Top 5 Dry White Producer in Germany. The Awkward Teen That Won a MacArthur Genius Grant: Grand Cru Kirchenstuck

The Outrageous Complexity of a Geek Wine
Combined with Luscious 2015 Fruit
From One of the Great Winemakers of Europe, Battenfeld Spanier
(Plus a Delicious, Affordable Silvaner) 

"HO Spanier's 2015s are simply great and vitalizing wines. The whole series reflects the calcareous origin terrifically and is made up of excellent wines, especially the Rieslings." - Stephan Rheinhardt, The Wine Advocate # 226

This year marked the 2nd time in two years I've had a leisurely tasting at the estate of Carolin Kuhling-Gillot and H.O. Spanier followed by a terrific homemade dinner. Carolin is a brilliant chef and this year was a beautiful risotto with fresh mushrooms. Heaven. I enjoy this format as I can spend

a long time with the wines and the winemakers. And the 15's of Battenfeld Spanier are wines you want to spend a long time with. The 15s here are vibrating on a different level than any vintage I've sold. These 15's are one of the best collections of any wines I've tasted from anyplace in any year and any vintage. H.O. killed this vintage. Just destroyed it and as we were tasting and conversing (his latest obsession is House of Cards) he spoke very passionately about how it takes time, years and and many vintages to achieve the quality that Battenfeld Spanier has ascended to. Yes it is an ascension as well.  You have to, just like in any other field, earn your stripes, pay your dues, and take your lumps to be able to achieve what Battenfeld did in 2015. Many are obsessed with young winemakers in Germany and over here stateside to a lesser extent but right now we are witnessing a winery in its prime churning out masterpiece after masterpiece. For Battenfeld Spanier 2012-2015 is like Koufax from 1963-1966. Just pure dominance. But also done artistically. This is history, folks, don't let it pass you bye.

After all that I have the final wine in the brilliant trio of 2015 Grosses Gewachs from Battenfeld Spanier, the 2015 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck Riesling Grosses Gewachs for $44.99 a bottle on a 4-pack (usually I do 3 pack pricing but I really think everyone needs 4 of these). This wine, was an awkward rebellious teen.  I did not offer in 2012 or 2013 because it wasn't quite there for me just yet.  Now, it is now equal to Frauenberg and Am Schwarzen en Hergott and for many tasters, it will be even better. In 2015 this wine is absolutely spectacular. I cannot rave about it enough. It still has the classic geeky wild and wacky nose of Kirchenstuck and a palate that more refined, more elegant and more clean than the '14 and just an absolutely ridiculous finish. But now it has the power, the fruit, the concentration and pure unadulerated force of 2015.  The wine is almost never ending. As I said in the beginning these wines are vibrating on a different plane in 2015. It's the classic velvet glove in an iron fist. Just stunning and a no brainer at this price. I find this is the GG to drink young. It is so fresh and dynamic yet also has huge flavor impact and top notch finesse. The finesse and refinement of this wine in '15 sets this apart from the '14. It has uncommon depth in '15 and an amazing blend of sweet, floral and feral aromas that keep expanding and wafting more and more as the wine aerates. I'm talking really deep and almost smoky mineral aromas almost like if you pour water on slate on a hot summer day. An amazing and very different nose.  On the palate, there is truly prodigious power and concentration and amazing life affirming acidity that cleanses your palate as the fruit pushes forward. This wine on the palate shows the truly breathtaking nature of the fruit in 2015.  The finish is crazy.  It's like sucking on a rock drawn from a mountain spring and dipped in lemon and a hint of tropical fruit. Incredibly long and interesting.

Up next I have a wine I did not plan on selling but it was so delightful and delicious (unplanned wines happen in once in a lifetime vintages), that I have to offer it. It is the 2015 Battenfeld Spanier Gruner Silvaner "Leopold" for as little as $22.99 on a 4-pack. Silvaner in the Rheinhessen is called "Gruner Silvaner" locally but has no relationship to Austria's Gruner Veltliner. No worries as I think at $23 there is no GV in all of Austria I'd want to drink over this wine. Super mineral, funky and sponti nose. Super fresh and amazing texture and density. The wine blew me away. It is a completely different expression of Silvaner down here and is less opulent than Weltner, but is racy as can be and super chiseled. It is amazing how in 2015, it has lifted little wines to extraordinary heights. I had no choice as soon as I tasted it that I knew I had to sell it. Stunning and, thematically, it fits with the Kirchenstuck as it can and should be drunk young and over the next 2-3 years.

Many of you know me through the e-mails and some of you are lucky or unlucky enough to meet me in person, depending on your perspective, but one thing that is known is I'm a pretty anal guy and I am a big planner, and that goes with Fass Selections. I have around 85% of the offers planned before the year starts. This is not a fly by the seat of the pants business. You can do that in retail because they are mostly bringing the wines to you. For me, I am seeking out the wines and as a result meticulous planning is needed. I have no salespeople knocking my door down, not a store full of wines, or tons of pre-offer sheets. In essence, I cannot wake up one day and say, what do I want to sell and have countless choices. But the advantage to that is that what I do sell, I believe in 100% as I import these wines. I don't have to sell any of these wines. I want to. The Kirchenstuck is a wine that I had to  and want to sell as it represents terrific value at one of the greatest dry wine estates in Germany.

2015 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchestuck Riesling GG - $47.99 

($179.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)

2015 Battenfeld Spanier Gruner Silvaner "Leopold" - $24.99 

($91.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)