Sybille Kuntz
Mosel, Germany
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SA, VIC, NSW & TAS
Sybille is one of few German winemakers who’ve mastered their estate and in doing so, captured the Mosel’s essence so vividly. In the space of 30 years, Sybille Kuntz has gained renown and is praised for producing polished Rieslings. In 2011, Sybille and her husband Markus expanded their seminal dry-style Riesling range, to a full-encompassing portfolio of wines that encapsulate the whole spectrum of traditional German viticulture, from Qualitätswein to Trockenbeerenauslese.
Organic since 1990 and organic certified (“Bio-Weingut”) since 2013, Sybille composes with strictly small yields produced from vines averaging 45 to 80 years of age. The consecrated ground of their Niederberg-Helden vineyard in the town of Lieser, situated in the middle of the Mosel, is at the heart of their production, which has been certified biodynamic since 2016.
This selection is what we feel is the most representative of Sybille Kuntz’ status as a high profile Mosel producer, and the few back vintage releases we have secured are a testament to that.
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Vaite Teriierooiterai – Master of Wine Business, AWAC and WSET Diploma candidate
2022 Riesling ‘Trocken’
$40.00 LUC
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The Qualitätswein Riesling is the first to be harvested. The plots are in Lieser and Kues, planted with young vines of up to 40 years of age. The slope has 30-50% inclination, the soil is a mix of slate and a little bit of quartz. As part of their biodynamic practices, they cultivate a spontaneous cover crop between rows, which sustains a healthy microbial balance. Low yield is assured through the pruning of the vines to 8–10 buds/vine. At the end of June, shortly after flowering, manual shoot thinning is performed along with leaf and secondary shoot removal from the fruit zone.
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"Intense nose with its suggestions of wild flowers, hazelnuts and gherkins – almost reminiscent of a Grüner Veltliner Federspiel! Bone-dry finish and no shortage of fruit and extract on the way there. I'd happily order this from any restaurant wine list and reckon it would go well with a huge array of foods."
16.5/20 pts — Jancis Robinson, Jancis Robinson
2022 Riesling ‘Kabinett Trocken’
$50.00 LUC
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Kabinett forms the basis of the superior Qualitätswein mit Prädikat category, as defined by the German Wine Law. It is produced mainly from old vines grown in the steep vineyards of Pauls Valley, a side valley carved by the River Moselle some thirty-five thousand years ago. Today, it is part of the celebrated single vineyard site Lieser Schlossberg. It is harvested a little later than the Qualitätswein to produce this dry, aromatic and elegant wine.
Sybille has propelled herself to the top of Riesling production in the German wine industry. In 2016, Weingut Sybille Kuntz was Demeter certified biodynamic. -
"Pale greenish gold. Intense hazelnuts on the nose. Real richness on the front palate with some lemon flavours and a hint of soapiness. At the moment it's a very youthful sweet-and-sour mix without those two elements being integrated. Wait! Though it's admirably persistent."
16++/20 pts — Jancis Robinson, Jancis Robinson
2022 Riesling ‘Spätlese Trocken’
$78.00 LUC
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Spätlese (“late harvest”) is, as its designation indicates, picked late, usually at the end of October, in the Niederberg-Helden Einzellage in Lieser. The old vines, planted in the middle of the last century, are partly ungrafted. The grapes benefit from a long ripening period, hence a higher sugar content and aromatic potency at harvest. An archetype of density and expression, this is a truly excellent wine.
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"Composed and well-integrated nose with massive extract and interest. Positively hums with life; you can almost sense bees humming in the wine – metaphorically of course! Pure fruit and real depth. Great weight on the palate despite the relatively low alcohol. Great food wine. Very long indeed. This should last and last."
17/20 pts — Jancis Robinson, Jancis Robinson
2019 Riesling ‘Auslese Feinherb’
$130.00 LUC
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The 2019 vintage is described as the second consecutive summer of the century. It produced fantastic Rieslings with exceptional aging potential. The warm growing season, which was marked by dry periods during the summer, provided outstanding ripening conditions. The cool autumn nights during the harvest ensured excellent aroma profiles and balanced, resolved acidity levels. Due to the high temperatures during the summer months, the berries stayed rather small and had a lower juice to skin ratio, thus a great intensity across all quality levels up to Beerenauslese.
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The grapes are picked from the best and oldest vineyard parcels of the Niederberg-Helden Einzellage. The low yield of these vineyards results in a high concentration of aroma and taste. The steepest vineyards grown on stony slate soil produce these rich Riesling wines that stand out for their minerality and concentration.
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"Pale gold with green highlights. Hints of golden syrup on the nose really rather luscious. This is surely a difficult wine to grow and make but it's also one of those medium-sweet wines that I find difficult to fit into my drinking schedule. Too sweet and serious to be an aperitif, and too sweet to match to many savoury foods (creamy paté?) but not sweet enough to drink with sweet food. Very admirably made but perhaps more forward than the sort of fruity wine the old guard of German wine lovers bought, aged and appreciated? Well made. I am looking a gift horse in the mouth, clearly."
11/20 pts — Jancis Robinson, Jancis Robinson
2019 Riesling ‘Beerenauslese’
$220.00 LUC
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This rare Riesling is not available in every vintage. It is undeniably the very best that Mosel Riesling grapes are able to bring forth. These wines have built the world-wide reputation of Mosel Rieslings. For centuries these wines have been much sought after, because their concentration, aroma and expressiveness make them unique in the world. They have virtually unlimited ageing potential.
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The Beerenauslese is the next step up from the Auslese level. It’s made of a selection from fully ripe and sun-dried grapes, selected on site by hand, one by one and deposited into seperate boxes. The grapes are grown on the Niederberg-Helden, a single vineyard site (designated an Erste Lage or “First Growth“ site). The vines were planted in the 1920’s and are mostly ungrafted. At 70% steepness the midday sun is positioned almost vertically above the vines and the Mosel River reflects the sun with mirror-like intensity. This causes the dehydration of the grapes into raisins.
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"Pale gold. Amazing to achieve this ripeness level and this alcohol level. Very intense, tightly wound, introvert nose. Wonderfully pure, chiselled and lively though quite wild with many a note of wild flowers. Perhaps the 2019 from Sybille Kuntz that most obviously demonstrates her commitment to biodynamic viticulture. Not opulently rich but very precise and refreshing."
Drink 2023-2032
17/20 — Jancis Robinson, Jancis Robinson
2011 Riesling ‘Trockenbeerenauslese’
$645.00 LUC
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The 2011 vintage was one of the best of this century. All quality levels from Qualitätswein to Kabinett and all the way to Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese demonstrated excellence that year. The growing season was a very long one, with a cool spell in the summer but a very warm September and a magic, golden October. However, they experienced a moment of anxiety on the 26th of August, when a heavy hail storm hit their vineyards just after the completion of green harvest. The next day, they deployed their expert pickers to remove the damaged berries. Luckily, a warm September and sunny October followed. The resulting low yields of beautifully ripe grapes produced a powerful, ripe and elegant wine with a balanced and delicate acidity.
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The Trockenbeerenauslese is the final step in the quality pyramid. The hand selected raisins are so dry that you can hear them when they’re placed into the crates.
Hand-picked from the Auslese and Beerenauslese grapes from Niederberg-Helden, the sun-dried raisins are pressed separately. These wines have extreme density and sweetness and the very best what Mosel Riesling is able to yield. They are, in fact, unique in the wine world. The Trockenbeerenauslese has a fantastic aging potential and guarantees pure pleasure. -
"Orangey gold – looks quite unctuous. Wonderfully pure botrytis. Crystallised apricots. Sweet and lots of acidity and a bit of sulphur. But it's all set for a great future. Brava!"
18/20 — Jancis Robinson, Jancis Robinson"Viscous, buttery and rich, with a surplus of brioche, cream, ripe pineapple, dried apricot and peach flavours that are balanced and fresh. Quite voluptuous, featuring a luscious finish filled with ginger and spice."
Drink now through 2045
Wine Spectator