Weingut Philipp Kuhn

At A Glance

Weingut Philipp Kuhn is a 25-hectare Pfalz estate based in Laumersheim, working parcels in Laumersheim, Großkarlbach and Dirmstein. Philipp Kuhn is owner and cellarmaster; since taking full responsibility in 1992, he has moved the house from semi-dry wines toward a range that is 99% dry, led by site-named Riesling and Pinot Noir.

The Producer

The Kuhn family has lived in Laumersheim since the 17th century, while the present wine direction belongs squarely to Philipp Kuhn. He joined the VDP in 2008 and runs both vineyard and cellar, so a Steinbuckel Riesling Grosses Gewächs and a Kirschgarten Pinot Noir carry one producer’s decisions from picking through ageing: dry Riesling shaped in steel, red wine given time in wood.

Place

Laumersheim is the estate’s base, with further holdings in Großkarlbach and Dirmstein. Those separate addresses appear on the labels because Kuhn makes wines by named place: Steinbuckel, Kapellenberg and Burgweg are all Riesling bottlings, while Kirschgarten carries Pinot Noir. The result is a range where grape and vineyard name matter together, rather than one house blend covering every parcel.

Soil And Site

Massive limestone rock, loess and quartz sand are the principal geological materials across Kuhn’s holdings. The estate keeps its site wines separate, allowing a Riesling from Steinbuckel to remain a named vineyard wine rather than disappearing into a regional blend. Steinbuckel is principally planted with Riesling, and the producer considers wines from the site capable of long ageing.

Story

In 1992, aged 20, Philipp Kuhn took full responsibility for an eight-hectare winery focused on semi-dry red and white wines. He then increased the share of red varieties, dry wines and international grapes. The change is visible in today’s bottles: Riesling remains central, but the estate also gives Pinot Noir a substantial role, and nearly all production is fermented dry rather than left with noticeable sweetness.

Vineyards And Cellar

Fruit is hand-harvested at low yields, with organic compost and winter cover crops in the vineyards; the estate avoids insecticides and herbicides. In the cellar, white wines are made chiefly in stainless steel or old wooden barrels under reductive conditions, preserving fruit and acidity. Red wines undergo traditional mash fermentation before 16 to 20 months in wooden barrels, a longer route that builds texture and tannin in Pinot Noir.

Wines

Riesling supplies the site ladder: Steinbuckel Riesling Grosses Gewächs, Kapellenberg Riesling and Grosskarlbacher Burgweg Riesling Erste Lage sit alongside Philippsbrunnen and Saumagen Riesling Grosses Gewächs. Steinbuckel is fermented spontaneously in stainless steel and kept on lees for several months, bringing citrus acidity, mineral character and a creamy edge to a dry wine. Burgweg comes from younger vines in the Burgweg Grosses Gewächs vineyard and spends six to seven months in sealed stainless steel before at least a year in bottle, keeping its body slender and its acidity high.

Pinot Noir provides the red counterweight. Kirschgarten Grosses Gewächs Pinot Noir is the named red wine in a programme built through mash fermentation and barrel ageing, so the range moves from Riesling’s lime, peach and saline mineral notes to a red grape with more tannin, weight and wood-derived texture.

In The Glass

Steinbuckel Riesling begins with blood orange, melon, lemon balm and hayflower. The palate is dry and crisp, with mineral notes carried by acidity; lees ageing broadens the middle without softening the long saline finish. Kapellenberg turns toward vineyard peach, apricot, sweet melon and mango, its soft texture and delicate fruit sweetness wrapped around mineral structure. Burgweg is leaner: green apple, lime, stony mineral and white peach arrive over high acidity, then leave a long, fruity finish.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with the 2023 Steinbuckel Riesling Grosses Gewächs. It joins Kuhn’s principal grape to a named Riesling site and a focused white-wine method: natural-yeast fermentation in stainless steel, followed by several months on lees. Expect blood orange and lemon balm over melon and hayflower, then crisp acidity, mineral weight and a long saline finish with a gentle creamy feel. It shows why this dry, site-led Riesling programme is the centre of the estate.

Anecdote

In 1988, when Philipp Kuhn was 16, he was given responsibility for a 2,500-square-metre parcel in Kirschgarten. He planted it with Pinot Noir. His first Kirschgarten Pinot Noir was made in a single barrique received as a Christmas present, an unusually literal first barrel for a young grower working a small plot. Four years later, in 1992, Kuhn took sole responsibility for every winery decision. The Kirschgarten parcel and the Christmas-present barrique belong to the beginning of the Pinot Noir work that now sits beside Riesling in the estate’s range.

Final Word

Seek Kuhn for dry Pfalz wines with the vineyard stated plainly on the label: Riesling brings citrus, stone, lees texture and saline length; Pinot Noir follows a separate, wood-aged course with more tannin and body.

At A Glance

The Producer

Place

Soil And Site

Story

Vineyards And Cellar

Wines

In The Glass

A Bottle To Understand It

Anecdote

Final Word

Sources

Where to go next