Old-vine Rheingau Riesling with extraordinary concentration, power and precision

“Incredible concentration for a non-GG dry German Riesling.”

97 Points – James Suckling

Hochheimer Stielweg | Rheingau, Germany | VDP.ERSTE LAGE | Old Vines | RRP $105 | 100% Riesling | Dry • Powerful • Mineral • Precise

A spectacular old-vine Riesling combining intense citrus, stone fruit and flinty minerality with enormous concentration, mouthwatering freshness and a finish packed with power and energy.

This Could Be the Sleeper in the Künstler Range

We've got some monumental Künstler Rieslings.

Hölle GG.

Kirchenstück GG.

Weiß Erd GG.

These are Grand Cru wines carrying enormous scores.

But then there's this.

STIELWEG ALTE REBEN.

It doesn't carry the GG designation.

Instead, it's a:

VDP.ERSTE LAGE

made from vines more than:

50 YEARS OLD.

And Stuart Pigott gave it:

97 POINTS.

That immediately gets my attention.

Because at:

RRP $105

this could be one of the smartest ways into serious Künstler Riesling.

97 Points – JamesSuckling.com

Stuart Pigott was seriously impressed by the 2023.

He found enormous:

Flinty complexity

Citrus intensity

Deep stone-fruit character

before making the key observation:

“Incredible concentration for a non-GG dry German Riesling.”

That's the story of this wine.

It has the power and depth you'd normally associate with Künstler's considerably more expensive Grosses Gewächs bottlings.

The palate is full-bodied and concentrated.

Yet everything remains beautifully controlled.

And the finish?

Enormous power.

Enormous energy.

Fine.

Precise.

97 POINTS.

Pigott's recommendation is simple:

Drink or hold.

Hochheimer Stielweg

Now we get to the vineyard.

STIELWEG.

The name is derived from an old term meaning:

“STEEP PATH.”

The vineyard covers approximately:

24 HECTARES

and Künstler owns:

4.7 HECTARES.

It's a south-facing site in Hochheim and is planted entirely to Riesling.

But the real story is underground.

Loam. Clay. Sand.

Stielweg is characterised by relatively heavy:

LOAMY AND CLAY-RICH SOILS

with:

LOW CALCIUM CARBONATE

and a relatively:

HIGH SAND CONTENT.

That's important.

These soils give Stielweg a very different personality from the limestone-rich Weiß Erd or some of Künstler's other great sites.

The wines can have enormous fruit concentration and power.

But the sandier component and relatively low limestone content help retain:

Freshness.

Fine acidity.

Elegance.

Minerality.

It's a fascinating combination.

POWER + FINESSE.

And that's precisely what you see in the glass.

The Old Vines Change Everything

This isn't simply Stielweg Riesling.

It's:

ALTE REBEN

or:

OLD VINES.

Künstler describes these vines as being more than 50 years old, with some sources putting them at around 60 years.

At that age, the vines have developed extensive root systems capable of penetrating deeply into the vineyard soils.

And yields naturally become smaller.

The berries become smaller.

The fruit becomes more concentrated.

That's exactly what you want for serious dry Riesling.

Künstler describes these old vines as combining enormous fruit intensity with an almost aristocratic sense of power and nobility.

And that's a pretty good description of the wine.

What Does It Taste Like?

This is not delicate little Riesling.

There's real horsepower here.

Expect:

Lemon & citrus

Ripe peach

Apricot

Honeydew melon

Tropical hints

Herbs

White flowers

Flint & subtle smoke

Mineral intensity

Mouthwatering acidity

There's considerable fruit concentration.

But the wine never becomes clumsy.

That's the magic.

The acidity gives the fruit shape.

The minerality gives it tension.

And the old vines give it depth.

The finish is exceptionally long, powerful and precise.

VDP.ERSTE LAGE

Stielweg is classified:

VDP.ERSTE LAGE

Within the VDP hierarchy, Erste Lage identifies a first-class vineyard with the ability to produce wines of distinctive site character.

The easiest analogy is:

PREMIER CRU.

Above Erste Lage sits:

VDP.GROSSE LAGE

Germany's Grand Cru level, from which the great dry Grosses Gewächs — GG wines are produced.

But here's what makes Stielweg so interesting.

It drinks dangerously close to GG territory.

That's not marketing spin.

That's essentially what Stuart Pigott is getting at when he highlights the wine's incredible concentration for a non-GG dry Riesling.

80% Large Neutral Oak

The winemaking is serious too.

The fruit is:

Hand harvested

then:

Destemmed

and:

Gently pressed.

Fermentation is cool and controlled, with a significant proportion of the wine going into:

LARGE NEUTRAL OAK CASKS.

Australian importer information indicates approximately:

80% LARGE NEUTRAL OAK

with the remainder in stainless steel.

After primary fermentation, the wine is returned to its vessels and spends approximately:

SIX MONTHS ON FINE LEES.

This isn't about adding oak flavour.

It's about texture.

Depth.

Integration.

Complexity.

And that makes complete sense when you're dealing with concentrated old-vine fruit.

Organic Fruit

The wine is produced from:

ORGANICALLY GROWN GRAPES

with FairChoice certification.

Again, the objective is vineyard expression.

And with 50+ year-old Riesling vines in a site like Stielweg, there's plenty to express.

2023 – Künstler at Another Level

The vintage matters enormously here.

Because according to Stuart Pigott:

2023 WAS THE BEST VINTAGE KÜNSTLER HAD EVER MADE.

Look at the extraordinary run of scores:

Hölle GG – 100 Points

Kirchenstück GG – 99 Points

Weiß Erd GG – 98 Points

and now:

Stielweg Alte Reben – 97 Points

That's remarkable.

And remember:

Stielweg isn't even a GG.

Yet it sits only a couple of points behind wines at the absolute summit of the Künstler portfolio.

That's what makes it such an interesting proposition.

Drink Now or Cellar?

Absolutely both.

James Suckling says:

DRINK OR HOLD.

Right now you'll get the explosive youthful personality:

Citrus

Peach

Apricot

Flint

Flowers

Herbs

and that incredible energetic acidity.

But this is old-vine Riesling with serious concentration.

It should age beautifully.

With time, expect those primary fruit characters to move toward:

Preserved lemon

Dried apricot

Honey

Smoke

Wax

Herbs

Mineral complexity

while the acidity keeps everything alive.

This is exactly the sort of bottle I'd want to revisit in five, ten and fifteen years.

Why We Love It

Because this is where the smart money goes.

You're getting:

Rheingau

Hochheimer Stielweg

VDP.ERSTE LAGE

50+ year-old vines

Hand harvested

Predominantly large neutral oak

Six months on fine lees

Organically grown fruit

97 Points – JamesSuckling.com

And:

RRP $105.

Compare that with Künstler's top GG wines.

You're getting old-vine fruit.

A classified vineyard.

One of the estate's greatest-ever vintages.

97 points.

And a critic specifically saying the wine has extraordinary concentration for something outside the GG classification.

That's compelling.

2023 KÜNSTLER HOCHHEIMER STIELWEG ALTE REBEN RIESLING TROCKEN

Rheingau, Germany

97 POINTS – JAMES SUCKLING

VDP.ERSTE LAGE

50+ YEAR-OLD VINES

RRP $105

Old vines.

Flint.

Citrus.

Stone fruit.

Power.

Energy.

Precision.

And 97 points.

This is the sort of wine that shows why you shouldn't automatically jump straight to the GG bottlings.

Stielweg Alte Reben punches frighteningly close to Grand Cru territory.

It's powerful enough for the serious collector.

Precise enough for the Riesling fanatic.

And at $105, affordable enough to actually open rather than stare at in the cellar.

One of the smartest buys in the Künstler range — and an absolutely cracking example of old-vine dry Rheingau Riesling.