I visited Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn as part of the German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy PR and WineTours. For 9 days (from August 22 – August 30, 2013) we explored seven of the thirteen wine regions and several cultural highlights in Germany: the Saale-Unstrut wine region in the former GDR, Weimar, cradle of German intellectual thinking, the Wartburg where Martin Luther spent his years hiding from the Roman Catholic Church, the Rheingau with its pristine vineyards and quaint medieval villages, the romantic middle Rhine valley with its castle-ribboned banks, world-renowned wineries in the Mosel valley with its dizzying steep vineyards, the beautiful, peaceful Nahe valley, the biggest wine barrel in the world, the upcoming young ambitious winemakers in Rheinhessen and the one thousand year old cathedral of the city of Mainz, one of the nine wine capitals of the world.
We visited 16 wineries, tasted fabulous wines, shared wine pairing meals with the proprietors of top wine producing estates and had fantastic meals at great restaurants and historical places. One of them was Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn in the Rheingau. The tasting was led by Angela Kuehn; Peter Jakob Kühn also joined us for parts of the tasting.
See:
German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013
See:
Impressions from the 2013 VDP Rheingau Open at Schloss Johannisberg, Germany - Schiller's Favorites
Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn
The Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn is in Oestrich in the Rheingau. Founded by Jacobus Kühn in 1786, the estate is run by Peter Jakob and Angela Kühn. They are the eleventh generation of winemakers in the Kühn family.
The Kühns own 20 hectares of vineyard in the Doosberg and Lenchen (Oestrich), St. Nikolaus (Mittelheim), as well as in the Hendelberg and Jungfer (Hallgarten). The vineyards are planted on natural south-facing slopes along the Right Bank of the Rhein at an altitude of 70 meters, and are well protected against the cool borealis by the foothills of the Taunus Mountains. Riesling accounts for 90%, with the rest accounted for by Spaetburgunder.
Angela Kühn: “Our wine estate was founded around the start of the 18th century and remains a family business to this day. Run in the 11th generation by us, Peter Jakob and Angela Kühn – our three children already work alongside us, continuing the family tradition. Only by maintaining our philosophy and through the knowledge that quality and sustainability are inseparable, has our winery survived through the centuries. On this basis we decided in 2004, to achieve a certification as ecological, biodynamic winery. The expectation we set in our own quality also manifests itself in our memberships in the VDP (Prädikat Wine Estates), Demeter, the association for organic agriculture based on anthroposophical principles, and the association of international biodynamical wineries : “La Renaissance des Appellations“.
Nothing determines the future quality of the wine as thoroughly as the work processes that take place in the vineyards throughout the year. The most important task of these processes is, to strengthen the vines through our biodynamical work in such a way, so that they can grow healthily and stress-free. The basis for this is provided by eco-dynamic agriculture: plentiful varieties of cover crops create a healthy environment, organic compost enriches and structures the soil, and herbal extracts strengthen the vines. Additionally our workflow is organized according to natural biorhythms. That is as sound as a strong heartbeat and maintains the living balance of our vineyards. For lively wines can only emerge from vital vines – and that you can experience in the flavor.
On our estate we work wholeheartedly and hands-on, on the manufacture of natural, unpolluted wines of top quality. Ranging from the classical ripening process in the “Rheingauer Halbstück” (600 litre barrel) to wines that mature in amphoras – our range is wide.
All our wines ferment spontaneously on their own yeast and are given plenty of time to unfold their natural character. The wide spread practice to speed up fermentation artificially, or to „correct“ wines through a variety of means, is inconceivable for us. We count on a selectively harvested, healthy grape base and total calm during the maturing process.”
What Others say about Weingut Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn
Gault Millau 2013: “In its current 2013 edition, the wine guide Gault Millau awards us four out of five possible grapes. A wonderful confirmation of our continuous striving for top-quality: “from basic to ambrosial sweet … the Kühn family have served us with the most homogenous wine collection in the whole of the Rheingau.”
Eichelmann 2013 - Deutschlands Weine: In Gerhard Eichelmann`s wine guide we have for years been rated amongst the best winemakers in Germany with his top rating of 5 stars.
Der Feinschmecker 2013: The prestigious Journal „Der Feinschmecker“ now awards us with 4 of 5 possible “Gourmet-Points”.
Wein-Plus.eu: In the online wine guide “Wein-Plus.eu” our vintage 2011 is nominated as the “Wein-Plus collection of the year”.”
Tasting Wines
We went through a series of wines. I would like to focus on the following three, which are available in the US through Moore Brothers.
2011 Peter Jakob Kuehn Oestricher Lenchen Riesling Kabinett
“The Rhine turns westward just past Mainz, flowing along a 30-kilometer crescent-shaped stretch of warm, southerly exposed vineyards that have been a center of German wine production since Roman times. It was in the Rheingau that Riesling's potential was first realized and developed. Peter and Angela Kühn, at their biodynamically farmed 15-hectare estate in Oestreich, honor this tradition with finely honed Riesling of the first order.
Lenchen is located a stone's throw from the fabled Schloss Vollrads, and benefits from similar exposure and soil (rich clay and gravelly loam). The finest parcels lie nearest to the Pfingstbach, a tiny creek running down the hill through a shallow hollow that provides just enough moisture to encourage healthy botrytis on the ripe clusters of Riesling grown there. Peter Kühn's lyrical expression of this vineyard conveys a sense of lush fruit and full-bodied depth woven together by Lenchen's naturally firm acidity. - Greg Moore, Moore Brothers Wine Company, October 9, 2012, $24
2006 Peter Jakob Kuhn Oestricher Lenchen Riesling Beerenauslese (half bottle)
Peter Kühn's monumental Beerenauslese is a spectacular miracle of nature, combining lush tropical fruit aromatics with the characteristic lime citrus of the best Oestricher wines. -- Greg Moore, Moore Brothers Wine Company, July 12, 2008, $135 half bottle
2012 Peter Jakob Kuhn Riesling Trocken Jacobus
From discrete parcels within the estate, the "little" Jacobus showcases the style of Peter and his wife, Angela; ripe, discreet fruit, subtle spice, vibrancy, and elegance. -- Greg Moore, Moore Brothers Wine Company, August 3, 2013, 22$
Moore Brothers, USA
“In 1996, Greg Moore, the Sommelier / General Manager of Le Bec-Fin, and his brother David, a wine retailer, opened Moore Brothers Wine Company, offering a collection of personally selected wine in a small store in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Now there are three stores, serving New Jersey, Delaware, and New York, presenting small-farm, naturally-produced, artisan wines primarily from the “Old World.” The wines are selected via a direct, personal relationship with many of the finest producers in their respective regions, shipped in temperature-controlled containers, and presented in a friendly, comfortable retail environment which serves over sixty-thousand enthusiastic customers.”
Bye-Bye
Thank you very much Angela and Peter Jakob Kühn for a wonderful tasting.
schiller-wine: Related Postings (German Wine and Culture Tour 2013 by ombiasy PR and WineTours):
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013
German Wine and Culture Tour by ombiasy, 2013
Weingut Pawis in the Saale Unstrut Region - A Profile, Germany
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A Tasting at Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn, Rheingau, with Angela and Peter Jakob Kühn, Germany
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