Midweek VinopolPick 3-10-20

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.  He imports the wines from Willi Schaefer, but we don’t find his prose to be hyperbolic in the slightest.  Ok, perhaps a touch, but seriously not by a lot—the wines are that good.  Here’s what he has to say:

“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.

In Stock Now:

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #5, Mosel 2018 750ML ($89.95) $69 special, 4 bottles in stock now
John Gilman 94+ points “The 2018 Domprobst Spätlese AP #5 is far more reserved out of the blocks than the AP #10 version, and this wine will demand some extended bottle age before it really starts to hit on all cylinders. However, the potential here is outstanding and all that is needed is some patience to outwait the inherent structural reserves of the Domprobst. The bouquet is a fine mix of pear, apple, salty slate minerality, bee pollen, petrol and spring flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish and very, very precise, with superb cut, a great core and a veritable slate bath of minerality on the long, tightly-knit and focused finish. This is going to be stellar. 2028-2075+. 94+.”

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #10, Mosel 2018 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 10 bottles in stock now
John Gilman 93+ points “The AP #10 Spätlese from the Domprobst vineyard is also superb in 2018. The bouquet is bright and beautifully expressive for a young Domprobst, wafting from the glass in a blend of pear, apple, violets, bee pollen, a lovely base of slate and a gentle topnote of wild yeasts. On the palate the wine is fullish and nicely succulent on the attack, with truly beautiful purity to the fruit, fine soil signature and a long, perfectly balanced and zesty. I love the backend slate-acid duality that defines the backend of this wine. This is a Domprobst Spätlese that will only need three or four years in the cellar to really start drinking with style and generosity. 2023-2075. 93+.”

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Mosel 2018 750ML ($79.95) $59 special, 1 bottle in stock now

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast today!

Arriving Friday, March 13th:

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese #11, Mosel 2018 750ML ($119.95) $89 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 95 points “According to Christophe Schaefer, the 2018 Domprobst Auslese AP #11 has just a tiny touch of botrytis in it, as it has almost exclusively been produced from golden berries. The wine is truly stunning on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet soaring from the glass in a blaze of pear, yellow plum, fresh pineapple, a gorgeous base of slate, citrus blossoms, bee pollen and lilacs. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and zesty, with a lovely core, great backend mineral drive and outstanding complexity and grip on the vibrant, snappy and electric finish. This is just beautiful Auslese! 2026-2085+. 95.”

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett, Mosel 2018 750ML ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 93 points “The 2018 Kabinett from the Domprobst is an absolute classic in the making. As is customary with wines from this great terroir, this is more reserved in profile than the Himmelreich Kabinett, but it is going to have a long and beautiful life ahead of it. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a youthful blend of pear, tangerine, a salty base of slate, citrus peel, gentle smokiness and a whisper of wild yeasts in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, medium-full, crisp and complex, with lovely transparency and grip, fien acids and a long, vibrant and filigreed finish. First class Kabinett. 2025-2065. 93.”

Weingut Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese, Mosel 2018 750ML ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 93+ points “The Himmelreich has produced a beautiful Spätlese as well in 2018, and this is destined to be a long-lived and superb bottle. The complex nose is vibrant and refined, offering up scents of lime, pear, a nice touch of orange zest, bee pollen, elder flowers, lovely minerality and a topnote of citrus blossoms. On the palate the wine is medium-full, pure and zesty, with lovely inner tension between its beautiful fruit tones and mineral undertow. The finish is long, focused and bouncy, with lovely lift, cut and grip. 2022-2075. 93+.”
Wine Spectator 93 points “A luscious, velvety spätlese, featuring concentrated ripe apricot, orange marmalade and graham cracker notes, balanced by intense acidity, with hints of honey and sage cream on the finish. Very giving right now, and will only get better. Best from 2021 through 2036. —A.Z.”

Weingut Willi Schaefer Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese, Mosel 2018 750ML ($79.95) $59 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 94 points “The 2018 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese from Christophe Schaefer is another absolutely stellar example of how strong this Prädikat level is in this vintage. The pure and utterly refined nose delivers an elegant aromatic constellation of white cherries, pears, a beautiful base of slate, a youthful hint of petrol, vanilla bean and a topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is pure, medium-full, complex and still youthfully reticent, with lovely detail and depth, bright acids and a long, filigreed and dancing finish. Classic. 2023-2075. 94.”


We have a seventeen different wines available from Willi Schaefer, including some “how do we still have these” wines from 2015 and 2016.  Shop them all in our web store!

Von Winning makes some of the most profound Riesling on the planet.  The combination of incredible vineyard sites, meticulous winemaking and a commitment to producing only the finest wines yields exactly what you’d hope: Riesling of depth and complexity, with grace and mineral power.  These wines are dry, as the top producers of the Pfalz are wont to focus on, and unlike some of their neighbors, powerful fruit isn’t the goal here.  No, the Von Winning wines speak the language of the floral and mineral flavors that are both intense and furtive and also seemingly unable to be coaxed out of these vineyards by anyone else.

They also make some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world—rich, textural examples that move beyond varietal characteristics and into unique territory.  Their closest comparison is probably the top Sauvignon of Friuli (eg, Miani, Ronco del Gnemiz) or the very best estates in Austria (in Styria). These, too, are not to be missed (plus there’s a really delicious, excellent value bubbly in the mix, as well).

In Stock Now:

Von Winning ‘500’ Sauvignon Blanc, Pfalz 2018 750ML ($89.95) $69 special, 7 bottles in stock now
Stephen Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 91 points “Stephan Attmann’s 2018 Sauvignon Blanc 500 is clear, bright, fresh and stimulatingly pure on the slightly flinty, attractively smoky and coolish, stony/vegetal nose with its somewhat artificial mango and stone fruit aromas. Lush and round on the well-structured and persistently grippy palate, this is a serious, still-too-young-to-enjoy Sauvignon with intensity, power and aging potential. Vinified in 500-liter oak vats. Tasted in December 2019.”
Terry Theise note “How did I ever live without von Winning Sauvignon Blanc? I mean really. And how did they ever forgive my stubborn reluctance to taste these wines all those years ago? Attmann doesn’t look to the Loire for his model; he looks to White Bordeaux, and if he doesn’t deliberately look to Styria, his wines themselves do, to the volcanic zone around Kitzeck and also in southeast-Styria. He will protest that his wines don’t have the (often) excessive alcohol of the top Styrians—correctly—but I’m talking more about flavors per se. The “500,” named after the casks in which it is raised, extends this smokiness past the frontier of the “varietal” and entirely into eros and witchcraft and incense and voodoo.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Von Winning ‘I’ Sauvignon Blanc Trocken, Pfalz 2018 750ML ($44.95) $36 special, 8 bottles in stock now
Terry Theise note “How did I ever live without von Winning Sauvignon Blanc? I mean really. And how did they ever forgive my stubborn reluctance to taste these wines all those years ago? Attmann doesn’t look to the Loire for his model; he looks to White Bordeaux, and if he doesn’t deliberately look to Styria, his wines themselves do, to the volcanic zone around Kitzeck and also in southeast-Styria. He will protest that his wines don’t have the (often) excessive alcohol of the top Styrians—correctly—but I’m talking more about flavors per se.The 2018 “I” recalls my all-time favorite 2013, and only ‘18’s jalapeño nibble obtrudes upon its eerie serenity.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast today!

Von Winning ‘II’ Sauvignon Blanc Trocken, Pfalz 2018 750ML ($21.95) $18 special, 7 bottles in stock now
Terry Theise note “How did I ever live without von Winning Sauvignon Blanc? I mean really. And how did they ever forgive my stubborn reluctance to taste these wines all those years ago? Attmann doesn’t look to the Loire for his model; he looks to White Bordeaux, and if he doesn’t deliberately look to Styria, his wines themselves do, to the volcanic zone around Kitzeck and also in southeast-Styria. He will protest that his wines don’t have the (often) excessive alcohol of the top Styrians—correctly—but I’m talking more about flavors per se. The basic 2018 is direct and red-peppery. The palate is fun, a little phenolic at the end; it reminds me of the Vetiver “X-Treme” of Guerlin. It’s a little yawp-y and frisky.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Von Winning Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad Riesling, Pfalz 2018 750ML ($39.95) $31.90 special, 9 bottles in stock now
Terry Theise note “Many growers would bottle this wine as a GG; it’s probably the best site in Ruppertsberg (though Bürklin has a claim with its monopole Gaisböhl); this ’18 is peachy, sweet white corn, chervil and tarragon; it’s more melodic than Paradiesgarten but with an aloe vera and sorrel note common to good ‘18s; it’s the most appealing of the 1er Lages, sweet-natured and with a lovely grace.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Von Winning Riesling Trocken, Pfalz 2018 750ML ($21.95) $18 special, 5 bottles in stock now
Stephen Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 89-90 points “The 2018 Deidesheim Riesling Trocken is clear and floral as well as herbal on the nose. Pure, fresh and salty on the palate, this is a filigreed Riesling with herbal seed notes on the finish. Very fresh and lean but lovely. Tasted rather quickly at the VDP Weinbörse in Mainz, April 2019. Provisional score.”
Terry Theise note “Along with Künstler this is the best estate Riesling in the portfolio, and the best that could be conceived. As proud as they justly are of their lordly GGs, this is the wine that shows their true genius. An utter classic Pfalz, with euphoric fruit, classic earthiness, lip-smacking balance, enticing saltiness.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

 

 

 

Nina:
With Spring around the corner, Broc Cellars Love Rose and White cans are the perfect accompaniment for your excursions to the beach, picnics in the park, or long trail hikes. 

The Broc Love Rose is very aromatic, the palate full and textured, exhibiting tart strawberry, fresh watermelon and grapefruit skins. The finish is bright and crisp, making this a delicious and refreshing Rose for almost any occasion. 

The Broc Love White is surprisingly complex, showing spicy aromas and flavors of Bartlet pear skins and ginger, with citrus fruits, predominantly lemon, persisting on the finish. There is a subtle stoney/mineral element that lifts this fruit-forward Rhone blend, giving way to lovely structure. This would be a wonderful wine to pair with pate, hard cheeses, or just sipping by itself on a warm sunny day. 

In Stock Now:

Broc Cellars Love White, California 2018 375ML CAN ($14.95) $9.90 special, 22 half-bottle sized cans in stock now
Winery note “VARIETAL: 43% Marsanne, 28% Rousanne, 17% Grenache Blanc, 12% Picpoul. VINEYARD: Love Ranch. LOCATION: Madera Foothills, CA. ALCOHOL: 12%. WINEMAKER’S NOTES: The grapes were harvested during the third week of August to help preserve their natural acidity. All varieties were fermented separately and aged in a neutral French oak barrels for 8 months with no S02. Malolactic fermentation was allowed to happen naturally. For the 2018 vintage we added Picpoul grapes that we grafted on some Roussanne vines at Love Ranch using cuttings we received from Rorick Vineyards a couple years ago. We are very happy the Picpoul was added to the blend this year.”

Broc Cellars Love Rose, California 2019 375ML CAN ($14.95) $9.90 special, 22 half-bottle sized cans in stock now
80% Valdiguié, 14% Zinfandel, 6% Trousseau from the Solano Vineyard (Valdiguié), Arrowhead Mountain (Zinfandel), Wirth Vineyard (Trousseau). “The wine is not spritzy, just a little prickly” –Chris Brocway

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!