Weingut Krone - Assmannshausen

14 January 2020

In the romantic Assmannshausen, the Gasthaus Krone has been nesting beautifully by the banks of the Rhein for a good half-century now. It has been run as a privately-owned inn since 1772 and had it’s own winery from 1860-2006 with a natural cellar built into the cliffs.

The winery, now owned by Tom Drieseberg and Anja Wegeler-Drieseberg, is today one of the youngest members of the VDP in Rheingau and reaps national and international appreciation as a top-end, traditional-style winery. And with plots on famous Assmannhauser Höllenberg, to no surprise, they make remarkable Spätburgunder! Their Pinot Noir or Spätburgunder makes up 80% of their grape varieties with Pinot blanc/Weissburgunder (15%) and Riesling (5%) making up the rest.

The red wine tradition on Höllenberg can be dated back in time even further than the old Gasthaus Krone – and thus the site beams of history. Krone has 3.5 ha with exclusively old Spätburgunder, low-yield vines on Höllenberg. The site has an inclination between 40-60% which makes it one of the steepest in the region giving some edge to it’s name ‘Hell Mountain’. One can almost picture the passionate wine makers of the Middle Ages climbing the dangerous hellish slopes for the best Spätburgunder grapes or ‘Klebrot’ as it used to be called (and are still by a very few). Well worth a visit.

One thing, that makes Krone special is their dedication and patience in the cellars. They are firm believers in aged Spätburgunder and give even their entry-level wine two years of aging before releasing them from their cellars. Their Erste Lage wines receives four years, Grosse Lage five years and their top-wine, Jewel, is kept for six years. Burgundy oak is used to amplify the character of the Spätburgunder as ‘it kills poor wine and makes great wine even greater’. 

 We had the pleasure of tasting some of Krone’s wines last year and this is how we scored them:

Weingut Krone Juwel 2013
92	Bright crimson in colour. Aroma had red cherry, cloves, forest strawberries, cranberries, herbs, oak and smoke. Across the palate came currants, herbs, smoke, cranberries, light leather, succulent cherries, forest floor, and oak. Medium tannins, medium acidity and dry.

Weingut Krone Assmannshäuser Höllenberg 2014
90	Bright crimson in colour. Aroma had cranberries, red currants, cherries, herb garden, oak and smoke. Across the palate came oak, smoke, currants small red forest berries, subtle tobacco leaves, and forest floor. Good depth. Medium acidity, medium tannins and dry.

Weingut Krone Assmannshauser Spätburgunder 2015
89	Bright crimson in colour. Aroma had cherries, light smoke, herbs, spice, and oak. Flavour showed herbs, forest floor, oak, smoke, and currants. Medium acidity, medium tannins and dry.

Weingut Krone Assmannshauser Spätburgunder 2016
88	Bright ruby in colour. Aroma had red cherries, cloves, subtle oak, leather, and currants. Across the palate came herbs, smoke, light oak, cherries and currants. Medium acidity, medium tannins and dry.

Weingut Krone Blanc de Noir 2017
87	Bright yellow in colour. Aroma had peach, white blossoms, lychee, pear, and melon. Across the palate came white peach, pear, melon, subtle notes of licorice, and yellow apples. Medium acidity, low tannins and dry.

Weingut Krone Weissburgunder 2015
88	Bright yellow in colour. Aroma had white stone fruit, pears, oak, and light notes of vanilla. Across the palate came pears, white peach, vanilla, and white stone fruit. Medium acidity, low tannins and dry.

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