You know you're getting old when the winery that put German dry Riesling on the map, Keller in Florsheim-Dalsheim, is graduating pupils into the world who have worked for him and they are making wines that show his influence, but also branch out on their own unique paths. I am proud to announce the American debut of a rising star in Alsheim, the extremely talented Julianne Eller, and her own small label, Juwel.
These are stunning wines. All of them. There is a lightness of touch here that is striking. I call them weightless. You put them in your mouth and you almost don't notice that they are there and then you are hit by waves of fruit and minerality. All of the components just show up, almost out of nowhere. There is also an underlying intensity as well, like a coiled fist. The Keller influence for me is most marked in their dazzling precision. Every wine she makes is not merely good, but great. If you've ever had the privilege of tasting with Klaus-Peter, it's an absurd display of greatness. That is the way it was when I tasted Julianne's wines for the first time.
Up first is the 2015 Juwel Riesling Trocken for $19.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. I cannot say enough about this wine. Do NOT treat this like a $20 Riesling. It is just not that - it has the quality of a German village wine, or better costing $35-$40 through normal 3 tier. There is a weightlessness to this wine, yet it has intense underlying fruit, along with stunning, stunning purity. 2015 really showcases her winemaking talent as all that fruit, matched with all that acidity, goes so well with her weightless and finesse driven style. This was the first wine I tasted and I knew at that moment we would be working together. Always nice when after wine one you know that the winemaker is the chosen one. It is a very mineral, very pure, delicate and intense yet light balanced Riesling. A GREAT value and a wine that really stopped me in my steps.
Up next is the bad boy, the bombshell, the GG style 2015 Juwel Riesling Trocken "Fruhmesse" for as little as $32.99 on a 4-pack. This is when you know you are in the presence of talent. One sniff and sip of this gorgeous, energetic and chiseled Riesling and you will not be able to taste or think about anything else. This site really struts her stuff. The nose is a complex monster of minerality and small just barely ripe exotic tropical fruits but bordering on tensile. It is so unique and so enticing. What a glorious nose. Something you can smell for minutes on end and discover new nuances. The grip and almost vice like intensity of the vintage with its dramatic, almost baroque fruit intensity matches so well with the precise, weightless and finesse-driven style of Julianne's wines. Insane flavor hierarchy and delineation and huge crescendo of a mineral finish. It's a wine that needs a few years to really show its stuff. A very special wine and one of the great values of the 2015 vintage I will offer.
Julianne already was all set to become a great winemaker at a young age as she grew up in a wine making family in the village of Alsheim in the Rheinhessen. She did the classic German path of studying at Geisenheim and then apprenticing at a winery (Keller) before she started up on her own. The wine word was waiting for Julianne Eller and her beautiful Rieslings. Spaetburgunders and more!
We tasted the wines outside (always better than tasting inside) when I visited in August of last year and she had no 2014s to sell and barely any to open (her stash was almost at the end!) as the German wine buying public knows what the American wine buying public will soon know, that this is the next big thing in the Rheinhessen and they sell out super quick. Julianne has only a few vintages under her belt, but I have no doubt she is an elite winemaking talent. Based on the tasting of the 2014s and the very young samples of the 15s, I made my reservations on the spot. Waiting has been the hardest part. I had to sell these wines and sell them to you.
2015 Juwel Riesling Trocken - $21.99 ($79.94 4-pack)
2015 Juwel Riesling Trocken Fruhmesse - $34.99
($131.96 4-pack)
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