WTN: A German producer you should know

2008 Philipp Kuhn Spätburgunder «Tradition» -Pfalz, Germany 13,5%

It is one of the World’s great mysteries that Philipp Kuhn wines remain unknown and un-imported to the US. I bought a couple of bottles by complete chance at a wineshop in Wiesbaden in June of 2005 and have been head-over-heals ever since. Comparisons could be made to A.J. Adam in the Mosel (though Adam takes winemaking to an extreme that few producers outside of Nikolaihof would be comfortable with.) Quite simply, Kuhn is the hottest name in the Pfalz and has been for a couple of years. I buy them wherever and whenever I can find them, which isn’t THAT often and that probably explains why he hasn’t needed to find an American importer. I know that I’ve recommended him to Terry on at least two or three occasions, but as the focus at Kuhn is in red wine and ‘other’ whites (though there is good Riesling too), perhaps they simply don’t jive with the rest of the portfolio –though Prieler does fine for the Austrian side of things without any Grüner. It could also be that Kuhn follows fellow Laumersheimer Weingut Knipser in focusing strictly on Europe (though Knipser is imported in small quantities to Colorado –buy some if you live there.) What are you going to do? German reds remain a hard sell. A Goddamn Shame, that.

The fact of the matter is that Philipp Kuhn has been making unique, neo-classical wines of expression and balance for most of his young career. They are standouts in any category from anywhere.

This is very good Pinot Noir. Black cherry, black tea, chicory, and tarragon with fine tannins and is very comfortable with its used-oak personality (which is expressed in a sort of timelessness in this wine.) Freshness of fruit and aromatic sterility are usually the order of the day for 15€ Pinot Noir, and this is happily not the case here.

More notes to come, but somebody call Philipp Kuhn already.

http://www.weingut-philipp-kuhn.de

Cheers,
Bill

Hi Bill - Thank you for the note on Philipp Kuhn. I have seen the name before, but knew nothing about him or his wines except that he is based in Laumersheim. The fact that Knipser isn't widely distributed or known around here probably doesn't help Kuhn out, since that means Laumersheim isn't as well known to German wine drinkers in the United States as many other villages in the Pfalz. Laumersheim's top vineyards are probably superior to those in Gleisweil, but since Terry Theise brings in Minges' wines, it isn't too difficult to find a Gleisweiler Hölle Riesling in most of the US. (FYI - Vias Wine - which mostly deals in Italian wines - does bring in a couple of Knipser's wines, and I am going to inquire about getting some to try next time I see the Vias rep whom I know from local Produttori di Barbaresco tastings. Vias imports a couple of Mosel producers as well, but Knipser is the only Pfalz estate that they currently work with.) Unless Kuhn's total production of each wine he makes is extremely tiny, however, I would think that some importer here would be interested in adding a rising star to their portfolio.

Looking at Philipp Kuhn's website, I am impressed by the wide variety of different grapes that he works with - even Viognier...

Comparisons could be made to A.J. Adam in the Mosel (though Adam takes winemaking to an extreme that few producers outside of Nikolaihof would be comfortable with.)

Really? I'm curious - what about Adam's wines do you find extreme? I've thought his Kabinett and Spatlese are at times a little on the ripe/big side, but nothing unusual, and his dry/feinherb wines aren't particularly different from a lot of other wines in that idiom.

Re. Kuhn, thanks for the heads up. What is the pricing like on those wines in Germany?

Comparisons could be made to A.J. Adam in the Mosel (though Adam takes winemaking to an extreme that few producers outside of Nikolaihof would be comfortable with.)

Really? I'm curious - what about Adam's wines do you find extreme? I've thought his Kabinett and Spatlese are at times a little on the ripe/big side, but nothing unusual, and his dry/feinherb wines aren't particularly different from a lot of other wines in that idiom.

Hi Salil,

Adam's wines don't taste extreme (other than being extremely good), and I think that's the point. But the techniques that he employs to produce them sure are. There aren't too many producers who work organically, rely solely on natural yeast fermentation, refuse to use diammonium phosphate, no vitamin additions, no fining or filtering, work without acid adjustment (other than maybe natural tartaric acid precipitation - on that note, it will be interesting to taste the high-acid 2010's from Adam), oxidative use of old wood with long lees-contact, and no süssreserve (all in unison). Quite frankly, it takes hard-work, conviction, and brass-balls in equal proportions to accomplish what Adam has and he is a personal hero of mine for that.

That they don't taste unusual in their 'class' is proof that great wines can be made without (or with very little) manipulation (though I would argue that one could probably pick out the Adam from competitors in a blind line-up). For me, Adam (and Nikolaihof among others) stress that what is important is not merely how good a wine tastes, but why it tastes like it does and which path the wine took to taste that way. I don't mind a little dogma once in a while.

Cheers,
Bill

Hi Bill - Thank you for the note on Philipp Kuhn. I have seen the name before, but knew nothing about him or his wines except that he is based in Laumersheim. The fact that Knipser isn't widely distributed or known around here probably doesn't help Kuhn out, since that means Laumersheim isn't as well known to German wine drinkers in the United States as many other villages in the Pfalz. Laumersheim's top vineyards are probably superior to those in Gleisweil, but since Terry Theise brings in Minges' wines, it isn't too difficult to find a Gleisweiler Hölle Riesling in most of the US. (FYI - Vias Wine - which mostly deals in Italian wines - does bring in a couple of Knipser's wines, and I am going to inquire about getting some to try next time I see the Vias rep whom I know from local Produttori di Barbaresco tastings. Vias imports a couple of Mosel producers as well, but Knipser is the only Pfalz estate that they currently work with.) Unless Kuhn's total production of each wine he makes is extremely tiny, however, I would think that some importer here would be interested in adding a rising star to their portfolio.

Looking at Philipp Kuhn's website, I am impressed by the wide variety of different grapes that he works with - even Viognier...

Hi Andrew,

Yeah, Laumersheim is kind of off the beaten path up in the northern Mittelhaardt. It's kind of a blend of Pfalz and southern Rheinhessen for landscape. Impressive though, that there are a few high-calibur producers there.

You should definitely check out Knipser. Some put them up there with Rebholz as the top producer in the Pfalz (with different strengths.) I knew that Magellan imports in CO brought them in -it looks like there is a lot of overlap in the Vias and Magellan portfolios for Germany and Austria (I wonder what the deal is?)

Cheers,
Bill