operating at.

And this $50 Estate Riesling is your gateway into that world.

VDP.GUTSWEIN – The Foundation of the Estate

The 2024 is classified:

VDP.GUTSWEIN

Within the VDP hierarchy, Gutswein represents the foundation of the estate.

But don't mistake “entry level” for ordinary.

At a great producer, the Gutswein is incredibly important.

It's the calling card.

It's the wine that should immediately tell you:

Who made it.

Where it came from.

What the vintage looks like.

And:

Whether you should start climbing further up the range.

With Künstler?

The answer is absolutely yes.

2024 – A Brilliant Vintage for Freshness

The 2024 vintage in the Rheingau was not straightforward.

There were challenges throughout the growing season, and careful vineyard work and fruit selection were essential.

But for the producers who got it right?

The wines can be fantastic.

The vintage produced Rieslings with beautiful freshness, bright acidity and excellent definition.

And Künstler was one of the estates that excelled.

The style of this Estate Riesling captures that beautifully.

There's plenty of fruit.

But the wine isn't broad or heavy.

It's energetic.

It's bright.

It's alive.

The Numbers Tell the Story

The technical details are almost perfect for an everyday dry Riesling.

12.5% Alcohol

6.5g/L Residual Sugar

7.0g/L Acidity

That balance is important.

The residual sugar isn't there to make the wine taste sweet.

Instead, it rounds the edges of the acidity and gives the fruit a little extra generosity.

The result is essentially dry, but beautifully balanced.

Juicy rather than austere.

Fresh rather than sharp.

Generous without becoming heavy.

That's why this is going to disappear so easily.

Stainless Steel + Large Oak

There's more going on in the winemaking than you might expect from an estate Riesling.

The wine is predominantly fermented and matured in:

STAINLESS STEEL

which preserves the beautiful freshness and purity of the Riesling fruit.

But approximately:

30% IS RAISED IN LARGE OAK CASKS.

And that's an important part of the wine.

We're not talking about obvious new-oak flavour.

No vanilla.

No toast dominating the Riesling.

Large-format oak is about texture.

It allows the wine to breathe and helps develop a subtle creaminess and additional complexity.

That's exactly what Pigott picked up in the glass.

Juicy fruit + restrained creaminess + smoky complexity.

What Does It Taste Like?

This is classic dry Rheingau Riesling with an immediately attractive personality.

Expect:

Lime

Citrus

Citrus blossom

Green apple

Yellow apple

Elderflower

Subtle smoke

Mineral notes

Fresh acidity

There's concentration through the middle, but the wine remains beautifully slender and energetic.

And that little touch of texture from the large oak gives the palate another dimension.

It's not simply citrus and acidity.

There's real wine here.

Don't Just Think of It as an Entry-Level Wine

Künstler recommends a potential drinking window of approximately:

4–10 YEARS.

That's impressive.

Of course, you can drink it now.

And I suspect most bottles will be.

It's far too delicious.

But Riesling's combination of acidity and extract gives it wonderful ageing potential.

Give this several years and the fresh citrus and apple should begin developing toward:

Preserved lemon

Ripe peach

Honey

Herbs

Smoke

and more complex mineral characters.

At $50, you can afford to do both.

Drink some.

Cellar some.

Food Pairings

Künstler itself recommends the wine with:

Prawns & seafood

and

Light meat dishes.

I'd go even further.

Try it with:

Fresh oysters
Kingfish sashimi
Grilled prawns
Salt and pepper squid
Snapper
Roast chicken
Pork
Wiener Schnitzel
Sushi
Vietnamese salads
Fresh goat's cheese

Or just:

A warm afternoon and a big glass.

Why We Love It

Because great producers matter.

Look at what you're getting:

Rheingau Riesling

One of Germany's benchmark dry Riesling estates

VDP.GUTSWEIN

30% large-format oak

7g/L acidity

12.5% alcohol

Potential 4–10 year cellaring

92 Points – James Suckling

And:

RRP $50.

That's the attraction.

You can spend serious money exploring Künstler.

And when you get to the great GG wines, the quality can be extraordinary.

But this is where you begin.

It gives you the producer's DNA without the Grand Cru price.