2009 Karthauserhof GG: Grand Cru Ruwer

Grand Cru Dry Ruwer Riesling
2009 Karthauserhof Grosses Gewächs
First Ever GG from the Monastery in the Mountain
Special "Futures" Pricing Ends Friday!

Karthauserhof's legendary, cultish Auslese Trocken "S" has a new name in 2009.

Though I forgot to ask Marcel Tyrell why the estate decided to change their classification system this year, I can make some pretty good guesses.

First of all, 2009 is a profound vintage for dry wines, especially 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. Second, the "Grosses Gewächs" name is really beginning to catch on. It translates, literally, to "Great Growth" and in the VDP-inspired system, this moniker can only be given to the greatest dry wine from the region's top sites.

So today we present this bottling, the first-ever Grosses Gewächs from the great Karthauserhof. We're introducing this to the U.S. with special pricing that ends Friday... though quantities are likely to disappear long before that.

The Rieslings of the Ruwer Valley nearly always show an exquisitely enchanting dance of minerality and acidity - though the Trocken "S" (now called the Grosses Gewächs) takes this up a serious notch or two. For Karthauserhof specifically, these two elements are 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.

While this is the inaugural "GG" bottling, Karthauserhof has a long history with dry Rieslings... frankly, a long history with GREAT dry Rieslings. One of the most impressively mineral wines I have ever had was the 2001 Karthauserhof Auslese Trocken "S" (I'm talking Clos Ste. Hune-like mineral). This particular bottle was drunk in 2007, and at six years of age it was still infantile, extraordinarily muscular, dense and compact - a detailed expression of rocks and salt, citrus and flowers that was so fine, yet so, so forceful.

This one experience was more than enough to make myself, and Joe, devout fans of this bottling and its a wine we've sought out and brought to the U.S. market in both 2005 and 2007 (there was no bottling made in 2008). Though they require tremendous patience, the rewards are well worth it.

The 2009 should be poised to stand shoulder to shoulder with the 2001 - the more and more I taste 2009, the more I believe the vintage has a similar tension, a ripeness balanced by (again, especially in 2009), a vigorous, sinewy acidity.

This is being bottled very soon by the estate and it will arrive in the U.S. early this fall. Please note that quantities will be very limited! Give us your maximum order and we'll allocate accordingly. I would personally consider grabbing a few because this is a wine that will most certainly cellar for 10+ years.

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

Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits