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Sybille Kuntz, Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2014

WhiteGermany2014

By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-03-24 · Published 2026-09-23 · Updated 2026-09-23

In one paragraphSybille Kuntz Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2014 is a 100% Riesling dry white from the Sybille Kuntz estate in Lieser, Mosel, Germany. Vivino lists alcohol at 12.5%. This 2014 vintage has been rated by 64 people on Vivino, averaging 4.1 (2,485 ratings for the label overall, 4.2), with one listed critic score of 88 (Mar 2016, publication not named). The nose leads with an earthy group of honey, minerals and petroleum (311 mentions), followed by stone fruit like apricot and apple (213) and citrus (161). Structure: acidity 4.7/5, among the highest of any white this magazine has covered. Recommended drinking window: 2016–2028. I rated it 4.0 on 24 March 2020, noting that it felt fairly ordinary at first but revealed real depth once I slowed down and paired it with dessert. Price: US$77 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026) per 750ml, ex-tax (Wine-Searcher).

At a glance

In one line

4.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.1 average · world avg price US$77 · A dry (trocken) Riesling from Sybille Kuntz in the Mosel village of Lieser.

One critic score is listed on Vivino — 88 (Mar 2016, publication not named).

Market note: Not confirmed.

What this wine is

The Kuntz family has grown grapes for generations in Lieser, a village one bend up the Mosel from Bernkastel — ancestors, the family says, once worked as coopers and as wine filtration and bottling contractors for others. Sybille herself grew up in the vineyards but deliberately studied business in Wuppertal to get away from the wine trade. Then, in 1981, she opened a wine shop to help pay for her studies, selling the family's wines — and everything changed. Disappointed by the quality of the Rieslings she was buying to sell, she decided, as she's put it, that whether her own standards had gotten too high or the wine she was buying had simply gotten worse, she could do better herself. That resolve became the starting point of the estate that carries her name.

Today Sybille Kuntz farms exclusively Riesling on the Mosel's distinctive slate soils, aiming, as the estate describes it, for wines that stand alongside grand cru Burgundy or Tuscany. Unlike the sweet Spätlese and Auslese styles the Mosel is best known for, this bottle is trocken — dry — leaving no residual sugar and relying instead on acidity and minerality. Some sources describe Sybille Kuntz as one of the pioneers who began making dry Riesling against the Mosel's sweet-wine tradition around 1985, but I couldn't confirm that specific date through official sources. What is certain is that the 1981 resolve — "I can do better than this" — is what grew into the estate's dry-Riesling philosophy today.

What the world says

This 2014 vintage has been rated by 64 people on Vivino, averaging 4.1 (2,485 ratings for the label overall, 4.2). One critic score is on file: 88 (Mar 2016, publication not named).

The flavor keywords lead decisively with an earthy group — honey, minerals, petroleum — at 311 mentions, pointing to the classic "petrol" note of a Riesling with some bottle age. Stone fruit like apricot and apple (213) and citrus (161) follow. Structure: acidity 4.7/5 — even higher than Russian Jack (4.3), making it the highest-acid white this magazine has covered.

"85/100, outstanding. Declassified Auslese, some botrytised grapes already inside. Medium-plus intensity of green apple juice, orange peel, acacia, honey, slate; on the palate, lemon, lime, green apple, fresh pineapple." — Vivino review, Oct 2017, 4.5 stars

"Honey, minerals, petroleum, apricot. Fantastic taste... unbelievable QPR!!!!" — Vivino review, Nov 2019, 4.5 stars

My score of 4.0 lines up almost exactly with the community average of 4.1.

How I drank it

"Minerals, citrus, lime, petroleum, pineapple, stone, lemon... German Riesling — at first I just found it fairly ordinary overall, but taking my time with it, especially alongside dessert at the end, it actually revealed real depth. Not the tropical fruit or Semillon-like richness you'd get from a Sauvignon Blanc, but that deeper flavor kept showing up in between, giving this Sybille Kuntz that light-but-not-really-light Riesling feeling. I ended up drinking the last of it from a Champagne flute — the bottle's long shape made me feel like I was happily drinking a German beer." 24 March 2020, 4.0 stars.

The core of this note is a change over time — "ordinary at first, deeper once I slowed down." That observation sharpens next to my other Riesling entries. Ruhlmann Cuvée Jean-Charles Riesling 2018 from Alsace (Nov 2019, 4.0) and Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2017 from Washington State (Nov 2019, 4.0) both landed at the same 4.0 score — but where those notes are flatter, this Sybille Kuntz carries an arc: "ordinary" at first, then "deeper" once paired with dessert. The deliberate comparison to Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon — "not that, but..." — reads as expecting Sauvignon-style flamboyance from a Riesling and finding a different, quieter kind of satisfaction instead. Even the small detail of pouring the last glass into a Champagne flute, prompted by the bottle's tall Mosel shape, shows the same improvisational eye for observation that runs through this note.

Vivino community data

2014 vintage rating distribution (64 ratings, average 4.1)

Most-mentioned aromas

Structure: Acidity 4.7/5 · Intensity 3.1/5

Average by vintage (all vintages: 2485 ratings, average 4.2)

My original note (Vivino, 2020-03-24)

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Links & sources

View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher

• Vivino — wine page and community data
• Sybille Kuntz official — My Story
• Oz Wine Company — Sybille Kuntz producer profile
• This magazine — Ruhlmann Cuvée Jean-Charles Riesling 2018
• This magazine — Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2017

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