A chef in a small town called Roses in Spain taught us that genius knows not of geography. That human talent is the scarcest and most valuable commodity on the planet. And that it must be revered and nurtured and that it will sustain and nurture us in return. Please forget that these wines are not of the Rheinhessen, Nahe or the Mosel. Please remember that great winemakers make great wines.Every year I've done the Weltner Scheurebe offer and every year I've had to cut people back as I always offered it after the more "serious" Sylvaner and Riesling bottlings and Paul never has enough. I inquired after I cut people back on the 14s as to why this is and Paul said people go crazy for this wine in Germany and it is the first of his wines to sell out. So this year, I'm offering this before I offer any other Weltner wines to ensure I don't have to cut people back (the German Weltner fans can drink something else). These are still limited as these are very small production wines but I assure you I will not have to cut anyone back.
I sell Weltner's wine to a dream list of buyers (a lot of US winemakers buy this) in that there are palates on here that I respect enormously. One of them is the biggest Weltner customer on the list and worships all the wines, and rightfully so. This particular client, and a few others, had and continue to have, such a passion for Paul Weltner Scheurebe that it drove me to re-appreciate this wine and also get the offer out earlier as it really is that great a wine.
But first, some news. Paul did not make a feinherb version in 2016, which is usually the Ortsweine as he listened to the vintage and made what nature gave him. And nature did not give him the conditions to make feinherb. The feinherb version of this wine has made many a client freak out and write me paragraphs upon paragraphs of almost vinous poetry about what a great wine this is. I love the feinherb version but, personally prefer the dry versions as they have a bit more cut and tension for my palate. Well, today I am delighted to offer two Trocken versions of this wine on what happens to be the 101st anniversary of Scheurebe in Germany. And what a better way to kick off the festivities with the best living producer of Schuerebe on planet Earth, Paul Weltner.
First up I have what was feinherb last year and is trocken this year. The 2016 Rodelsee Scheurebe Trocken for as little as $19.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is a great strong dollar deal and have had plenty of clients say they would pay twice as much for this bottle. In 2016 it has between 3-4 grams of sugar and is a delight. It just dances on the palate, which is a term that has been played out but it's true. '16 has incredible finesse and refinement but also really nice, crisp acids and is a brilliant vintage for dry wines. Just brilliant. It has all the classic exotic and kinky fruit of Scheurebe plus the fascinating sage and herbal aromas and flavors only this grape can bring to the table. And of course it has endless complexity. Yes endless complexity for $20 a bottle. I'm actually sick of people saying they brought this wine to a tasting and it blew wines 2-3-4 times its price away. The more this is said, the more the price will go up and it will be harder to get.
If there were a GG classification for Scheurebe this wine would be it but alas there is not, so it is just a crazy deal. The 2016 Rodelseer Schwanleite Scheurebe Trocken Erste Lage for as little as $24.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is just epic, GG-style Scheurebe for dirt farmer prices. It is technically an Erste Lage but whatever you can classify the yin yang out of this wine and that would not do it justice. It is the drier and deeper of the 2 in today's offer made from vines planted in 1968. It has under 2 grams of sugar. This is as serious as Scheurebe gets. It is the finest dry Scheurebe Germany makes. This wine is so refined it cannot be overstated and man is the '16 deep and so filigreed. Maybe the most filigreed one yet. Sick aromas of blackberry, pink grapefruit, sage, mineral and 5-6 things they haven't come up with names for yet. This is some inner earth Tolkien stuff. It has classic Weltner restraint along with exotic Scheu strutting its stuff and huge acids and ripeness and such balance and depth. Genius! Brilliant! It tames Schue but also lets its freak flag fly high and mighty.
2016 Paul Weltner Rodelseer Scheurebe Trocken - $21.99 ($79.96 4-pack)
2016 Paul Weltner Rodelseer Schwainliete Scheurebe Trocken Erste Lage - $26.99 ($99.96 4-pack)
2016 Paul Weltner Rodelseer Schwainliete Scheurebe Trocken Erste Lage - $26.99 ($99.96 4-pack)
No comments:
Post a Comment