Winemaker Notes
The estate-grown Riesling Kabinett is made to showcase the traditional, lighter style of Riesling. It is sourced from cooler, higher-elevation parcels adjacent to the estate's classified single-vineyard sites. But it also includes fruit from pre selections in the top sites, which gives the wine an extra dimension of fruit and mineral intensity. The Riesling Kabinett is light and lovely, with lush exotic fruit aromas and a poised balance of bright acidity and lacy natural sweetness.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A lush beauty. The Kabinett revolution continues, and this is a dazzler. Coming from the estate plantings that abut the well-known cru designate sites, but includes fruit from the top plots, giving this Kabinett a serious pedigree. Timeless and classic, these wines have seen a resurgence in recent years, and balance is the reason. This medium-sweet bottling gives intoxicating aromas of ripe pineapple, guava and juicy Meyer lemon. The acidity soars, complementing the juicy fruit throughout the palate with laser precision and a perfectly etched minerality.
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Vinous
The 2024 Riesling Rheingau Kabinett opens with the slightest touch of chervil, followed by freshly zested lemon peel. Clarity and gorgeous Reine Claude plum define the slender palate. This is absolutely à point, dancing on a knife's edge. What a joyful, light, bright and superb Kabinett that sets 33 g/L of sugar against 9 g/L of acidity. (Off-dry)
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James Suckling
This very juicy and refreshing riesling Kabinett has stacks of lemon and yellow grapefruit aromas on the sleek, light-bodied palate. A hint of citrus pith bitterness is interwoven with lemon character in the long, vivid finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2024 Rheingau Riesling Kabinett is sugary on the nose but light and happy on the palate, very elegant and finely juicy. This is delicious, especially with spicy food. 9% stated alcohol. Screwcap closure.
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Wine Spectator
Soft and inviting, with a core of pure apple and peach flecked with green tea, herb and finely crushed mineral notes. Stays balanced and harmonious through the well-meshed finish. A balanced and energetic version of the off-dry kabinett style. Drink now through 2032.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
Practically one long and bucolic hillside along the northern bank of the Rhein River, the Rheingau stretches the entirety of the river’s east to west spread from Hocheim to Rüdesheim.
Variations in elevation, soil types, and proximity to the Rhine cause great diversity in Rheingau Riesling. Some of the better Rieslings in warmer years come from the cooler and breezier sites at higher elevations. In cooler years, sites closer to the river may perform better.
In the village of Rüdesheim, slopes are steep and soils are stony slate with quartzite; Rieslings are rich and spicy, intense in stone fruit and show depth and character with age. World class Rieslings come from farther east on the river through Geisenheim, Johannisberg, Winkel, Oestrich and past Erbach as well, where soils of loess, sand, and marl alternate. Long-living, floral-driven and mineral-rich Rieslings come from the best of these sites.
Rheingau growers became early activists in promoting the dry style of Riesling, low yields and the classification of top vineyards, or Erstes Gewächs (first growths). Proximity to the metropolitan markets of Mainz, Wiesbaden, and Frankfurt keeps Rheingau in high reputation. While dry wines are the style here, Rheingau isn’t short of some amazing Auslesen, Beerenauslesen, and Trockenbeerenauslesen.
Rheingau doesn’t mess with many other grapes—in fact 79% of its total area is dedicated to Riesling. But it produces some fine Pinot noir, especially concentrated in Assmannshausen, a bit farther west from Rüdesheim.