Hochheimer Kirchenstuck Riesling Eiswein
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2060
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
blue cheese, fruit-based tarts, foie gras
✨ Technical Specifications
The Hochheimer Kirchenstuck, or church plot, sits in the historical heart of Hochheim am Main, overlooked by the towering spire of the late-Baroque church of St. Peter and Paul. This legendary vineyard benefits from deep, mineral-rich calcareous clay-loess soils and a unique microclimate tempered by the nearby Main river. On rare occasions when winter temperatures plummet to minus 7 degrees Celsius or lower, Weingut Kunstler harvests frozen Riesling grapes in the dead of night to craft their elusive Eiswein. By pressing the grapes while still frozen, the water remains trapped as ice in the press, releasing only a precious, highly concentrated nectar. Kunstler's Eiswein is celebrated for its dramatic tension, marrying luscious, honeyed sweetness with a piercing, vibrant acidity that keeps the wine remarkably fresh, complex, and energetic.
🍾 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
🍷 ABV
6-8%