Weekend Bonus Newsletter: 10-3-20

We offer 331 German wines in stock now. That’s 5,696 bottles. Who does that?

We do!

That makes the Skurnik German Wine Offer one of our favorite events of the year. We’re kicked off the offer yesterday with Donnhoff. You can read the recap at the bottom of this newsletter in case you missed it). Tonight, we’re featuring new releases from Willi Schaefer & Kruger-Rumpf. 

Wines arrive in November, but given how highly anticipated this vintage is (and how fast the Donnhoff is going!) you should place your order right now.

 
If collectors know one name in the Mosel, it’s JJ Prum.  If they know a second, it’s probably Willi Schaefer.  The irony is that the Schaefer wines are every bit as good as those from Prum (and better in many years) and always drink well from a young age—something very much not true for their rivals in Wehlen.  By all metrics, Schaefer should probably be the most sought after producer in the Mosel and some years they are—most of the 2017’s sold out well before they arrived. 

As with many things involving the wines of the Mosel, it’s best to let Terry Theise do the rest of the talking:

“For many tasters, these are the Ne Plus Ultra of Mosel wine, and they have attracted an almost religious following. Thus my most frustrating agency, as there is never enough wine. It is hard to put a finger on exactly what it is that makes these wines so precious. There is a candor about them that is quite disarming. They are polished too, but not brashly so. They are careful to delineate their vineyard characteristics, and they offer fruit of sublime purity. They are utterly soaring in flavor yet not without weight. What many of you seem to have warmed to is their clarity, precision and beauty of fruit, so maybe I’ll leave it at that!” –Terry Theise

These wines are known to be approachable when young with beautiful fruit components, while impressing us with their ability of maintaining their finesse 15+ years from now. There really is only one solution to this sort of ‘problem:’ drink some on release and lay the rest down.

Arriving in November from Willi Schaefer:

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett, Mosel 2019 750ML ($44.95) $37 pre-arrival special
Mosel Fine Wines 96 points “The 2019er Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett was fermented down to fruity-styled levels of residual sugar. It offers an absolutely tantalizing and hugely complex nose made of yellow peach, minty herbs, grapefruit, lime peel, a hint of whipped cream, and fresh lily flowers, all wrapped into fine residual scents from the spontaneous fermentation. The wine has grip, energy, and great focus on the palate, yet remains at all moment extremely light and balanced. A bracing and spicy touch of acidity then kicks in, giving the wine structure and blending the flavors together as well as whipping them up right into the tight and hugely long finish. This remarkable Kabinett in the making is set to become a modern-day legend! 2027-2043”
James Suckling 95 points “The most perfect white peach, but because it comes from the Mosel, it has many other nuances that range from fresh herbs through honeysuckle to the merest hint of exotic fruit. So elegant and refined on the palate and all this so neatly fitted into the sleek silhouette. Very long, silky finish with near-perfect balance. And yes, there is some grape sweetness in there somewhere. Drink or hold.”
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2019 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett opens to a clear and very delicate bouquet with the typical refined smoky slate aroma that is perfectly intertwined with ripe and elegant fruit. The attack on the palate is finely racy and vital, giving way to an almost dry tasting purity that leads to the fine, almost dry and seriously mineral finish. The 2019 Domprobst Kabinett is perfectly balanced and finessed yet tensioned and highly stimulating in its piquant and vivacious finish. This is an extraordinary Kabinett indeed. 8% alcohol. Tasted in June 2020.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #5, Mosel 2019 1.5L ($219.95) $179 pre-arrival special, only two magnums available!
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2019 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #5 is clear and coolish on the flinty nose that represents perfectly ripe and precise fruit with some minty notes. Lush and piquant on the palate, this is a pure, tight, refreshing, stimulatingly piquant and salty and finessed Spätlese with a lot of grip and expression. Tasted from AP 5 20 in June 2020.”
Mosel Fine Wines 94 points “The 2019er Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese AP 05 was made essentially from grapes harvested in the Fergert sector of the vineyard, and was fermented down to fruity-styled levels of residual sugar. It proves beautifully restrained and reveals a greatly fresh, pure, and wonderfully floral nose vineyards peach, pear, candied grapefruit, anise, herbs, spices, and tangerine. The wine develops some gorgeous fruity presence underpinned by ripe yet refined yellow fruits on the palate, and leaves a sense of smooth delicacy in the hugely long and intense finish. There is still a feel of intense and Auslese-styled sweetness, but the acidity comes through in the after-taste to add spices and cut. This truly remarkable wine only needs some patience in order to fully shine. 2032-2054”

This is the only listing in the USA today for the magnum!

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #10, Mosel 2019 750ML ($54.95) $45 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 98 points “Breathtaking complexity, thanks to an entire spectrum of fruit aromas (from apple to exotic fruit and a slew of berries), plus an entire microcosm of herbal and mineral notes! And the balance of racy acidity with all this and the merest hint of perceptible grape sweetness is like a lightning strike on a mountain top. Drink or hold.”
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 96 points “The 2019 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese #10 is intense and floral and later flinty and smoky on the nose that displays ripe and sun-spoiled notes. Lush and precise on the refined and crystalline palate, this is a more generous and refined Spätlese with a quiet flow and a stimulatingly salty finish. Tasted from AP 10 20 in June 2020.”
Mosel Fine Wines 94 points “The 2019er Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese AP 10 was harvested mainly in the Fergert sector of the vineyard, and was fermented down to sweet levels of residual sugar. It offers a most beautiful nose of vineyard peach, spices, almond cream, smoke, anise, and herbs. The wine is magnificently creamy, delicate, and smooth on the intense palate and leaves some subtle and fresh notes of candied zesty fruits in the long and lingering finish. This fruity-styled wine develops some Auslese presence in the after-taste, certainly for the Estate’s standards, but, as such, it is a superb fruity-styled wine in the making. 2029-2049”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese #11, Mosel 2019 750ML ($99.95) $89 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 98 points “One of the great Mosel Auslese of this great vintage, thanks to its combination of purity and refinement. Enormously deep and subtle, right from the beginning, but the breathtaking finish is what seals it. So deep and so delicate. Drink or hold.”
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2019 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese #11 is coolish, clear and fresh on the spicy, even peppery nose with lemon and cumquat notes. The attack on the palate is refreshingly racy. The wine is pure, transparent, light and fresh, and it finishes with very stimulating lemon fruit and salinity. Pretty digestible already. 7.5% alcohol. Tasted from AP 11 20 in June 2020.”
Mosel Fine Wines 95 points “The 2019er Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese AP 11 was made from fully ripe grapes harvested with little botrytis in the Gerdsgrub sector of the vineyard. It is quite restrained and only reveals some reductive notes of smoke and aniseed herbs at first. After some airing, scents of pear, honeyed yellow peach, spices, fresh herbs, violet, and bergamot gradually join the party. The wine develops some gorgeous playful sweetness on the light-footed and delicately zesty palate, and leaves some gorgeously direct flavors of fruit basket and candied grapefruit in the finish. This joyful and fruit-driven Auslese will prove irresistible at maturity, at a decade or so. 2029-2054”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese, Mosel 2019 750ML ($54.95) $45 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 95 points “Play me a love song to the Mosel! Super fresh and super precise, this Spätlese has a ton of floral delight and a wonderful interplay of the most delicate, white and yellow character with vibrant acidity. Such a clean, filigree finish you want to bathe in it. Drink or hold.”
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 94 points “The 2019 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese is precise, fresh and pure on the nose that displays notes grated lemon rind and crushed stones. Round, piquant and juicy on the palate, this is an utterly refined yet sustainable and firmly structured Spätlese with dense and vibrating fresh Riesling fruit whose sweetness is well-compensated by mineral grip, salinity and tension. 7.5% alcohol. Tasted from AP 08 20 in June 2010.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Weingut Willi Schaefer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese, Mosel 2019 750ML ($69.95) $55 pre-arrival special
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2019 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese opens with a perfectly ripe, intense, tropical yet refined, elegant and slatey bouquet with floral notes on the refined, typical WSU nose. The palate is lush, round and voluptuous yet also very delicate and elegant, with lots of charm and substance. The finish is serious, expressive and structured for a long run. The wine already drinks dangerously well yet can be aged for up to 30 years easily. 7.5% alcohol. Tasted in June 2020.”

“It always feels somewhat miasmic to taste here, as though someone has strewn a thousand musical notes on the floor and now we have to pick them up and make them into music.” –Terry Theise

In the Nahe, Donnhoff gets all the attention, but don’t overlook the charming and well-priced wines from Kruger-Rumpf. These are elegant and flirty wines to adore. They’re fun and enjoyable right out of the gate, but hide inner complexity and soulfulness. The estate dates back to the 1700s and includes some of the greatest terroirs in the area. The wines are well-crafted from the vineyard, which is in transition to certified organic and managed with an eye toward biodiversity, to the modern winery where ferments are mostly spontaneous and where terroir expression is the main goal of winemaking. That the top wine presented here, a single-block bottling of the Abtei vineyard’s oldest and steepest section, is half the price of similar unicorn wines (think Carl Loewen’s “1896”). This is only the second vintage of this block bottling, but it’s gaining notice. 2019 is the perfect year to get in before it blows up: it’s an exceptional vintage yet it’s still a not-well-known wine. So check in on the 2018 now and cellar the 2019 (alongside your Donnhoff GGs, of course).

Arriving in November from Kruger-Rumpf:

“While still just a Premier Cru, this might be the best kept secret of the Nahe, making for a wine with Grosses Gewachs intensity and quality. Rumpf put a lot of blood sweat and tears into working this amazing site set on phyllite, which is essentially mica slate, all with organic methods and only hand-working of the vines due to the severity of the slope.” –Kerry Winslow, Grapelive
Kruger-Rumpf Abtei ‘1937’ (Reserv) Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2019 750ML ($41.95) $36 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 96 points “This super mineral and super elegant dry riesling has a stunning balance, but is only just beginning to open up. Golden aromas, but no hint of opulence or overripeness. Long, graceful finish. From vines planted in 1937. Drink or hold.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Kruger-Rumpf Rose Brut, Nahe NV 750ML ($31.95) $27 pre-arrival special
Importer note “Grapes: 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Riesling. Region: Nahe. Vineyard: Mostly from Kappelenberg. Soil: Slate, gravel, and clay. Production: 100% whole cluster pressed. 50% fermented entirely in old Hösch stuckfass (1200L) and 50% in stainless steel where the wine is left for 9 months. After secondary fermentation in the bottle, the wine is left on the lees for 18 months. Dosage: 4 grams (cane sugar liqueur). Mainly from Kapellenberg (slate) with one vineyard site on a plateau above the hillside of  Kapellenberg where there is more gravel and clay. Not only is the vin clair for the Pinot Brut Rose sourced from different vineyards than the still rose, it’s vinified in a different manner as well. Harvested in the middle of September, without any chemical fertilizers or herbicides, the grapes are 100% whole cluster pressed in a bladder press with a short maceration of a few hours, giving just a hint or rose color.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $30.99

Kruger-Rumpf Estate Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2019 750ML ($21.95) $18 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 91 points “If you’ve never tried a dry German estate riesling, then this is the right place to start, because of the very appealing juiciness, generosity and moderate acidity. Good length and great, dining-table flexibility. Drink now. Screw cap.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

Kruger-Rumpf Munsterer Rheinberg Riesling Kabinett, Nahe 2019 750ML ($24.95) $21.90 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 91 points “I love the interplay of bright summer-fruit aromas and the vibrant, appley and lemony acidity of this sleek young thing. Drink now. Screw cap.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

Kruger-Rumpf Munsterer Pittersberg Riesling Kabinett, Nahe 2019 750ML ($29.95) $26 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 93 points “An innovative, modern Kabinett that’s genuinely medium-dry, and although this has discreet white-fruit aromas, it’s got terrific structure and textural complexity. An excellent food wine, also for very spicy dishes. Drink or hold. Screw cap.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Kruger-Rumpf Scheurebe Spatlese, Nahe 2019 750ML ($29.95) $24 pre-arrival special
VinopolNote: Smokey, exotic and subtley sweet, this Scheurebe is charming and delicious. A staff favorite.
Importer note “Completely from Dautenpflänzer old vineyards planted in the 50s. Quarzite soil. Average age of vines: 35 years.”