September 1, 2008

2007 German Vintage Report: Purity, Depth and Concentration Manifest

Just about everything you need to know about the 2007 German vintage, incorporating notes from Rudi Wiest, Therry Theise, Lars Carlberg of the Mosel Wine Merchant, Gernot Kollmann of Weingut Knebel and John Gilman of the newsletter A View from the Cellar.

Could it get any better than that?

Yes, it can because the great 2007ers of Germany are classics with just epic wines at the Kabinett and Spatlesen level while the Auslesen are good to very, very good. And unlike 2006 (not to mention 2005 and 2003) which produced opulent Auslesen and above at the expense of the featherweight Kabinetts, 2007 has it all. Shimmering Kabinetts, absolutely profound Spatlesen, Auslesens that are clean and sleek... Wow.

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 7:11 PM | TrackBack

July 21, 2008

2007 Muller-Catoir: The Tradition Survives

"Expressiveness bordering on the super-natural." - Terry Theise

The view within the Haardter Burgergarten vineyard; the Muller-Catoir estate is visible in the distance,
to the left, with the bright yellow awnings.

The 2007 collection at Muller-Catoir serves as a compelling testament to the survival of a level of craftsmanship once widely assumed to have deteriorated. Time to check your assumptions, because these are wines of stunning clarity and uniqueness.

The elite BAs and TBAs especially, are just absolutely psychotic (in a good way). They have a guillotine-like cut, an apocalyptic fireworks of bright fruits, herbs and flowers and minerals that glow like the neon blazing across Times Square. Words just don't do the singular uniqueness, and extraordinary quality of these wines, justice. So try one.

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Posted by Joe Salamone at 2:47 PM | TrackBack

July 14, 2008

2007 Donnhoff: A Visit with the Master

The wines of Helmut Donnhoff have such power and complexity that their signature weightless feels seems nearly miraculous. One taste and you sense that magic. Donnhoff's wines are on par with the best of Germany in a very unique way - his sweet wines rival those of Prum and Egon Muller and the dry wines are mentioned in the same breath as luminaries such as Keller and Rebholz. Very few (any?) have this degree of versatility.

Approaching the estate in Oberhausen.

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Posted by Joe Salamone at 9:45 PM | TrackBack

April 23, 2008

Dry German Rieslings at Crush: A Deep (Dry) Collection!

How happy were we to see a bottle of Hansjorg Rebholz's mind-blowing Riesling in a photo in Wednesday's New York Times! - not to mention the short but savvy article wine writer Eric Asimov penned about the great quality (and drinkability) of dry German Rieslings!

To see real-time inventory of our great German dry Rieslings, click here.

Von Buhl, Emrich-Schonleber, Weil and Kunstler stand proud and dry.

We've been passionately championing dry German Rieslings since the store opened over three years ago and it's gratifying to see the press, not to mention a growing audience of wine drinkers, get behind these great (and absurdly affordable) bottles. At this point, with a selection of nearly 30 dry German Rieslings from $16.95 and up, we must have one of the widest, deepest and surely the greatest selection of dry German Rieslings in the U.S.

Right now, we have amazing dry Rieslings from Donnhoff, Emrich-Schonleber, Furst, Karthauserhof, Knebel, Kunstler, Lang, Rebholz, Schafer-Frohlich, Spreitzer, Stein, Von Buhl, Weil, Wirsching and Wittmann! (And about 200 other German Rieslings of the sweeter variety.)

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 2:11 PM | TrackBack

April 21, 2008

Schafer-Frohlich: Boy Wonder in the Nahe

Tim Frohlich, the 30-something ultra-cool winemaker, may well be a genius. He has what Rudi Wiest calls "the touch." Unlike most winemakers in Germany, he did not study at Geisenheim; instead, he just did an internship and at the tender age of 21 simply told his mother (who was making the wines at the time) that he was ready to take over the estate.

I can't quite explain it, but when Tim says something to you, it's said in such a frank and even tone that it's hard to resist. It's as if he can only recite god-given facts. In my imagination, Tim wakes up one morning, realizes he is now going to make the wines at the estate, and calmly tells his mother and father. They, in turn, nod silently in agreement and then everyone goes back to work without another word.

However it went down, it was a wise move. Tim's first vintage was 1995 and in the decade plus since, Schafer-Frohlich has risen to an elite status in the Nahe. Donnhoff beware. Emrich-Schonleber watch out!

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 10:05 AM | TrackBack

April 11, 2008

Kunstler - Keeping the Mighty Rheingau Flag Flying!

The Kunstler estate has recently moved into new headquarters. Well, old new headquarters. The great building on the Geheimrat-Hummel-Platz that Kunstler now calls home formerly housed the Rheingau's oldest sparkling wine manufacturer. True story. The 1837 building is considered a landmark and has some wonderful architectural details. Though the new tasting rooms that Gunter Kunstler and family have redone are undeniably slick with some modern touches (they have automatic sliding glass doors - "komisch!"), they've done a great job of keeping the soul of the building front and center - it's truly beautiful and a wonderful place to taste wine. Believe me, 11am on a Tuesday rarely looks as good for me as a lineup of 19 different Kunstler wines, going back some 10+ years.

You have arrived. Hochheim's Geheimrat Hummel-Platz. It's fun to say!

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 8:34 PM | TrackBack

February 4, 2008

Karthauserhof - Ruwer's Mineral-Drenched Terroir Speaks

In September of 2007 I was lucky enough to travel through Germany with legendary importer Rudi Wiest. I have long been a fan of the great wines of Germany but I have to say this trip was nothing short of a revelation. I had the opportunity not only to speak with the winemakers and walk their vineyards with them, I got to taste roughly 400 wines, most of them from the 2006 vintage. I'm happy to offer some of the highlights of this trip in the form of my "German Travelogues."

Ludwig Breiling has been the winemaker at Karthauserhof for many years and his signature is an exquisitely enchanting dance of minerality and acidity. These two sensations are for a Karthauserhof more than mere descriptors, they are the very core of the composition. The fruit, though lean and graceful, is never the most important part of a Karthauserhof. Rather, the wines quietly reveal a singular delicacy, a wispiness that is persistent and almost always refreshing, like a brisk morning fog where you can almost smell and taste the cold stones in the stream and the lemon orchards over the hill - which is, not surprisingly, very much the atmosphere at the estate.

The lichen-dappled stone wall at Karthauserhof.

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 1:48 PM | TrackBack

Karthauserhof - Ruwer's Mineral-Drenched Terroir Speaks

Up in the foresty, dew-covered Ruwer Valley, rising eastward from the famed Mosel, the Karthauserhof estate has been producing some of the most glowingly austere, mineral-drenched Rieslings since 1335.

The great Rieslings of this estate have the reputation for aging themselves into greatness. With a decade (or many more) in the cellar, a Karthauserhof's citrus widens to introduce exotic spices, herbs and wax notes; the minerality becomes much more detailed and textured, a fireworks show of minerals and flowers exploding on the palate.

We are proud to have a back-vintage library of these minerally Rieslings; all of these wines are treats for any Riesling fanatic.

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 12:53 PM | TrackBack

December 31, 2007

Schloss Lieser - Thomas Haag's Razor Sharp Middle Mosel Majesty

In September of this year I was lucky enough to travel through Germany with legendary importer Rudi Wiest. I have long been a fan of the great wines of Germany but I have to say this trip was nothing short of a revelation. I had the opportunity not only to speak with the winemakers and walk their vineyards with them, I got to taste roughly 400 wines, most of them from the 2006 vintage. I'm happy to offer some of the highlights of this trip in the form of my "German Travelogues."

I had tried some Schloss Lieser wines before, but I was not expecting the perfection that I experienced. Let me not be shy here: I consider the collection amongst the absolute best I had while in Germany.

The slate walls of the estate, showing off the VDP plaque.

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 1:54 PM | TrackBack

December 10, 2007

Stephen's Wine of the Year: Stadlmann Zierfandler Mandel-Hoh

When national publications name their "Wines of the Year," they are limited by many factors - the biggest of which is the wine's availability. It doesn't make sense for them to drive the public into a frenzy over a bottle of wine that is hardly available.

As a small independent retailer, we have more freedom!

Granted, we also use a different set of criteria. We want outrageous quality for the money, of course, but we also seek respectful winemaking, a wine that speaks of where it comes from and what we call the x-factor - that inexplicable, inexpressible, toe-curling sense of something extraordinary.

Stadlmann's 2006 Zierfandler Mandel-Hoh has all this and more - that's why it's my wine of the year!

No, you've probably never heard of Zierfandler. It's a largely unheard of grape that's basically only grown in Austria's tiny Thermenregion. The Mandel-Hoh vineyard is the world's top site for the grape - this wine should not to be confused with Stadlmann's regular Zierfandler bottling.

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 11:45 AM | TrackBack

August 21, 2007

Helmut Donnhoffs Profound 2006s - Pre-Arrival Offer

Fresh from a trip to Germany, David Schildknecht of the Wine Advocate recently noted: "Apropos 2006, I don't think word has really gotten out in sufficient detail and with appropriate perspective as to the qualitative nature of this remarkable year... the list of distinguished Nahe and Middle Mosel growers who consider their 2006 collections the best of their lifetime's alone demonstrates that this is a remarkable vintage with many truly mind-boggling wines."

These comments square exactly with the impressions that Joe and I had, when first tasting Helmut Donnhoff's 2006 line-up this Spring. Almost across the board Donnhoff's 2006s reveal pure, amazingly concentrated fruit with a fighter-jet sleekness that is simply thrilling.

Special "pre-arrival" pricing on the entire 2006 lineup expires September 1!

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 1:17 PM

July 18, 2007

Germany's Lower Mosel

The Lower Mosel is famous for its frighteningly steep vineyards and its drier wines of compact complexity and filigreed finesse.

This region includes, perhaps counter-intuitively, the most northerly section of the river, from roughly Zell down to the suburbs of Koblenz, where the winding Mosel empties itself into the mighty Rhein.

Though the region has always played second fiddle to the Middle Mosel, the Lower Mosel includes some very well respected vineyards, such as the Punderich's Marienburg, Bremm's precipitous Calmont and the terraced wonders of Winningen. The quality of the wine from the region's great slopes just cannot be denied; as Stephen Brook writes in The Wines of Germany, "The correlation between steepness of site and quality of wine has been well established."

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 9:59 PM

June 28, 2007

Austria 2006: A Legend in the Making?

(Click here to purchase any of the 2006 Austrian wines discussed in this article.)

You heard it here first: The best values in serious white wines from $15 to $50 are the stellar 2006s from Austria which are arriving stateside throughout the summer and fall.

Make no mistake: You will be hearing a lot about the 2006 vintage in Austria. There's already plenty of buzz that this is probably the best vintage since 1997. In regions like the Kamptal, there are rumblings of "vintage of the century." While it may be a touch premature to make such pronouncements, the truth is that after tasting some 150+ different 2006s from all over Austria, we are obsessed.

This is a vintage with everything, from crisp everyday sippers to rich, hauntingly deep terroir-driven whites (largely Gruner Veltliners and dry Rieslings). What nature gave Germany in 2005, it bestowed on Austria for 2006. At their best, the 06 Austrians provide intense concentration and extract with a balancing acidity and a devastating minerality.

Interestingly, many of the wines that really dazzled us were at the lower price points - bottles at the $15-$20 range deliver so much personality and terroir. (That said, many of Austria's heavy-hitters, like Hirtzberger, Knoll, the Pichlers and Prager, have yet to offer many of their wines.)

The quality of the vintage has pushed many "lesser" wines up a notch - to the next level of quality and intensity - while avoiding the pitfalls of clumsy overripeness.

That's what is so captivating about these wines - while the luscious fruit means these grapes enjoyed plenty of good sun, the superb, ultra-clean minerality reminds one that the best vines had their roots planted firmly, and deeply, into the rocky soils.

The uber-level of ripeness seems the only stumbling block for a few wines; they showed a creamy lanolin-like texture, lower levels of acidity and, sometimes, alcohol that overwhelmed the classic varietal characteristics and heart-breaking purity of the most successful bottlings.

But, have no fear - through tireless tasting we've picked out the best - and the good wines are truly outstanding.

These are wines that deserve to be on everyone's dinner table - not to mention in everyone's cellar - and so we've put together a short list of many of the 2006 Austrian "legends of the future."

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Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 12:00 PM

January 10, 2007

Simon Says: 1989 Ex-Cellars Riesling for Under $40

I have to admit, I struggled with the idea of yet another Riesling email so early into 2007. After your strong interest and support of the 2005 vintage led to its enormous success, I felt that perhaps we should take it easy with the Riesling offers - even though Germany, along with Burgundy and Champagne, is an area whose heat is currently immeasurable.

The 1989 Bert Simon Serrig W�rtzberg Gold Capsule Auslese convinced me otherwise.

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Posted by Tristan Meador at 3:26 PM

December 12, 2006

Wine of the Year: Sch�fer-Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck Spatlese

Obviously, my wine of the year had to be a Riesling. I love Riesling and this year I tasted more Rieslings than one could possibly shake a stick at.

This summer I went to Germany with importer extraordinaire Rudi Wiest and tasted over 400 Rieslings in nine days. (My dentist will be able to retire early.) It was a thrilling ride hitting all the great winemaking regions in Germany: The Mosel, Nahe, Rheingau, Pfalz, Baden, Franken and more.

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Posted by Bob Schagrin at 12:32 AM

November 15, 2006

Magnum Force: The Ultra-Rare 2005 J.J. Prum 1.5s

Due to your groundbreaking support of our �Riesling Futures� campaign and our corresponding support for some of Germany�s best vintners, we have secured some serious rarities that seldom see the American market.

It certainly helped that we were visiting these same winemakers this summer and was able to taste (and deal) while he was there.

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Posted by Tristan Meador at 3:43 PM

September 26, 2006

Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spatlese 1993

This find is not from '05, but comes directly from the cellars of the producer that made our 2005 "Spatlese of the Vintage" ... and along with the '05 is considered one of his best efforts in the last 25 years...

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Posted by Tom Stephenson at 2:29 PM

September 14, 2006

German Steel: Willi Schaefer

We often talk of tiny productions, but let's put it in context with some numbers from 3 of the highest quality (and best known) producers in all of Germany:

Prum: 10,000 cases from 14.5 hectares
(36 acres or .056 square miles)
Donnhoff: 8,000 cases from 14.5 hectares (ditto)
Muller: 5,000 cases from 8 hectares
(19.8 acres or 0.03 square miles)*

And then there's Willi Schaefer ... who with his son Christof makes a mere 2,000 cases from the impossibly tiny, collective 3 hectares of vineyards (7.4 acres = .011 square miles) he owns in the Mittel Mosel towns of Graach and Wehelen. (c'mon! Central Park's Great Lawn is twice the size of his property!!)

Quietly lauded worldwide by those in the know, each year Schaefer's loyal cadre of followers surreptitiously snap up as many bottles of the gold-labeled nectar as they can get their hands on and squirrel them away without making a fuss about it, lest it become more difficult or expensive to find the wines the following year.

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Posted by Tom Stephenson at 2:39 PM

July 25, 2006

2005 J.J. Pr�m: Epic Wines,

After our initial 2005 Riesling futures campaign lauded the incredible conditions in the middle-Mosel, we received a huge number of inquiries about our omission of some of the best vineyard sites for Riesling in the whole world; specifically the wines of the legendary Joh. Jos. Prüms.

How are the wines in '05?

Let's start with the opinion of the man himself, the historically tight-lipped Manfred:

In a recent conversation with Rudi Wiest, Herr Prüm called it his "best vintage in the past four decades," and said he was "blown away with 2005." Most convincing of all, he is confident that the vintage will stand up to the legendary wines of 1949 (!) ... Quite an early endorsement from a man who waited three years to comment on the 2003 vintage before comparing it to the celebrated vintage of '59.

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Posted by Tom Stephenson at 12:54 PM

May 11, 2006

2001 Zilliken Ockfener Bockstein

2001 was one of the greatest German Riesling vintages in recent memory and put German Rieslings back in the forefront of many wine-lovers minds.

The absolutely perfect weather conditions (like the Bordeaux vintages of '82 and '00) caused collectors, many of whom had never bought Riesling before, to squirrel away cases at a time.

Unfortunately, this increased national spotlight and greater interest in Rieslings means that today it's difficult to find anything but loose bottles that haven't been standing up on a retail shelf for the last 3 years (I should know, I regularly scour the web and call retail stores around the nation to find older wine for my personal enjoyment).

If you can find bottles that have been well stored, they are often riper-style wines that are prohibitively expensive and still "in the tunnel" - a hibernation-like state of aging where their secondary flavors develop. They are very closed and backwards and need several years to re-emerge.

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Posted by Bob Schagrin at 12:10 PM

January 12, 2006

2004 Germans - Back to Business!

We are back to business in Germany after the highly unusual, very hot and dry 2003 vintage that produced wines akin to those from New Zealand or Alsace. The 2004 vintage is classic German with crisp acids, pure fruit and concentrated minerality.

What makes 2004 exceptional? From the QBAs (entry-level estate bottlings) to the super-ripe Auslesen, the wines are consistently excellent and give you all the balance between sweetness, fruit and acidity you could want from a Riesling. Plus, these wines will stick around. The high-toned acids will ensure the wines’ long lives. Their clean, ripe flavors will make them a pleasure to enjoy today, in 20 years or any day in between.

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Posted by email offers at 2:56 PM