Summary
Weingut Kühling-Gillot in Bodenheim is one of Rheinhessen's most respected estates. On around 25 hectares – mostly Riesling – it produces terroir-driven, uncompromisingly dry wines from the Roter Hang, the striking reddish-brown slope on the Rhine terrace between Nackenheim and Nierstein. Since 2002 winemaker Carolin Spanier-Gillot has run the family estate together with her husband H.O. Spanier, who is also in charge of the cellar. The vineyards have been farmed biodynamically throughout since 2005. The estate is best known worldwide for its Riesling „wurzelecht“ from the Nackenheim Rothenberg – one of Germany's most sought-after dry Rieslings.
History
The family has been rooted on the Roter Hang for over 200 years and has grown wine here for generations. The present name Kühling-Gillot goes back to the union of two long-established Rheinhessen winegrowing families. Over the decades the estate became a fixture on the Rhine terrace; since 1997 it has been a member of the VDP.
The decisive turning point came with Carolin Spanier-Gillot, who took over the estate in 2002. A trained viticulture engineer, she focused the operation firmly on single-vineyard wines and top quality. Together with her husband H.O. Spanier, who also runs the neighbouring Palatinate estate Battenfeld-Spanier, she forms one of Germany's best-known winemaking couples. A key step was the switch to biodynamic viticulture from 2005 – since then all vineyards have been farmed close to nature and certified organic.
Location & Terroir
The heart of the estate is the Roter Hang, a steep, south-east-facing slope that runs along the Rhine between Nackenheim and Nierstein. It takes its name from the conspicuous reddish-brown soil of Rotliegend clay and slate – an iron-rich sedimentary rock that stores the heat of the day and returns it to the vines at night. This soil gives the Rieslings their unmistakable, spicy-mineral note and a firm, almost salty structure.
The vineyards spread across several of the finest sites on the Rhine terrace: Nackenheim Rothenberg, Nierstein Pettenthal, Ölberg and Hipping on the Roter Hang, plus parcels in the limestone soils around Bodenheim and Oppenheim. The proximity to the Rhine ensures a mild, balanced microclimate and, in autumn, the humidity that makes noble-sweet wines possible. From this diversity of soils and exposures the estate draws its range.
Style & Philosophy
Kühling-Gillot works in a markedly close-to-nature, terroir-focused way. In the vineyard, the rules of biodynamic viticulture have applied since 2005: no synthetic inputs, encouragement of soil life and low yields. In the cellar the estate relies on spontaneous fermentation with its own vineyard yeasts, long lees ageing and a restrained approach that puts origin first. Some Grosse Gewächse are only released two to three years after the harvest, to give the wine time to develop.
The result is dry Rieslings with depth, fine texture and great ageing potential – wines that make the reddish-brown slate of the Roter Hang taste-able. The range is rounded out by Pinot Noir and wines of the Pinot family such as Pinot Gris and Chardonnay, as well as aromatic varieties like Scheurebe.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range is tiered by the VDP vineyard pyramid: from estate and village wines through premier sites to the Grosse Gewächse from the grand cru sites. Among the most important wines and vineyards are:
- Nackenheim Rothenberg – Riesling GG „wurzelecht“ from ancient, own-rooted vines; the estate's most famous wine and a multiply awarded reference Riesling
- Nierstein Pettenthal – Riesling GG, deep and spicy on red slate
- Ölberg – Riesling GG with powerful, salty minerality
- Hipping – Riesling GG, elegant and finely knit
- Village wines from Nackenheim, Nierstein and Oppenheim as well as wines of the Pinot family and Pinot Noir
These wines regularly count among the highest-rated dry Rieslings in Rheinhessen.
Awards
For years Kühling-Gillot has ranked among the top estates in the leading wine guides (Falstaff, Gault&Millau, Eichelmann) and is highly regarded internationally. The Riesling „wurzelecht“ from the Rothenberg in particular has become a much sought-after collector's wine, in strong demand on the secondary market. The winemaking couple Carolin Spanier-Gillot and H.O. Spanier is seen as one of the defining teams of modern German winegrowing – and has done much to cement the Roter Hang's reputation as one of Germany's great Riesling origins.