EVIL PEACHES! DRIVE OUT THE RIESLING DEVIL!

By Stuart Pigott – last revision: 31.03.26

Welcome to TRIAL MONTH - 1st to 30th April, 2026 - during which ALL CONTENT IS FREE. From 1st May, 2026 free access to all stories will remain, but tasting notes will only be accessible to paid subscribers. This 3 part story makes it clear how that will function. PART ONE asks how Gunter Künstler can be one of the world's best winemakers but still be an underdog, also examining the chasm between the myth and reality of the Künstler wines. PART TWO describes the extensive range of dry Rieslings and Spätburgunder aka Pinot Noir reds produced by Künstler in the Rheingau region. Finally, PART THREE delivers 36 tasting notes for his current wines and their significant predecessors. For stories that we publish after 1st May, 2026 only the last of these 3 parts will be for paid subscribers only. An annual reader's subscription will cost you less than 1.5 cents per day, and an annual professional subscription less than 3 cents per day!

PART ONE: An Absurd and Amazing Underdog

This website is all about delicious and inspiring wines, so the fundamental reason for this story – the first story published on this new site! – is the many great wines Gunter Künstler of Weingut Künstler in Hochheim/Rheingau produced each of the last years. The other reason is to ask why this fact hasn’t been more widely recognized. What caused this indifference, or is it blindness?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not claiming to have vision in the spiritual sense, much less x-ray eyes and I don't even have 20/20 vision, but I was always fascinated by underdogs. And now I’m also fascinated by the way underdog status functions on Planet Wine. Inspiration is wonderful, but observation and logical analysis didn’t cease to exist when Sherlock Holmes retired, so let’s get straight to the point.

Gunter’s strong personality, his palpable self-confidence and determination certainly turn some people off. However, having observed his interaction with somms, journalists and regular wine drinkers over decades I’m convinced this is only true for a very small minority. In fact, right from the beginning, the great majority of people who encountered him for the first time were deeply impressed, and that remains true to this day. No, I think the cause of this situation is something more fundamental: a special kind of beauty. The beauty of Gunter's wines that has been described as “classical” with good reason, but not always with positive intent.

I will never forget the first time a young somm shocked me by saying that the Künstler wines are uninteresting because they are “too fruity”. Everyone is entitled to their own personal taste, and I would never argue against that. However, the tone of the somm’s words was sweeping, implying that it should be obvious to everyone that wines with attractive fruit aromas are inevitably superficial. He was incredulous when I insisted that I saw things differently, and I undoubtedly disqualified myself in his eyes by saying that.

Fruity and Non-Fruity are Stylistic Options, not Theological Positions!

During the last decades of the 20^th century advances in winemaking technology made more or less fruity aromas in wine normal, even for cheap bottles on the supermarket shelf. That’s the dynamo of the natural wine movement as the alternative dimension of wine. To gain admission to this parallel universe of coolness wines must be decisively non-fruity. I am not arguing against non-fruity or natural wines, in fact some are stylistically innovative and fascinating. However, from the moment non-fruity become one of the defining characteristics of Alternative Wine, the dedicated followers of wine fashion dismissed fruity aromas as inherently suspect, or even fake. 

It’s true, that aromas can be added to wine, although this is illegal almost everywhere on Planet Wine. And natural grape aromas can be pushed by fermenting with yeasts selected for this purpose. That reduces the wine’s aging potential, but for cheap supermarket bottles that will be drunk within days of purchase, why not? Today, a large segment of Wine Hipsters seem to assume this is what all the wineries they deem un-cool are doing all the time. 

Recently a young somm in New York City told me he rejects peachy Rieslings. When I pointed out these aromas comes from a group of substances in the skin of the Riesling grape (Scientific name: norisprenoids) it fazed him. Unfortunately, that was far from being my only encounter with this combination of cool negativity and lack of wine knowledge. EVIL PEACHES! DRIVE OUT THE RIESLING DEVIL!

That’s how producers like Gunter Künstler whose wines have beautiful fruit aromas acquired the image of being that most fatal thing for hipsters of all kinds: old-fashioned. But it gets worse!  Those who dismiss all things Künstler often do so on the basis of zero experience, or they last tasted one of his wines years ago, i.e. almost experience. The self-confidence with which this is done reflects the hipster motto: why bother when they're irrelevant?

And now comes the final, ugly piece of this jigsaw puzzle of narrow-mindedness: Gunter was born in 1963 and although he’s fit and youthful for his age, you can see at a glance that he isn’t under 35. The dismissal of him and his wines is also the product of ageism. In 2026 it seems that a 62 year old winemaker cannot be cool, which raises the painful question: how about a 65 year old wine journalist? That's me, of course.

The Astonishing Truth about the Künstler Wines

When we assess wines we try to push all this kind of shit out the way and concentrate on the sensual experience. And if you do that with the Künstler wines, then something astonishing happens: they taste NOT ONLY FRUITY, much less are they in any way superficial. In fact, their mineral aspect is intense and differs radically from one vineyard site to the next in his wide portfolio. Their family resemblance lies in the common tension between mineral-type character, their complex textural qualities and their subtle fruit aromas. In recent years they’ve often had a hint of funk (scientific name: reduction) when tasted before or on release. A bunch of other German winemakers do this in various regions with various grape varieties, but nobody does it better than Gunter Künstler.  

I don’t expect any of you to immediately understand what I’m talking about, much less to agree with me. Here, our core belief is that everybody should make up their own minds. I’m simply suggesting that if you are unfamiliar with them you urgently sample at least a couple of Künstler wines from a recent vintage. That’s not so expensive, because there are three single-vineyard Erste Lage (EL) Rieslings of the 2024 vintage on the current price list for under 20 Euros per bottle, and only one of the Große Gewächs (GG) wines costs over 50 Euros. The size of Gunter’s holdings in many of these vineyard sites is quite large, so his wines are well distributed. 

Gunter’s never been afraid of considered criticism and has often been more realistic about what praise actually means than many of his contemporaries. However much he values positive responses to his wines, he values his independence even more. In spite of the enormous growth of his winery since 1988 when he qualified from the Geisenheim Wine University he’s also much the same person that I met when I first visited him in June 1990, when the winery was housed in the small suburban house where Gunter Künstler grew up. What changed since then? Since 2006 the winery has been based in the imposing buildings of a former sparkling wine house of Burgeff in Hochheim. More importantly, the hit rate went up dramatically. 

The first astonishing Künstler dry Riesling was the, the Hochheimer Hölle Auslese Trocken 1988. It was inspired by a trip to California that Gunter undertook that summer, shortly after graduating from the Geisenheim Wine University, and is a great example of cross-cultural pollination (scientific name: cultural syncretism). It combined an enormous depth of character with beautiful ripeness and spot-on balance and was one of the best young dry Rieslings I’d ever tasted. Impressive as the other 1988 Künstler wines were, it was clearly the tallest member of the team. Now, almost every single-vineyard dry Riesling he makes is stunning, and a couple are as good as it gets.

PART TWO: Gunter Künstler Dwells in Possibility

The Core: Hochheim, Home of Hoch

Let me introduce you to a few of the most important Künstler wines. Gunter has vineyard holdings in 10 sites classified as Grosse Lagen by the VDP national producers association, meaning that dry Große Gewächse (GGs) can be produced there. The Hölle of Hochheim is the most important of these, not least because it was Gunter who discovered its special potential, and because he has 9.6 hectares of vineyards there. Recently, at a vertical tasting of these wines organized by Dr. Frank Ebbinghaus, Gunter told me he felt that his most important achievement was, “to make the monster that’s the Hochheimer Hölle dance!” The monstrous power of this site comes from the deep and heavy soil of this slope on the bank of the Main River. (Almost 500 hectares of the Rheingau region’s vineyards are actually in the valley of the Main!) The apricot aroma of the Künstler Hölle wines is often striking. 

In the Reichestal site of Hochheim where Gunter Künstler’s holdings are 8.5 hectares the focus is on Spätburgunder aka Pinot Noir red wines. The next most important location in Hochheim for Künstler is the Kirchenstück with 2.4 hectares,, which gives the most elegant wines from the Main section of the Rheingau. In contrast, the wines from the Domdechaney of Hochheim are the darkest and most massive of the entire region. The diametrically opposite personalities of these wines are compelling proof that Gunter’s winemaking methods don’t lead to standardisation; quite the opposite! Because he only has 0.3 hectares in the Domdechaney, Gunter markets this GG-type wine as an Erste Lage (EL). Hot on its heels is the more juicy dry Riesling from old vines in the Stielweg site. Two other Erste Lage wines from Hochheim: from the Kirchenstück Im Stein and the Hochheimer Hölle Im Neuenberg are great value introductions to these top sites.

Künstler's New World: From Kostheim to Assmannshausen

Hochheim is where Gunter started, but shortly after the last turn of the century he began adding vineyard holdings outside the borders of his home town. The first of these was in Kostheim, situated between Hochheim and the Main's confluence with the Rhine just south of Mainz. At the time the Weiss Erd vineyard site was completely unknown, meaning that even I'd never even heard of it! If there's a fruit bomb in the Künstler range of dry Rieslings, then it's the GG from 1.3 hectares of vineyards in the Weiss Erd. The combination of the warm location and limestone soil (Weiss Erd means white soil) promotes the development of a wide spectrum of yellow fruit aromas and well-rounded body.

Although they’ve only been produced since the 2021 vintage, the biggest competitors to the top wines of Hochheim in Gunter’s range are the Riesling GGs from the legendary Marcobrunn site of Erbach (1.9 hectares) and the less famous monopole Pfaffenberg (3.0 hectares) site of Hattenheim. Both are south-facing slopes close to the right bank of the Rhine in the central section of the Rheingau. The Marcobrunn GG is a massively structured wine with an extremely complex chiaroscuro of aromas and flavours. Before 2021 exciting Marcobrunn wines were in very limited supply, and who better to make the wines from this site dance than Gunter Künstler? The Pfaffenberg GG is almost as powerful, but more silky and graceful. The only potential criticism I can see here is that both these wines almost overwhelming, but much great art, literature and music is also like that.

Gunter’s holdings in the steep, terraced vineyards of the Rüdesheimer Berg at the western end of the Rheingau total just 0.5 hectares. However, he’s also made some extraordinary wines from them, most particularly in 2024; a great vintage for all these sites. The star is the Berg Schlossberg GG which has a hauntingly sleek, extremely filigreed beauty. However, the bolder, intensely stony Berg Rottland GG and the very racy, more citric Berg Roseneck GG are also stunning wines. And just around the corner (the Rhein turns northwards at the Rüdesheimer Berg) Gunter has 0.4 hectares in the Höllenberg of Assmannshausen, historically Germany’s most famous red wine site. It and a smaller holding in the Frankenthal of Assmannshausen (another Erste Lage site) are devoted to Spätburgunder aka Pinot Noir.

The 36 tasting notes that follow include 2 wines with 100 points and 2 wines with 99 points.

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PART THREE: Tasting Notes for Current and Modern Historic Wines

The following 36 notes are all new and come from two recent tastings. The current vintage wines were tasted last on the 17^th January, 2026. Today, Künstler is a member of the Fair Choice association that we consider organic and all his white wines have been bottled with screw caps (Stelvin) since the 2016 vintage.

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Trocken  2024 – 12.5% / Generous and juicy with a tingling freshness, this is a joyful entry level dry Riesling. Effusive aromas of citrus blossoms and yellow apples. The interplay of restrained creaminess, smoky character and spritz is delightful. 92 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hattenheimer Trocken  2024 – 12.5% / The spectrum of yellow aromas runs from chamomile to mango and the mouthfilling juiciness effectively masks the acidity, then it and the tingling minerality emerge into the shining sun at the finish. 94 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Kirchenstück Im Stein EL 2024 – 12.5% / Cool and refined with a floral delicacy, this has a wonderful Amalfi lemon freshness on the sleek and focused palate. Very long and straight finish. Needs some more time in bottle to give its best, but that’s normal for this vineyard site. 94 (SP) 

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle Im Neuenberg EL  2024 – 12.5% / Powerful and mouthfilling, with a wonderful combination of silkiness and freshness. As it aerates in the glass notes of apricot and mango emerge, but there’s nothing extravagant or opulent about this. Then, a wave of earthy and tannic power builds at the long, structured finish. 94 (SP)

Künstler Rheingau  Riesling  Flörsheimer Herrenberg EL 2024 – 12.5% / Very juicy and quite creamy on the medium-bodied with a mass of ripe citrus flavours. Lovely freshness at the finish. 93 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Stielweg Alte Reben EL  2024 – 12.5% / The intertwined orange and apricot flavours are succulent, yet very fresh on the concentrated, mouthfilling palate. Terrific structure, that’s deftly integrated. From vines planted in 1950. 95 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Domdechaney EL  2024 – 13% / Easily of GG quality! Deep and dark, the positive earthiness wrapped in ripe apricot and papaya fruit. Fantastic refinement, the tannic power already deftly integrated, this aligning with the reputation of the site for extremely slow developing and long living wines. 95 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Berg Roseneck GG  2024 – 13% / Very cool with delicate aromas of lemon blossom and chamomile. However, the most important things is that, for a site that’s renowned for steely and austere wines, this has a great silkiness. Very long, focused finish with subtle tannins that are beautifully interwoven with the stony minerality. 96 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Berg Rottland GG  2024 – 13.5% / In spite of its incredible focus and precision, this is an expansive and charismatic wine. Very compact core with enormous stony minerality. The brilliance at the finish is breathtaking. Still very young. 97 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Berg Schlossberg GG  2024 – 13% / What an incredible texture this ravishing expression of the Berg Schlossberg. Gigantic concentration and gigantic finesse! Almost endless, caressing finish. Breathtaking floral delicacy. So young, but with overwhelmingly beautiful subtlety. 99 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Pfaffenberg Monopol GG  2024 – 13% / Incredibly refined and silky, this giant GG compellingly demonstrates what this long forgotten vineyard site can give. Enormous concentration and excellent ripeness, but also an incredible gracefulness, the finish almost endless! Very deep stone fruit that’s restrained and delicate. 98 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Kirchenstück GG  2024 – 13.5% / Incredibly subtle and light-footed with enormous dried flower character, also touches of licorice and candied orange. Graceful and delicate, even a little austere, but this is a tightly-wound watch spring. Try to be patient. 96 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Marcobrunn GG  2024 – 13% / You need to drop out of the everyday world and inwardly embrace this Marcorbunn masterpiece! Overwhelming depth and concentration, yet very vivid and super-precise. A cornucopia of dried flower, moss and wet stone aromas. Enormous finesse at the endless finish. Already irresistible! 99 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2024 – 13.5% / Expansive yet delicate bouquet with a cornucopia of floral, stone fruit, mandarin orange and bergamot aromas. Very concentrated and extremely racy with great wet-stone freshness and very fine tannins supporting the sleek, super-focused finish. Doesn’t want to stop! 98 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2023 – 13.5% / Like most wines of this vintage this has lost the vibrancy of extreme youth, but it has stunning richness and concentration, the power building spectacularly as the incredibly deep mineral structure extends and extends towards infinity. Has decades of life ahead of it! 100 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2022 – 13% / Still very fresh for the hot and dry year with stacks of Asian pear, pomelo and melon, also a note of gunpowder. This is bold, but with quite a steely structure and firm tannins. Thankfully, this is wrapped in very generous fruit . Very long, cool and intensely mineral finish. 97 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2021 – 13% / Very open playful peachy fruit is married to complex grapefruit and wild herb character. This is super-elegant for a vintage that’s often a bit tart and scratchy. However, it flips from tingling delight at the front to dark mineral power at the very polished finish. 96 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Marcobrunn GG  2021 – 13% / Even after four years in the bottle the nose is still on the shy side, the dominant aromas of moss and wet stones with just a hint of pomelo fruit. However, the structure and stature are remarkable for the vintage, the acidity as bright as we expect from 2021. A demanding wine, but one that richly rewards the patient! 95 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2020 – 13% / Very cool and minty for a hot, dry vintage, also quite closed. Way more juicy and concentrated than the nose suggested, although the power is restrained. Stunning interplay of racy acidity, peach-apricot fruit and creaminess, then a terrific mineral brilliance pushes the finish out a long, long way. Still on the road from youthful vivacity to mature complexity. 98 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2019 – 13% / This towering giant has an enormous peachy nose with great finesse. Enormous concentration on the compact palate the creaminess exactly matched by the profound minerality and super-fine tannins. And somehow all of this dances on your tongue, at least until the huge wave of the finish rolls over you. At the beginning of its mature best. 100 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2018 – 12.5% / Far removed from the bold and round norm for 2018, this is only medium-bodied, also super-cool and focused. Time has begun to mellow, but there’s still plenty of mid-palate juiciness and the freshness at the finish. 96 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Kirchenstück GG  2018 – 12.5% / This is extraordinarily elegant and filigreed for the hottest growing season every recorded in Germany, the wine gliding almost weightlessly over your palate. Very subtle stone fruit aromas and a touch of sweet orange, although the wine is properly dry. Compelling delicacy at the endless finish. 97 (SP) 

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2016 – 12.5% / From the first vintage that Künstler bottled his white wines entirely under Stelvin screw caps.  Wonderful maturing nose of red-fleshed, vineyard peach and orange zest. Very elegant with none of the rough edges that this vintage often has, in fact the finish is positively silky. 96 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2015 – 14% / Pump up the volume! The apricot and mango aromas of this imposing Rheingau wine are enveloping. Enormous power, but with every bit as much freshness this has great harmony for a dry Riesling at the upper limit of alcoholic content for this category. Great harmony at the very deep, long finish. 97 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2014 – 12.5% / If you experienced this next to other wines from the very challenging 2014 vintage it would stand out for its crisp acidity and energy, but in the context of other vintages of this wine it has moderate depth. Just a touch of forest honey character. Best drunk soon. 91 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2011 – 13% / The youthful apricot nose pulls you into this rich and creamy, mouthfilling dry Riesling. Great textural complexity, the soft acidity still enough to keep this all bright and drive the very long surprisingly mineral finish. 96 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle GG  2010 – 13% / With its intense dried herbal character (mostly sage, but also thyme and rosemary), this is a love it or loath it mature dry Riesling. However, the high acidity of the vintage is well-integrated on the tightly-wound palate. Super-clean, crisp finish. 92 (SP) 

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle Auslese trocken 2004 – 12% / This is still in fine form for a forgotten vintage that’s over 20 years old. Plenty of apricot and a touch of caramel on the medium-bodied palate with its underplayed power. Fine tannins and a lively acidity are married to balsamic character at the very elegant finale. 95 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle Auslese trocken  1999 – 13% / What an expansive and youthful expression of this ripe and generous vintage that’s now a quarter of a century old. Way more depth than the norm for 1999, and the wild flower aromas are enticing! Very refined and silky with a caramelized peach flavour that lingers very long. 95 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle Spätlese trocken  1998 – 12.5% / Fully developed, but the apricot nose is charismatic. At once mellow, silky and crisp, this has impressive substance. Great verve at the animating and deeply  harmonious finish. 96 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle Auslese trocken  1998 – 13% / One of the greatest dry German Rieslings of the late 20^th century this has staggering, dazzling freshness, and at more than a quarter of a century of age is so cool and focused. There’s impressive depth at its core and amazing mineral energy at the jubilantly elegant finish. 98 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Riesling  Hochheimer Hölle Charta  1992 – 11.5% / 1992 wasn’t generally a particularly exciting vintage in Germany, and Hochheim was one of the rare exceptions. The fascinating smoky nose pulls you into this rich and creamy, barely off-dry Riesling that then surprises you with a terrific freshness for its age at the finish. 95 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Chardonnay  Grand Réserve  2024 – 13% / Intensely nutty and candied lemon character. Very structured, moderately creamy and extremely focused with stunning stony minerality. For a wine that was matured in 100% new barrique casks this has delicate vanilla and toast aromas. 95 (SP)

Note: Recent vintages of the Künstler Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) GGs have been partly bottled under screw cap and partly under cork closure.

Künstler  Rheingau  Spätburgunder  Hochheim Reichestal GG  2022 – 13.5% / Enormously deep spicy, meaty and savoury, this is a huge pinot noir, but with terrific freshness. What great Amarena cherry fruit and imposing fine tannins! Extremely long, complete, velvety finish that pulls you inexorably back for more. Great aging potential. 96 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Spätburgunder  Assmanshauen Höllenberg GG  2022 – 13% / The slatey tension and energy of this super-focused pinot noir is incredible. Just a touch of bitter chocolate, but discreetly oaky. Extremely concentrated, but so incredibly vibrant. Cassis and summer flowers. Dances on your tongue with the enormous minerality that great Pinot Noir is supposed to have, but so rarely does! 97 (SP)

Künstler  Rheingau  Spätburgunder  Hochheim Reichestal GG  2015 – 13% / A rich and powerful Pinot Noir for just 13%, but with a soft, warm heart. More spicy and savoury than fruity, but there’s enough maturing bramble fruit to carry the vanilla oak (more obvious than in younger vintages of this wine). Long, silky finish. 94 (SP)

Final Note: No doubt, some will consider all this conclusive proof that I, like Gunter Künstler, am old-fashioned or even reactionary. So be it. I have no problem with being deemed uncool or even being demonized, just as long as nobody wants to burn me at the stake!