2015!
Kastanienbusch!
2015!
Kastanienbusch!
2015!
Kastanienbusch is one of my favorite vineyards in the world (and 2015 is an incredible vintage in The 2015 Sven Klundt Riesling "Kastanienbusch" is from the exact same Grand Cru vineyard as Rebholz and it's $29.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Klundt's wines leap from the glass like an explosion of minerals. Great Pfalz wine is unlike that from other regions in Germany. And Klundt's style perfectly expresses it. The minerality is so insane, the word minerality does not suffice to describe it. The palate is hard to describe. It has such strength and power yet top levels of elegance and finesse. Yes, there is also a huge backbone of dynamic fresh and very vivid fruit. Incredible tension and structure. But the minerality just coats the palate in an almost savory manner like few wines in the world. There is a an herbal presence in this wine that I only find in German Riesling from great vintages.Germany). Alas, I rarely am feeling flush enough to shell out $90 for Rebholz's brilliant Grosses Gewachs/Grand Cru Kastanienbusch so have always needed a low-cost alternative. I'd been looking for a Kastanienbusch that I could sell for $50 for a couple of years. I'm laughing as I type this. Not because I'm crazy (debatable) but because how good this is for so little scratch.
Sven Klundt crashed upon the scene when his 2012 version of this wine finished 7th in the Berlin Cup tasting of the top dry white wines of Germany. He placed ahead of many of the who's who in top tier German dry wine: (Keller "Abstserde," Dönnhoff "Hermannshöhle" Wagner-Stempel "Hollberg," and even the paterfamilia, Rebholz "Kastanienbusch"). Sven's wines in 2015 are anything but measured and careful. They are stunning. And I mean stunning. He has taken a leap this vintage. Like Garaudet took a leap in '14, Murat in '11, Caspari in '14, Sven has taken a leap in 2015 and made, by far, the greatest wines of his short but esteemed career. When I emailed him to see how the 2015's were shaping up, he cold barely hold it together via email, which is unusual for him, as I have said he is a measured and mellow guy. Opposite of me. But he said the growing season was perfect and he would not change a thing, the grapes came in perfectly and as soon as he tasted the first fermented juice he knew he had greatness on his hands. As I've learned more and more about Sven, his terror, his wines and his style I can say I love all his vintages but I find the ones where there is an extra bit of ripeness to be where his wines truly excel. These wines remind me of his 13s (which were amazing) but supercharged and with an extra special thing that separates them from his 13s and any other vintage he has made. While the 2012 was the early work of a prodigy, the 2015 is a masterpiece of an established master.
If you like dry Riesling, I suggest you buy a decent amount as this will age wonderfully for decades. Sven is no dummy and as the word spreads about his wines, prices will increase to the $60-$90 range at traditional retail ($40-50 at Fass Selections direct from the estate prices). Sven is one of the young winemakers in Germany with elite terroir and equivalent winemaking skills that is nipping at the heels of the established top tier.
Next up today is the greatest Weissburgunder value I have come across in all my years as a Grau/Weiss wine geek. Weissburgunder aka Pinot Blanc is a big deal in Germany. It has classified vineyards just like Riesling and Pinot Noir and when in the right hands it can soar to heights that only are reserved for Riesling and Pinot Noir. It also has many growers who oak the crap out of it for god knows what reason and destroy all the nuance and subtlety this wonderful expressive grape has to offer. This area, specifically, I find is one of the greatest areas for Weissburgunder in all of the Pfalz. I used to drink a ton of the Rebholz Im Sonnenschein Weissburgunder GG but then it became too expensive. Even when it was not expensive it was expensive. I sold the '04 for $60. Today I can offer the 2015 Sven Klundt Wacholderberg Weisserburgunder for $24.99 on the 4-pack. Make no mistake, this is Grand Cru/Grosses Gewachs quality Pinot Blanc for $25. This is a silly deal. Just silly. If Sven was in the VDP I'd have to sell this for $45 with my direct model and through 3 tiers one is looking at $50-$65 a bottle. The 2015 Wacholderberg is from 45 year old vines planted in limestone. Limestone and Pinot Blanc also works in other places very well, notably Burgundy, even though not much is made there. The exposition is SE and the vineyard is on the slope-toe of a concave mirror like basin which causes high daytime temperatures, but also very cool nights that make sure it has perfect ripeness and bracing acidity. The 2015 is just a beautiful bottle of wine. Hugely mineral nose with lovely crisp and clean green apple fruit. Really aromatic nose. The palate is all chalky/limestone infused stone fruits. What density! Insane inner mouth aromas! What depth! There is an insane amount of concentration in this wine. So long, so linear, so precise. In short this wine is amazing for its combination of tension between stone fruits, limestone and amazing acidity. A balancing act with terrific freshness and purity. It can't get better for $25. Maligned grape, not in VDP, great terroir, once in a decade vintage, young winemaker and my direct model make this one of the most compelling deals of the year. Do not miss this wine.
2015 Sven Klundt Riesling Kastanienbusch - $31.99 ($119.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)
2015 Sven Klundt Weisserburgunder Wacholderberg - $26.99
($99.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)
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