After a run of three high quality vintages, the last thing the weary American needed was another irresistible German vintage, particularly at current exchange rates.


Prior to my latest knee surgery, I traveled to Germany at the end of January with the hope of catching at least a glimpse of the fledgling 2004 German harvest which had been rumored to essentially consist of lots of good Qba, Kabinett, and Spätlese with very small amounts of the grandiose late-harvest wines that had been the hallmarks of the 2003s. Unfortunately, due to a rampant flu bug that was everywhere I went, I was unable to taste more than one producer and even that had to be rescheduled. Fortunately that one producer was Peter Jacob Kühn who, if nothing else, is perennially a first rate benchmark for the Rheingau. So I can’t begin to comment on other growing regions let alone other microclimates within the Rheingau itself.


That having been said, Kühn’s 2004s across the board were pretty darn good! From the dry wines right on through to a pair of Beerenauslesen and an Eiswein (the TBA was still fermenting.) The wines were beautifully structured, balanced, and had a very fresh, zesty acidity. I suppose they were reminiscent of the best aspects of the 2002s and 2001s. Granted it is far too early to be specific with comparisons which, in and of themselves, are always a bit dangerous.


We consumers love to grasp onto them as a fast and simple way to label a new vintage, but if it is done prematurely, it can be damaging in giving the wrong impression. Nonetheless, I was duly encouraged by these very first peeks at what looks to be a very useful and potentially exciting vintage. The two things I always look for are acidity and fruit which were both beautifully represented by the Kühn wines. He not only made two Auslesen (a Goldkapsel for the 2006 auction) but he did the same with a couple of lovely Beerenauslesen while adding an Eiswein (harvested 12/21/04) and a small amount of Trockenbeerenauslese!


Compared with the enormous must weights of 2003, these are more in line with typical late-harvest Rieslings so it will be interesting and exciting to watch their development. So let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that many other producers made 2004s of such a high quality level.


-Dade Thieriot