The Rheingau region’s “Höllenberg” vineyard is perched at a staggering height above the village of Assmannshausen on the River Rhein. This is home to Robert König, where he and his forefathers have been crafting wine for over three-hundred years. The Rheingau is an incredibly historic appellation that is credited with being the first area in Germany to witness and document the development of botrytis through an interesting twist of fate that left the grapes on the vine for a bit longer one year; this inevitably led to the Pradikat system, which organizes and labels wines by ripeness level of the grapes at harvest. Today’s wine is a Spatlese, which means it is a later harvest wine than the entry-level Kabinett and therefore has higher brix (sugar level in the grapes) at the time of harvest. The wine is also labeled, “Trocken,” which means it is fermented dry and inevitably enjoys higher alcohol by volume. An anomaly in such a northern locale, higher alcohol and richer mouthfeel are actually characteristic of the wines of Rheingau in general. This is due to the fact that the region is steeply perched above the wide swath of the Rhein, which contributes extended sun exposure thanks to its powerful reflection off the water. The Rheingau also boasts an incredibly wide array of complex soils. The Höllenberg vineyard of Assmannshausen has a specific phyllite-rich soil, comprised of broken-down pink slate, which enjoys excellent drainage, heat retention, ideal suitability for the Pinot Noir varietal and contributes a trademark minerality to the wine that is simply inimitable.

 

The König Family has been traditionally crafting wine in the Rheingau since 1704. With an eye toward tradition and quality, Robert König, Jr, currently guides the family operation. Before obtaining a degree in enology from Geisenheim College, he studied under the expert hand of his grandfather, Josef. Under Robert’s stewardship, the grapes are hand-harvested, crafted with traditional viniculture techniques and are aged in oak. The family has also been a member of the incredibly quality-conscience VDP (Association of German Praedikat Wine Estates) since 1991. This quality certainly translates brilliantly in the bottle year after year.