Hochheimer Kirchenstuck Riesling Auslese
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2050
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, fruit tarts, foie gras
✨ Technical Specifications
The Hochheimer Kirchenstück—literally 'church plot'—is one of the Rheingau's most legendary vineyards, situated directly behind the historic church of St. Peter and Paul in Hochheim. This site benefits from a highly favorable microclimate moderated by the nearby Main river, which protects the vines from late frosts and encourages the gentle development of botrytis (noble rot) in autumn. The soils here are exceptionally rich, composed of deep clay-loess, sand, and gravel with high calcium carbonate content. Weingut Künstler crafts this Riesling Auslese as a celebration of this unique terroir, capturing a luscious sweetness balanced by a striking, vibrant acidity. Historically, the wines of Hochheim were so revered in England that they inspired the term 'Hock,' a name popularized by Queen Victoria after her visit to the region's vineyards in 1850.
🍾 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
Riesling