The Second of Nierstein's 3 Musketeers - The Elegant Exoticism of Hipping - 2020 from Kuhling Gillot

 Kuhling-Gillot

 - The Sister Winery of List Favorite Battenfeld Spanier

- The Diamond of Nierstein

 - I've Always Thought that They Were At the Top of the Top in Germany

 - And One of the Top Wineries in Europe

 - Now The Critics Have Agreed

 - These Are Allocated in Europe

 - Demand Already Exceeds Supply for These Wines At These Prices

2020 Vintage

 - Incredible Growing Conditions

 - So Far from My Tastings, the Quality Is Off the Charts

 - Sadly Small Quantities

 - Nothing to Do But Work the Vines

 - Classic - But with an Extra Density and Elegance

2020 Kühling Gillot Hipping GG

 - Elegantly Exotic

 - Huge Nose

 - Vanilla Extract, Caramel Nougat

 - White Peach, Lifted Citrus

 - Screamingly Mineral 

 - Zesty Grapefruit and Almost Salty Lime

 - Palate - Just So Perfectly Complete

 - So Complex, So Juicy, So Energetic

 - Sappy and Pure

 - Amazing Purity and Balance

Nierstein - The Jewel of the Rheinhessen

One of the greatest villages of the Rheinhessen is Nierstein. There are 3 quite famous vineyards, each with its own distinct character.

Pettenthal, arguably the most revered, is famous for its opulent wines.

Olberg is quite steep and its wines tend to be incredibly powerful.

Hipping is in a small amphitheater and has a background of red slate. The wines have a
distinctive exotic edge. They are also remarkably mineral. I'm a huge fan of this vineyard as the wines here can be among the most interesting wines in the Rheinhessen.

Doing the Math - Price Comparisons

I never suggest to anyone that they buy wine as an investment. It's just not how I think about wine. But I know that some people either look at it as an investment or at least want context as to value when they make a purchase like this.

I am picking wines from highly regarded vintages and listing current ones.

• 2018 Keller Absterde - $380
• 2009 Keller Morstein - $675-$1,200
• 2018 Keller G-Max - $2,295
• 2018 Keller Pettenthal - $595

My point is that if a winery gets 96+ scores, it jumps into a very different price stratosphere. I have zero idea what will happen to prices for these wines. I've long felt that the wines from top German growers were tremendously underpriced. And for Keller, that market imbalance appears to have been rectified.  

The Wine

One of the best GG’s and one of my favorite GG’s is the Kühling Gillot Hipping as Hipping is one of the greatest sites in Nierstein and the Kühling Gillot parcels are indeed very special. They have two parcels in this great site in the north and south slopes. They are in the highest parts of the Hipping vineyard and get uniform sun exposure. The nights are cool and gentle cool winds blows in opposition to the warm days where the subsoil has ancient rocks that store the warmth. This is the perfect formula for a long and even ripening season. It is absolutely extraordinary terroir. And no grape shines more than Riesling here. These Rieslings are bursting with fine and super expressive minerality and despite that I find Hipping can drink very well when young. 

The 2020 Kühling Gillot Hipping RieslingGG can be had for $59.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Maybe the most accessible young Hipping ever. But still it needs to age. 

Huge nose, vanilla extract, caramel nougat, white peach, huge minerals, salt. peach and citrus that is very lifted and so, so, so mineral. After air the most gets zesty grapefruit and almost salty lime. Also a resinous quality. It’s so pungent and invigorating. It’s also piquant as all can be.

Palate is so complete, so complex, so juicy, so energetic and so vivid. Shockingly pure minerality. Citrus and grapefruit tones. What a lithe yet substantial structure. Sappy and pure. Almost tannic like a red wine. What purity and balance. Terrific mid palate texture and density. Yes it’s young but man is it good. Playful, ethereal, serious. It has it all. After air, the palate is silky and suave and OMG is it juicy and explosive.

Finish is now smokey, stoney and salty. And that finish is a crescendo.

This is a full bodied Hipping that will age wonderfully and is super saline which is something I love in my dry Rieslings. This can be drunk young but ideally wait 5 years.

Below is the 95 point Stuart Piggott review. 

“I love the enveloping stone-fruit and yellow-grapefruit aromas of this youthful GG, which are accompanied by a hint of smoky funk (reduction), resulting from the long sur-lie maturation. At once very juicy and every bit as elegant, this concentrated beauty is waving at you to join it. Such a long, silky finish that feels so airy. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.” - - 95 points, Stuart Piggott

2020 Kuhling Gillot Hipping Riesling Grosses Gewachs - $61.99 ($239.96 4-Pack)