"Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn has produced a stellar range of 2021ers that will be cellar treasures a handful of years down the road."
- John Gilman,View From the Cellar
For whatever reason, the estate of Peter Jakob Kuhn flies under the radar of even many tried and true German wine fanatics, but this pair of 2021s on offer today should go a long way towards rectifying that situation. As classic and traditional as they come in terms of style, the wines are nonetheless made according to owner Peter Bernhard Kuhn's forward-looking vision and innovative approach to farming.
The 2021 vintage was a clear study in the classic German Riesling profiles, the cooler conditions lending themselves to old-school, pure, filigreed wines that buck the trend of recent warmer vintages like 2020 and 2022, instead defined by their bright precision, electric vibrancy, and most importantly, long-term cellar potential. The Kuhn estate releases a year later than the majority of their contemporaries, so these 2021s are just now showing up where many 2022s (and even 2023s) are already on the market. Carrying big scores from some prominent voices in German wine, Kuhn's 2021s belong on the shortlist of smart collectible buys for any serious enthusiast.
Leading off, the 2021 Doosberg Grosses Gewächs boasts a towering 97-point score from Vinous. "Utterly concentrated, intense, almost searing with luminosity and brightness," it's a spectacular rendition of a treasured Rheingau site and the crown-jewel in the Kuhn range. For those seeking a razor-sharp cellar buy that punches well above its price tier, the 2021 Hallgärtener Hendelberg Erste Lage is just the ticket. "A premier cru bottling that clearly approaches the quality of Grosses Gewächs because of its old vines," according John Gilman, the 2021 is resounding triumph, "superb, impressive, profound, absolutely focused and delicious, yet so resonant and rich" as described by Vinous. The only drawback (if you can call it that) is their highly limited presence in the US market, so the smart move is to lock in and add this pair of surefire cellar contenders to your collection while you can.
The 2021 Riesling Hallgartener Hendelberg Erste Lage, from slate and schist soils, comes with a flinty creaminess that speaks as much of reduction as it speaks of yeast. Slowly, hints of lemon appear. The palate is vivid, incredibly buffered, beautifully resonant, alive and bright with lemon. Citrus sprays but bounces from yeast, from extract. The 2021 is superb, impressive, profound, absolutely focused and delicious, yet so resonant and rich. Like sounding a gong whose sound rings, and rings and rings. It is very elegant, with beautiful green apples on the finish. (Bone-dry)
94 points, Anne Krebiehl, Vinous (Dec 2023)
As I noted in the past, Peter-Bernhard Kühn’s vines in the Hendelberg section of the Hallgarten are more than fifty years of age, so this is a premier cru bottling that clearly approaches the quality of Grosses Gewächs because of its old vines. The 2021 Hendelberg comes in at an even twelve percent octane and delivers a beautiful bouquet of apple, tart orange, a complex base of soil, citrus zest, elder flowers and just a hint of menthol in the upper register. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil undertow, fine balance and a long, classy finish. Like many of the 2021ers from the estate, this is a tad tight out of the blocks and will drink with more generosity with a bit of bottle age. It is an excellent wine!
93 points, John Gilman, View From the Cellar
The 2021 Hallgartener Hendelberg Riesling trocken 1G opens with a fascinatingly pure and elegant, intense and herbal bouquet with notes of sage, African mint and crushed stones (phyllite slate). Pure, lush and savory in the palate, this is a vibrantly fresh, citric and well-concentrated dry Riesling with fine tannins and a structured, still firm and astringent finish. It needs time and aeration. 12% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in September 2023.
92 points, Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate (Dec 2023)
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