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Von Hövel

Max von Kunow and his team commenced the 2020 harvest on September 21, with the first Riesling, for Kabinett, coming in a few days later – and von Kunow considers himself to have had particular success with wines of that Prädikat. Pauses during the rainier periods of October and late September translated into a harvest that approached seven weeks, thus stretching well into November. As noted in some of my tasting notes, von Kunow is pursuing legally dry wines that will be somewhat lower in residual sugar and higher in alcohol than in previous vintages, and a few lots from 2020 – including the village-level Oberemmeler Riesling Trocken – were still fermenting when I visited in November 2021. (Paradoxically in comparison, most of his 2021s – as typifies that vintage, harvested late but at relatively low must weights – were already finished.) Hütte and Scharzhofberger Grosse Gewächse were done fermenting, but not due for bottling until just before Christmas 2021, which was, surprisingly, true of a Hütte Spätlese as well. I was not offered those to taste but shall no doubt do so sometime in 2022.

Von Kunow’s vines – especially in the signature site, Oberemmeler Hütte – suffered severely from the May 2019 frost, resulting, when compounded by the necessary of selective picking, in a very small crop. Harvest did not begin until the last week in September, so that, from the beginning, the team here had to work in and out – as well as deal with any fungal consequences – of rain. Like most of Germany’s Riesling winegrowers, though, von Kunow feels that the quality in 2019 more than makes up for the small quantity. I missed out on tasting the vintage 2019 Kabinetts.

Major and very unexpected news broke in late 2022 that Wolfgang Mertes was leaving his long-time post as director of von Kesselstatt and would be taking up the position of vineyard manager and cellarmaster at von Hövel. (For background on this estate, including its recent expansion and viticultural as well as stylistic evolution under Max von Kunow, consult the introductions to my coverage of its 2014s, 2015s and especially 2016s.)

From Saar Riesling 2019-2020: Selective Excellence (May 2022) by David Schildknecht

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2020 Riesling trocken

Color: White

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Von Hövel

2020 Riesling trocken

2020 Riesling Krettnacher trocken

2020 Riesling Niedermenniger trocken

2020 Riesling Kanzemer Hörecker Grosses Gewächs

2020 Riesling

2020 Riesling Kabinett S

2020 Riesling Oberemmeler Hütte Kabinett

2020 Riesling Scharzhofberger Kabinett

2020 Riesling Kanzemer Hörecker Auslese

2019 Riesling Krettnacher trocken

2019 Riesling Niedermenniger trocken

2019 Riesling Oberemmeler trocken

2019 Riesling Oberemmeler Grosses Gewächs

2019 Riesling Kanzemer Hörecker GL

2019 Riesling Oberemmeler Hütte Spätlese

2019 Riesling Scharzhofberger Spätlese

2019 Riesling Scharzhofberger Auslese

2019 Riesling Oberemmeler Hütte Auslese 26

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