2019 Peter Jakob Kuhn Jacobus:
This was shockingly great! I continue to be be fascinated with the PJK wines. Some I love, some I don’t, but all are intriguing. This is an entry-level blend that retails for $20. It was so electric, high acid, and just a wonderful pleasure to drink that enlivened all of the senses!
Which PJK wines do you love/not love? I only have experience with Jacobus and Quarzit and really like both. They are a bit hard to find sometimes (I know Weygandt brings them in). Jacobus is actually my go-to Riesling to bring to a party when in Germany. People who drink Riesling usually are pretty happy I brought it.
I honestly do not have perfect recall, the Doosberg was a recent one that I could not quite figure out. I really liked the Jacobus.
i had an 18 doosberg GG a couple months ago that i loved. i generally like PJK wines though.
have you tried the 2018?
have you tried the 2018?
I don’t think I have. But you reminded me I need to order some more of the 19!
PJK GGs are usually raised in oak and go through full malo. It wouldn’t be surprising if those aren’t to Robert’s liking knowing his preferences in Riesling. I think the ‘lesser’ cuvées see more steel and less malo.
Here’s my note on a ‘14 Doosberg I had a few months back:
Restaurant purchase. Peter Jakob Kühn makes some really idiosyncratic Rieslings. This spent two years in a large wooden vat on the lees and allowed to go through malolactic completely.
The result is a dense, rich, and concentrated wine. Filled with peach and tropical fruit characters (pineapple and mango). On the palate while that concentration comes through, the structure still feels a bit rounded. There’s a distinctive creaminess to it from extended lees contact and malo with a round and softer acid edge. Some petrol-filled smoky and salty finish. It felt like it was missing something, je se ne quoi.
Took the remaining 1/3 of the bottle back home and consumed the rest about an hour later from a Grasl Cru. The fruit appeared to recede a bit on the nose to make way for a captivating mix of sweet and delicate white aromatic flowers: mock orange, aztec pearl, osmanthus burkwoodii, but on the palate it felt much the same as before.
Aromatically, it’s lovely, especially from the Grassl (what a difference the stem made), but on the palate it seems to fall short for my tastes. Clearly well made and with intention. There’s concentration, complexity, depth, but I think the combination of richness from the lees and wooden vat and the rounder, softer acid feel from the malolactic makes this feel like a wine that speaks more to winemaking than a sense of place. AP 08 16
ABV: 13.0%
Closure: natural cork
Decant: 90min at restaurant // 3h in when tasted at home
Stem: non-descript white wine glass; later Grassl Cru
Assemblage: two years on lees in a large wooden vat, full malo.
Thanks Rodrigo for the note. Idiosyncratic is an apt descriptor. I do find them intriguing though and enjoying continuing to experiment with them. You are probably onto something with the oak treatment.
It is my experience as well that Riesling that is barrel fermented and allowed to go through Malo, will exhibit noticeable tropical qualities. In fact, they become a lot more Chard-like in every way.