Description
The Kirchenstück is mentioned by name in official documents predating the Thirty Years War. Situated at an elevation of 150 meters on a plateau between two churches, it overlooks H.O.’s hometown of Hohen-Sülzen. Its ancient centerpiece is home to his oldest vineyards, planted in the 1960s. Today the wines come from the best parcels of the entire Kirchenstück — average vine age: 35 years — for wines of notable fruit and depth. The soft, calcareous stone of the upper soil provides an excellent nutritional supply despite an extremely calcareous substrate. Characterized by its expressive fruit, the Kirchenstück is accessible starting in youth, yet promises immense development potential over time. Wines from the Kirchenstück are
meticulously hand selected, wild fermented and matured in Stück and Doppelstück barrels.
The wine shimmers in shades of pale straw yellow, shifting and changing in the large bowled glass to reveal a nose of juicy fruit and the captivating herbal spice of water mint, lemon-thyme and savory. The green herbal spice is then underscored with yellow and red fruit aromas. Notes of fully ripe yellow apple and quince as well as nectarine are underpinned by accents of wet chalk. Concentrated fruit with a mouthwatering, fine-grained phenolic comes alive to a youthful, electric nerve of acidity. Complex and deep, the wine moves with enviable confidence and focus across the palate and toward its steadfast and salty mineral finish. The Kirchenstück is notably openspirited in its youth, yet don’t sleep on its enormous maturation ceiling and well-deserved claim as an accompaniment to fine cuisine: North African or Levant cooking are ideal pairings, as are fish and seafood classics from the French tradition.