2021 Künstler Hochheim Kirchenstuck GG Riesling Trocken | 98 points James Suckling

A breathtaking 98-point Riesling from one of the Rheingau’s great Grand Cru vineyards and Winemaker

“Mind-blowingly elegant” — Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com

98 Points – JamesSuckling.com 

Rheingau, Germany | Hochheimer Kirchenstück VDP.GROSSE LAGE | RRP $187 | Riesling GG | Bone Dry • Profound • Mineral • Monumentally Ageworthy

An extraordinary dry Riesling of immense depth and elegance — citrus, flowers and peach wrapped around creamy texture, stony minerality and an incredibly long, salty finish.

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Brilliant pale gold with youthful green reflections — pristine, luminous and beautifully concentrated.

Aroma: Immediately captivating. Citrus blossom, lemon, ripe apple, peach, apricot and Mirabelle plum rise from the glass, followed by white flowers, herbs, chalk, wet stone and delicate spice.

There is tremendous depth here.

But nothing is heavy or overripe.

It's incredibly elegant.

Give it time in a large glass and the layers just keep coming.

Palate: This is where Kirchenstück shows why it is such a great vineyard.

There's serious concentration and a wonderfully creamy texture through the middle, but it's balanced by crystalline acidity, stony minerality and extraordinary salinity.

The fruit feels ripe and generous.

The structure feels almost architectural.

And yet the wine glides across the palate.

Power without heaviness.

Creaminess without softness.

Concentration without sacrificing precision.

Finish: Enormously long, salty and mineral, with citrus, peach, flowers and crushed stone lingering seemingly forever.

This is world-class dry Riesling.

Critical Acclaim

98 Points – JamesSuckling.com

Stuart Pigott described the 2023 Kirchenstück GG as:

“Mind-blowingly elegant.”

He was captivated by the depth of its citrus and floral aromatics before highlighting the wine's profound terroir expression, creamy texture, stony minerality and saltiness.

And there's some extraordinary context behind that score.

Pigott believes:

2021 IS THE BEST VINTAGE KÜNSTLER HAS EVER MADE.

The estate produced a remarkable collection of Grosses Gewächs Rieslings in 2021.

The Hölle GG received 99 points.

And Kirchenstück?

98 POINTS — right behind it.

That's the level we're talking about here.

Kirchenstück – A Historic Grand Cru

Now we get to the vineyard.

HOCHHEIMER KIRCHENSTÜCK.

This is one of the great historic vineyard sites of Hochheim.

And its history stretches back an extraordinary distance.

The vineyard was recorded as far back as 1271.

It was historically known as Kirchanger, essentially referring to a parcel near the church.

More than 750 years later, Riesling is still being grown here.

That's serious history.

Only 2.4 Hectares for Künstler

The entire historic Kirchenstück vineyard covers around 15 hectares.

Künstler owns approximately:

2.4 HECTARES.

And the site has an exceptional natural position.

The vineyard faces south, giving Riesling excellent exposure to the sun.

At the same time, the town of Hochheim itself protects Kirchenstück from cold northern winds.

That creates an unusually favourable mesoclimate for Riesling.

The grapes can achieve excellent physiological ripeness while retaining the acidity and freshness essential to great dry Riesling.

Limestone, Loess & Sand

The soils are fascinating.

Kirchenstück isn't based around one simple geological formation.

Instead, you'll find a complex mixture of:

Heavy limestone

Loamy loess

Fine sandy layers

over deep subsoils.

That diversity helps explain the extraordinary complexity of the wine.

There's richness.

There's fruit.

There's texture.

But there's also a powerful chalky, stony and saline mineral character underneath everything.

The vineyard gives both flesh and bones.

And that's exactly what you taste.

VDP.GROSSE LAGE – Germany's Grand Cru

Kirchenstück carries the designation:

VDP.GROSSE LAGE

This represents the highest vineyard classification within Germany's prestigious VDP system.

The easiest comparison is:

GRAND CRU.

And when a dry Riesling from one of these great sites satisfies the strict VDP requirements, it can be released as:

GROSSES GEWÄCHS — GG.

These are the flagship dry wines of Germany.

Great vineyard.

Low yields.

Selective harvesting.

Dry.

Concentrated.

Ageworthy.

The top of the German dry Riesling pyramid.

And Kirchenstück sits comfortably in that conversation.

Old Vines – Planted in 1969

This makes the wine even more interesting.

The parcel used for the 2021 Kirchenstück GG contains vines planted in:

1969.

More than half a century of vine age.

Old vines naturally produce smaller quantities of fruit and develop deep root systems capable of exploring the vineyard's complex subsoils.

For a terroir-driven wine like Kirchenstück, that matters enormously.

Old vines. Historic vineyard. Exceptional vintage.

It's a pretty formidable combination.

Traditional Winemaking

Künstler doesn't need to manufacture complexity in the winery.

It's already in the fruit.

The Kirchenstück is:

• Hand harvested
• Destemmed
• Gently pressed
• Fermented entirely in large old neutral oak casks
• Racked onto its fine lees after fermentation
• Matured in large oak to build texture and complexity
• Finished bone dry
• Bottled under screwcap to protect freshness and longevity

Falstaff records approximately:

9 MONTHS IN LARGE OAK

and:

13% ALCOHOL.

The old casks aren't there to make the wine taste of oak.

They're there to give Riesling room to breathe.

The result is texture without obvious wood character.

Künstler – One of the Masters of Dry Riesling

And then there's the producer.

GUNTER KÜNSTLER.

When Stuart Pigott first met Gunter Künstler in 1990, Künstler was only 27 years old and working from the garage of a suburban house with just a handful of vineyard parcels.

But even then, he was committed to making:

Powerful, expressive, dry Rheingau Riesling.

Today, Künstler works with around 65 hectares of vineyards.

And look at the sites now in the portfolio:

Hochheimer Kirchenstück

Hochheimer Hölle

Hochheimer Domdechaney

Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg

Marcobrunn

These are some serious names.

Künstler has gone from a garage to the absolute top tier of German Riesling.

2021 – One of The Greatest Künstler Vintages

This is where I'd pay attention as a collector.

According to Stuart Pigott:

2021 IS ONE of KÜNSTLER'S BEST VINTAGES EVER.

Not one of the best.

The best.

The 2023 collection delivered an extraordinary run of dry Rieslings.

At the summit:

2021 KÜNSTLER HÖLLE GG — 99 POINTS

And immediately behind it:

2023 KÜNSTLER KIRCHENSTÜCK GG — 98 POINTS

Pigott described the Hölle as:

“dry Riesling nirvana.”

And said Kirchenstück was hot on its heels.

That is an extraordinary endorsement.

Drink Now or Cellar?

Both — but patience will be rewarded.

James Suckling says it can be enjoyed from release.

Vinous suggests:

2028–2050.

And Falstaff says the wine remains youthful and needs time.

That's exactly what I'd expect.

If you're drinking it young:

Give it air.

Don't serve it freezing cold.

Use a serious Burgundy-style glass.

And watch it evolve.

But if you have the patience?

Put some bottles away.

Great dry Rheingau Riesling can age magnificently.

Over time, expect the citrus and peach to develop toward:

Preserved lemon

Dried apricot

Honey

Smoke

Herbs

Wax

Salt

Deep mineral complexity

while that incredible acidity keeps everything alive.

Food Pairings

This deserves serious food.

Try it with:

• Lobster
• Seared scallops
• Turbot
• John Dory
• Roast kingfish
• Sashimi
• Roast chicken
• Veal
• Pork with crackling
• Wiener Schnitzel
• Duck with citrus
• Mature Comté

But there's another option.

Forget the food.

Open the bottle.

Use your biggest glass.

Give it an hour.

And concentrate on the wine.

This deserves it.

Why We Love It

This is getting very close to the summit of dry German Riesling.

Look at what you're getting:

Rheingau

Hochheimer Kirchenstück

VDP.GROSSE LAGE

Grosses Gewächs

Vines planted in 1969

Hand harvested

Large old oak

Bone dry

98 Points – JamesSuckling.com

 

And:

RRP $187.

Yes, $187 is serious money for Riesling.

But this is a serious wine.

A 99-point Grand Cru Riesling from a historic vineyard, produced from old vines by one of the masters of the Rheingau, in what James Suckling's Stuart Pigott considers the greatest vintage Künstler has ever made.

Put it beside the price of Grand Cru white Burgundy.

Or the greatest Chardonnays of Australia.

Or the most collectible dry Rieslings from Germany.

Suddenly $187 starts looking very interesting.

2021 KÜNSTLER HOCHHEIMER KIRCHENSTÜCK GG RIESLING TROCKEN

Hochheimer Kirchenstück VDP.GROSSE LAGE

Rheingau, Germany

98 POINTS – JAMESSUCKLING.COM

RRP $187

Grand Cru.

Historic vineyard.

Old vines.

Bone dry.

Greatest-ever Künstler vintage.

99 points.

Mind-blowingly elegant.

The 2021 Künstler Kirchenstück GG manages that rarest of combinations:

POWER + ELEGANCE + MINERALITY + SALINITY + LENGTH.

It has enormous depth.

Yet it glides.

It has creamy richness.

Yet it finishes on stone and salt.

It is approachable now.

Yet it could potentially still be drinking magnificently around 2050.

This is not merely great Riesling.

This is one of Germany's great white wines.

And at 98 points and an RRP of $187, it's an extraordinary bottle for the serious Riesling drinker or collector.