Good News: I Was Early on The Rings Brothers and They Make Great Wines. Bad News: They Are Now Allocated

Rings, Rings, Rings! Boy have they come out of nowhere to be the hottest estate in Germany and got

into the VDP quicker than anyone can say Kallstadter Saumagen. 2015 is their debut vintage as members of the auspicious and exclusive VDP. This is good for them and a tiny bit bad for you. It's good than that they are getting the recognition they deserve and it's a tiny bit bad as the prices have gone up a tic and the wines are now allocated, but having said that, the value is still through the roof as German GG's are and will always be the most undervalued great white wines in the world.

I have a client who believes that, like a stock can be undervalued, that the German GG's are more undervalued right now than any wine region in the world for high quality white wines. He is buying them left and right. And you know what. He is 100% correct.

Many of you that have followed me over the years know that I am always trying to be one step ahead of the curve. It's what I'm good at. Even in my previous career in traditional wine retail, I was ahead of the curve. At one wine store I worked in we had oceans of Clos Rougeard, huge allocations of Fourrier, l'Eclapart Champagnes aging on the shelf, Overnoy gathering dust on the shelf, Clos Roche Blanche and Allemand up the wazoo and our Bartolo and Giuseppe Mascarello sections were plentiful in all types of formats and vintages. Not that I found all these things but I always went where there was a sense of discovery. I did at another store put on the shelf a few things no one had ever sold in the states before, including Scholium Project and Ganevat. I also at that store brought over the first large amount of GG's into the USA. I had been on a trip to Germany in 2006 and tasted tons of '05 GG's, and at that time were barely exported and fell in love with the wines. Oh, it was a pain to get them over here. It took a lot of convincing. Had to convince my boss first and then the distributor as well! The catch was I had to take a whole palate to make it worth everyone's while (that is 56 12 bottle cases for the layman). I went HAM on this palate after I got the green light. I had Rebholz, Schaefer Frohlich (all of them!), Wirsching, Fuerst, Kunstler, Heger, Schnaittman, Wegeler and Lieser.  Alas, they were pretty pricey as they were all 3 tier.  Still to this day, all the GG's I sell at Fass Selections are still cheaper than any GG on that palate from 2005. Something to think about.

Back to the main event. My Rings tasting was for 9:00 AM and I love that time of day for appointments as your palate is alive and super receptive to flavor. I kind of have a tradition I do at visits now. Before I taste the wine, I need to see the vineyards. It's critical. I'm not the guy that is gonna geek out about soil types or what not as it's not who I am and I think for most people it's kind of boring. I'll dig around the dirt, check out some rocks, but that's the extent of it, but when a winemaker starts going off a bit too much about soil I start to tune out. But being in the vineyard, in August with veraison starting for the reds and the golden hues of Riesling just starting to change from a vivid light green, can take your breathe away. Smelling the clean air, seeing the way the sunlight hits the grapes and the leaves, looking at the stones in the vineyard, hearing about the history, is all part of the experience. Feeling the wind, and the heat (it's hot in the Pfalz, and slapping a few bugs off your face is all part of it. For a few minutes there I can understand the struggle of the vine. Then after I become one with the vine I go back to the tasting room and start to taste. It's my process I guess you can say. The cellar is less important to me because once you've seen a few they all kind of blend together.

First up I must mention that I have a small amount of both wines.

I am going to talk a lot about the one I have the most of which is the top Riesling GG of the estate which is the 2015 Rings Saumagen for $49.99 on a 3-pack.  The Saumagen is one of the best GG's I had on my trip in August. The fruit on the nose is dark and aristocratic. Pointedly mineral. Almost wispy yet evocative and wafting aromas. Complex and massively concentrated with huge levels of awe inspiring deep 2015 fruit. Peachy and tangy and citrusy like only the Pfalz can do. And god, man, this is mineral. It is so complex yet light as a feather. Total knock you on your ass wine. This has structure to burn. Super intensely mineral finish and such nice grip. An explosion of juiciness that echoes on and on and on. What a wine and has the guts to age 10-15 years.

I have more of the 2015 Saumagen and much much less of the 2015 Weilberg so if you buy the 3-pack of the 2015 Saumagen then you can, if you want buy the 2015 Rings Weilberg GG for $39.99 a bottle NET with a maximum of a two bottle purchase. This is the fruitier and more approachable of the two. The nose is gorgeous with gobs of mineral, vivid peaches and apricots.   It slays you. Elegant, textured yet also powerful. Intense yet so pretty and lean. Salty, mineral finish that dissipates gorgeously. Clean and insanely mouthwatering. The wine is brilliant and I'd be talking it up more if i had more than a few cases.

2015 Rings Riesling Saumagen GG - $52.99 ($149.97 3-pack) 

2015 Rings Riesling Weilberg GG - $39.99 NET

(SOLD OUT!!)