German Pinot Noir Has ArrivedAn Icon of the Emerging "New Rheinhessen Style" of Pinot Noir - Aromatic, Elegant and Structured
Plus One of the Last 2015 Rieslings - Grand Cru Chablis Style (Under $30) Do NOT Sleep on the Riesling.
As many of you may know, German Pinot Noir is an emerging category that I have gotten behind. here is a link to Part One). The wines have that absolute precision, focus and crystalline expression of terroir that you see in the great winemakers like Shaefer Frohlich, Battenfeld Spanier, Florent Garaudet and Chavy-Chouet. The list has been buying increasing amounts and German Pinots are now rivaling my Burgundy offers in sales. The press is starting to get wind of this and is hopping on the bandwagon. The wines are incredible and they are crazy values, one third to half the price of comparable quality wines in Burgundy. Because I was early, I was able to grab half or more of the top 10 producers in Germany. I am also writing a series of blog posts about the stylistic differences in the different regions in Germany.
Weingut Thorle is one of the leaders in what I am calling The New Rheinhessen Style. The wines do not taste exactly like Volnay but they are similar in that they have the soaring aromatics of excellent Volnay along with spectacular structure, minerality and perfect, perfect balance. The other practitioner of this style is Juwel whose Spatburgunder is already allocated after one vintage. These two wines are totally different from the other German Pinots that I sell. Moreover, they are distinctive Pinot Noirs that echo Burgundy and Volnay in particular but are unique in their own right. These are going to be iconic Fass Selections German Pinot producers just like Ziereisen and Enderle & Moll. Indeed, Thorle was in the top 10 at the famous 2011 Pinot Noir tasting where Germany held its own with Burgundy.
I'm thrilled to sell the the 2014 Thörle Probstey Sparburgunder Trocken for as little as $39.99 a bottle on the 4-pack. Huge wafting almost Burgundian nose. A big bowl of cherries comes at you like a Mack truck. I will describe the palate but, like great Burgundy, it's not just the individual components but the balance and texture. Everything is just so clean, precise and harmonious. The palate is cherries, the darker cherries that is. Oolong tea, other spices as well, Such fine ripe and silly tannin and a terrific structure with very ripe fruit and gorgeous delineation, purity and freshness. Amazingly deep tannins and velvety tannins. Acid on point and it is very juicy. The palate staining fruit is just amazing. Again, the Probtsey is a good bet to be accessible young but can age very well. They use 40-50% new oak but because they are geniuses you cannot tell at all. Quality-wise, it competes with killer village Burgundy from a top producer.
The second wine I reserved until the end of the 2015s because I wanted you to try the 2015s before ordering it. It's a personal favorite because I love the style. The Thorles have terroir that is mostly comprised of limestone and loess. The 2015 Thörle Probstey Riesling Trocken, their second "GG"/ Grand Cru can be had for $29.99 on a 4-pack. This is normally a more subtle wine but the extra oomph of 2015 makes gives it the concentration of Grand Cru Chablis. If this were a VDP wine it would be $50 for me and via 3-tier $80. The nose beckons with vivid yellow fruits and minerals on a bed of even denser mineral. Super wafting aromas that get more intense and nuanced by the minute. That's 15 right there. Intense and stunning mineral palate with with wonderful concentration and outrageous density. Amazing spice adds so much to the mid palate. Salty finish. For me this the ripest of their 3 Grand Cru Riesling sites but also has that Thörle fantastic minerality. The finish is exceptional. Complex and very long.
The vineyards of the Rheinhessen are not flat like people think and Probstey has its dips and valleys. I adore this site. So do the Germans as I only have a limited amount of each. I don't know if you've all been tasting your 2015 Rheinhessen Rieslings from Juwel and Battenfeld Spanier but they are face melting and if you have you also know that in 15, for me, the sweetspots for Riesling are the Rheinhessen and the Mosel. They are just ridiculous. The wines are so stuffed and so packed and you can spend 3-5 days unwinding with them. I've never tasted a vintage like this. That is nuts. The value cannot be overstated here. Non VDP estates on the cusp are where all the value in Germany is right now. This will drink well young but also age for up to 15 years. This is a NO brainer. When the 01s came out I bought 25 cases and have only a case left 16 years later. I should have bought 50 cases. With whose money was the issue. Don't make the same mistake I did. Buy. Buy. Buy.
I really cannot think of an estate that has so rapidly gone from making generic juice to having 3 grape clusters in the Gaut-Mileau, the famous German wine guide. In 2006 Christophe Thörle and his brother, Johannes took over from his parents and decided to do significant improvements in the vineyard and the resultant wines are stunning examples of what can be achieved from the old limestone and loess soils of Saulheim, which is their little slice of heaven in the Rheinhessen.
These sell out in Germany and that is why I am doing this offer now. They are celebrity winemakers in Germany and immensely respected by everyone I talk to. It is only a matter of time before they can enter the VDP and that means the prices will go up. These are ridiculous values. A value goes not have to be a $20 bottle of wine. Value comes at all price points. These are values.
As I was recalling the tasting and all the conversation I had on my visit, what struck me was when Johannes Thörle told me about a tasting of the '14 Grosses Gewachs/Grand Cru wines. All the big shots in the Rheinhessen were there. It was a VDP tasting but the VDP also invited some non up and coming VDP estates and Thörle made quite an impression on one enthusiastic winemaker, none other than Phillip Wittman. He pulled Johannes aside and said something to the affect that the Thörle wines were as good if not better than many of the VDP wines there and he was very, very impressed. Only after a few hours tasting and touring the vineyards did Johannes tell me as his as humble as they come and not one to brag, but he was obviously proud of this moment. I would be as well.
One could argue that the Pinot Noir are the tops in the Rheinhessen. I think that they are top 10 in Germany and more importantly, the Pinots are incredibly distinctive and beyond that they are so delicious that a bottle will be gone before you can say Probstey Spatburgunder Trocken.
2015 Thorle Probstey Riesling Trocken - $31.99 ($119.96 4-pack)
2014 Thorle Probstey Spatburgunder Trocken - $41.99 ($159.96 4-pack)
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