Herzstuck
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5–15 years from vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, seared venison loin
✨ Technical Specifications
Weingut Künstler's Herzstück Spätburgunder represents the pinnacle of the estate's red winemaking, sourced exclusively from the prized "heart" (Herzstück) of their finest Rheingau vineyard parcels. While the Rheingau is globally celebrated for its Riesling, its history with Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) runs incredibly deep, tracing back to the Cistercian monks of Kloster Eberbach who cultivated the variety in the Middle Ages. Künstler honors this ancient heritage by selecting only the most concentrated fruit from these prime, sun-drenched mid-slope parcels, where clay-loess and gravel soils provide superb warmth and drainage. Fermented traditionally and aged in premium French oak barriques, this wine is a masterclass in power and elegance, offering deep dark cherry notes, complex forest floor undertones, and a velvety, structured finish.
🍾 About the Producer
Weingut Künstler traces an illustrious family winemaking lineage to 1648 in southern Moravia, before Franz Künstler re-established the estate in Hochheim am Main in 1965 following post-war expulsion. Gunter Künstler assumed direction in 1992, elevating the domaine into one of Germany's preeminent dry Riesling benchmarks and earning VDP membership in 1994. Spanning approximately 50 hectares, Künstler's vineyard portfolio centers on Hochheim's warm eastern Rheingau mesoclimate, featuring loess, loam, and mineral-dense limestone marl sloping down to the Main River, complemented by holdings in Rüdesheim and Assmannshausen. Viticulture is practiced under certified Fair'n Green sustainable standards, marked by meticulous canopy management, low yields, and strict selective hand-harvesting. Cellar work emphasizes slow, gentle pressing and extended lees maturation in traditional large neutral oak casks and stainless steel, capturing formidable textural richness alongside crystalline acidity. The estate is celebrated for power-driven, long-lived VDP.Große Gewächse from legendary sites including Hochheimer Hölle, Hochheimer Kirchenstück, and Assmannshäuser Höllenberg Spätburgunder.
🍇 Grapes
Spätburgunder