We started the visit with a portfolio tasting at Weingut Hunn and then drove over to the new winemaking facilities outside of Gottenberg for a tour and a good-bye drink.
Kilian and Martina Hunn were our hosts.
"It is an ardent type of dedication that compels Gottenheim-based winemakers Kilian and Martina Hunn to cultivate those uncomplicated, clear, fruity and fresh wines of Tuniberg hill. No matter how uncompromisingly edgy and clear-cut the labels on the bottles, they are still the most open, pleasantly self-confident and welcoming folks. We have arrived in their lovingly-furbished small tasting room on their estate in Gottenheim (…)" (Badische Zeitung: Aufmachen und Genießen)
Weingut Hunn
Weingut Hunn is in Gottenheim in the Tuniberg area in Baden. It is run by Kilian Hunn and his wife Martina. The vineyard area totals 16 hectares, mostly in the Gottenheimer Kirchberg. They are planted with the varieties Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Muller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling.
Kilian and Martina Hunn – once the wine queen of Baden - are both passionate winemakers. The Tuniberg and Kaiserstuhl regions are very warm wine regions with the most sun shine hours in Germany. The Mediterranean climate offers ideal growing conditions for the Burgundy grape. Three quarters of total vineyard area are panted with Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay.
In the vineyard, Kilian and Martina Hunnfollow the philosophy of environmentally friendly viticulture. In the cellar, the red wines are aged in large oak barrels and partly in barriques. The white wines are fermented slowly and cool in steel tanks. The wines are fermented to full dryness.
Kilian and Martina Hunn produce powerful wines with finesse and grace that perfectly reflect the limestone soils and climate of the Tuniberg.
Kilian, Martina, Jonas, Patrick, Felix and Gudrun Hunn
Kilian Hunn: Committed to wine since the age of 16. The zeal is still there, and he’s in it with heart and soul, always. His ´domain´ on the estate is the vineyard and the cellar. “The secret of a unique wine is so much more than just meticulous work. It’s humility and love, passion and devotion. It’s alert attention and the constant care for the soil, the vine and the grape“, says Kilian.
Martina Hunn: A passionate winemaker. She’s found her starring role in marketing. Once a Weinkönigin, a wine queen of Baden, she now represents the family-owned wine estate at home and abroad. She’s also an active member of VINISSIMA, the German Association for Women in the Wine Business. Be it a wine tasting at the estate, an international presentation, sales, or the “Hunne-Strauße“, a seasonal wine tavern typical of the region - Martina can handle it. Along the way, she raises her two adolescent boys JONAS & PATRICK and keeps them on track … and every now and then she even finds the time for the trombone part in a band.
Felix Hunn: Father Felix Hunn founded the wine estate and the wine tavern in 1982, together with his wife Gudrun. They showed a loving eye for detail when they furbished the interior with old staves. Felix helps in the vineyards and in the “Strauße“, and in the kitchen he is responsible for preparing home-made potato salad à la Grandma Hedwig.
Gudrun Hunn: Gudrun is the heart and soul of the estate, helping whereever she can with the housekeeping, the vines, the Strauße, the office.
KILIANHUNN ...
KILIANHUNN goes for loess!
And the results prove us right. We only cultivate vines that grow and mature especially well on the fertile loess soils of the Tuniberg vinyards. And because the vines like the soil so much, they reward us with juicy grapes of extraordinary aromas. Grapes from which we create wines that each and every one shines with its uniqueness.
KILIANHUNN has set out to bottle the pure aromatic diversity that nature provides. We combine traditional processes with modern technology. Nature-oriented cultivation of the vineyards and skilful diligence in winemaking are the basis for tapping into so many fascinating facets. But only our great passion, a bit of humility and our constant attention in the vineyard and in the cellar make our wines what they really are.
KILIANHUNN looks after the varieties and the cellar.
With vines growing on 145-million-year-old limestone, the range of varieties to be cultivated is almost predetermined: This is the perfect place for Pinot! A Tuniberg tradition of 2000 years. Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir represent the lion’s share of the estate. Add the white varieties of Sauvignon Blanc, Gutedel and Müller-Thurgau.
Our grapes mature on the vine for as long as possible before they are harvested and gently pressed. With the white wines, sedimentation is used to naturally clarify the must. The fermentation, however, is not left to itself. Here KILIANHUNN intervenes: the fermenting wine is cooled using modern cooling equipment; the fermentation takes place in a controlled environment. The result are wines with a multifaceted fruity bouquet. Depending on the category, the wines are left to age in stainless steel tanks or in oak barrels. Pinot Noir, after a clearly defined fermentation on the skins, will mature exclusively in large or small oak barrels.
KILIANHUNN structures consistently!
As early as January a warm wind from the Mediterranean starts blowing towards us through the Belfort Gap between the Vosges and the Swiss Jura. It allows the vines to mature particularly well on the unique fertile loess-covered limestone of the Jura.
In this singularly mild microclimate of the manifold small Tuniberg vineyard parcels, it takes a sure instinct to bring out the very best of each vine. Depending on the desired character of the wine, some may have an elegant lightness while others may express the loess terroir quite intensely. This generates three consistently structured wine profiles: “Junge Frische” (meaning young and fresh), “Junge Wilde” (meaning young and wild) and “Selection“.
KILIANHUNN distils on the estate.
Our region is known for its particularly aromatic fruit. For decades our family, too, has cultivated its own orchards. KILIANHUNN feels bound to this family tradition. In the in-house distillery, we produce a variety of the finest spirits.
Harvested in the moment of ultimate ripeness, the still turns them into brandies of cherry or Williams Pear, of mirabelle or of the local specialty, a wild plum called Zibarte.
A fine lees brandy and a pure Chardonnay pomace brandy are our flagship spirits.
Tasting
There are 4 groups of wines at Weingut Kilian Hunn.
Junge Frische: Young and fresh whites which are enjoyable and characterized by an ideal combination of lightness and elegance. Uncomplicated company for every day. The lightness of wine-being.
Junge Wilde: Distinctive wines full of character which bring home an impression of the potential of the loess terroir of the Tuniberg. Fine scents and a multi-faceted bouquet turn each sip into an inimitable experience. A strong food companion and a stimulating “Maul voll Wein“, a mouth full of wine after a long day.
Rotweine: Expressive Pinot Noirs with the typical Pinot aromas and the classical style of the Tuniberg loess soil. Ranging from the basic Pinot level, which, lightly cooled, is enjoyable even in summer, to the complex barrique classics with enticing notes of smoke and ripe berries, as well as to the exotic Pinot-Cabernet cuvée.
RESERVE: Our best, most refined and most concentrated wines! Even the label expresses the concentration to the essence: We do not mention the designation Prädikat, the appellation or the taste - only the variety and the vintage. Our wines of the categorie RESERVE mature in the classic oak barrel and display robust, spicy notes. They are concentrated and will impress you with their high complexity.
We tasted the following wines:
Junge Frische
2017 Weingut Kilian Hunn Rivaner trocken
2017 Weingut Kilian Hunn Weisser Burgunder Kabinett trocken
2017 Weingut Kilian Hunn Spätburgunder Rosé Kabinett trocken
2017 Weingut Kilian Hunn Weisser Burgunder Kabinett trocken
Junge Wilde and RESERVE
2016 Weingut Kilian Hunn Grauer Burgunder trocken
2015 Weingut Kilian Hunn Grauer Burgunder RESERVE trocken
2017 Weingut Kilian Hunn Chardonnay Kabinett trocken
2015 Weingut Kilian Hunn Chardonnay RESERVE trocken
2015 Weingut Kilian Hunn Viognier RESERVE trocken
Rotweine
2013 Weingut Kilian Hunn Spätburgunder trocken
2014 Weingut Kilian Hunn Pinot Noir trocken
Bye-bye
Thanks Kilian and Martina for a wonderful tasting and cellar tour.
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