Wunderwein presents Gut Hermannsberg Riesling GG selection for Michelin Star Restaurants and Private Collectors

By Jan Schüler

Updated August 30, 2024 02:19 pm



We are excited to share with you an offer for some of Germany’s most prestigious Rieslings from the spectacular Gut Hermannsberg in the Nahe.  A founding member of the VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter), Germany’s highly regarded wine association, Gut Hermannsberg consists of 30 hectares of vines in seven vineyards, all designated Grosse Lage, Germany’s equivalent of Grand Cru. Wunderwein currently carries six Grosses Gewächs wines from these vineyards, including rare vintages.


Gut Hermannsberg was founded in 1902 as a State Domaine of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was an ambitious undertaking. Rugged, volcanic hillsides were cleared of shrubs, rocks and soil (often with the help of explosives) and laid out in terraces. It was three years before the first Riesling vines were planted and another two years before the first vintage. Work was not completed until 1914. Today, 95% of Gut Hermannsberg’s plantings are Riesling – a testament to their single-minded focus – and the property produces some of the purest and most elegant Rieslings in the world.  
 
The estate is owned by Jens Reidel and Dr. Christine Dinse. Winemaker Karsten Peter’s ideal is to make wines that “reflect the character of the landscape in which they have grown,” and the wines do just that.

Wunderwein is importing Grosse Gewächse wines from six of Gut Hermannsberg’s Grosse Lagen vineyards.

They are available through our Retail Partner The Wine Cellarage in NYC. Please use the links below to order. The wines are also available on wine.com on this link and on Vivino together with a wider selection of Gut Hermannsberg wines, including a Riesling Sekt Brut, and village wines (Orts-and Gutsweine). Our trade customers can view wholesale pricing on Provi or email us to request our portfolio. Through our Distributor Park Street, we offer free next day delivery for retail accounts in NY and NJ.

We expect these exceptional and rare wines to sell out quickly.


Gut Hermannsberg consists of 30 hectares of vines in seven vineyards, all designated Grosse Lage, Germany’s equivalent of Grand Cru.

Gut Hermannsberg Steinberg Niederhausen Riesling GG – 2019

Gut Hermannsberg Steinberg Niederhausen Riesling GG – 2018


Gut Hermannsberg Steinberg Niederhausen Riesling GG


The name of this location says it all: on this south-southwest oriented steep slope, there are hard stones from Lemberg porphyrite, a light-colored, yellowish volcanic rock that reflects a lot of solar energy. Therefore, the extremely barren soils yield fresh and pure wines whose trademark is their crystalline charisma. In recent years, they have gained more and more elegance.


Because the soil of the Steinberg is so pale it remains cool, like the soil in the Grand Cru vineyards of Chablis.

Gut Hermannsberg Niederhausen Hermannsberg Riesling GG – 2017

Gut Hermannsberg Niederhausen Hermannsberg Riesling GG – 2016


Gut Hermannsberg Niederhausen Hermannsberg Riesling GG


The 5.5 hectare monopole Hermannsberg vineyard extends from the entrance gate of Gut Hermannsberg to the manor house. What is not so easy to see when driving through the site is that it is the only one of the GG sites with slate soil. This is the source of the fine minerality of Hermannsberg wines. A layer of loess (fine earth blown by the wind) covers the slate at different depths and gives the wines their suppleness.  Dry Riesling from this site are never spectacular when young, but always cool and distinguished with a minty freshness, despite their rather generous nature and fine peach note. Only after a few years of aging in the bottle do they display all their seductive nuances.

The Niederhäuser Hermannsberg GGs are never so accessible in their youth and only released to the market five years after bottling.

Gut Hermannsberg Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling GG – 2021

Gut Hermannsberg Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling GG


The VDP Grosse Lage Felsenberg extends between the left bank of the Nahe River and the steep cliffs of volcanic melaphyr towards Schlossböckelheim, where the valley narrows. Thanks to the opening of the Nahe Valley to the west, the parcel on the steep slope receives a significant amount of evening sun. The Felsenberg forms a scree slope of the steep volcanic rocks above, right next to the Kupfergrube. This means that the reddish-gray soils of dark melaphyr warm up during the day, providing the wines with ideal ripening conditions and the characteristic pronounced spiciness. The result is a Großes Gewächs with a powerful structure, complex and deep with an expressive sense of origin.


Nestled between rugged rocks and the Nahe river, the Felsenberg vineyard looks exactly like the steep German vineyards wine enthusiasts around the globe envision

Gut Hermannsberg Kupfergrube Schlossböckelheim Riesling GG – 2017

Gut Hermannsberg Kupfergrube Schlossböckelheim Riesling GG – 2015

Gut Hermannsberg Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube Riesling GG


The Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube vineyard is planted atop a disused copper mine. The south-facing slopes and volcanic soil yield wines of great power, with a warm spiciness and a hint of smoke. A small quantity of the 2015 and 2017 vintages have been held back for these rare, late-releases.


The wine from the Kupfergrube, German for copper mine, tastes as spectacular as this site looks. Six wide vineyard terraces separated from each other by mighty stone walls.

Gut Hermannsberg Rotenberg Altenbamberg Riesling GG – 2021


Gut Hermannsberg Altenbamberg Rotenberg Riesling GG 


The Altenbamberg Rotenberg vineyard is aptly named. The highest of the Gut Hermannsberg vineyards, its soils are noticeably red from their high iron content. The wines show a pronounced minerality, with aromas of juicy stone fruit, wild herbs, and tangerine peel.


Where it is exposed, the Rotenberg volcanic rhyolite bedrock of this precipitous slope looks like the surface of Mars.

Gut Hermannsberg Bastei Traisen Riesling GG – 2020


Gut Hermannsberg Bastei Traisen Riesling GG


The Traiser Bastei is one of the most spectacular vineyards in the world! Like an amphitheater, the gigantic Rotenfels towers over one of the smallest Grosse Lage vineyards in Germany, just 1.8 hectares. As a late release, the Bastei GG is allowed to remain on the lees for two years before it is bottled and sold. Gut Hermannsberg owns just one hectare of vines in this exceptional location, the Bastei GG is always strictly limited and sells out quickly. 


The Traiser Bastei is one of the most spectacular vineyards in the world.


We hope you thoroughly enjoy the Gut Hermannsberg wines, if you have a chance to participate in ordering some of these exceptional rare wines through our partners.


For more information about Wunderwein and our broader German wine portfolio, please reach out to us at any time.