09 Karthauserhof GG Half-Bottles: Only Little *Looking*

Grand Cru Dry Ruwer Riesling
2009 Karthäuserhof Grosses Gewächs 375ml
120 Half-Bottles for the U.S.

They're only little looking.

Karthäuserhof's first-ever Grosses Gewächs is a spectacular dry Ruwer Riesling. It has all the mineral and forest-floor complexity that makes this storied estate famous, yet it is grand, muscular and dense with detail and vigor.

We first introduced this wine to the U.S. late last summer. Today, we're excited to announce a special parcel, the only parcel in the U.S. so far as we know, of Karthäuserhof's 2009 GG in half-bottle. For those of you who have had the legendary, cultish Auslese Trocken "S," this is the same wine under a new name.

At $33.88 this makes what is a rare, "Grand Cru" bottle a bit easier to open. But the joys of the half-bottle are numerous: Wine develops differently, faster, in half-bottle - this format gives you a look into the future, sooner. They're also pretty much the perfect format for a quiet evening with one or two people. 

A LOT of you bought the full bottles back in August - you can find our original email here.

Here's the short story: Joe and I first fell in love with the 2001 Karthäuserhof Auslese Trocken "S" in 2007: At six years of age, it was extraordinarily muscular, dense, compact and forceful with its detailed expression of rocks, salt, citrus and flowers. Since then, we've been devout fans of this bottling (again, the name changed in 09 to Grosses Gewächs).

And 2009 is a profound vintage for dry Rieslings in Germany - similar to the 2001s, with a tension of ripeness balanced by a sinewy acidity. This is especially true in the Saar and Ruwer where the deep, pure ripeness of 2009 is countered more forcefully by the vigorous acidity the regions are famous for.

For Karthäuserhof, the elements of minerality and acidity are at the very core of their GG's composition. These quietly reveal a singular delicacy that is persistent, refreshing, like the smell and taste of cold stones in the stream and lemon orchards over the hill. And they can age... sort of a different animal (Auslese vs. dry), but we have some older Karthäuserhofs if you wanna taste for yourself, a few bottles of 73 Auslese (direct from the estate and in flawless shape) as well as some 1994 Auction Spätlese. First come, first served for those bottles!

The Karthäuserhof half-bottles are in stock now. While I'd advise on holding the 750mls, I'll forgive you for opening the half-bottles a bit sooner! Only 120 bottles to go around so give us your dream order and we'll do our best, but we'll likely have to allocate.

To order, email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits