One of the greatest things about great vintages is that they give me the opportunity to introduce the list to some of my producers who do not get the same attention because their wines are less expensive. No matter how much I bag the drum that their wines are great and cheap because they do no marketing, some wineries don't get the List Love they deserve until a great vintage comes along. Then, people try them because of the vintage and boom, we're off to the races.Today's producer is Jochen Clemens and his 2015s are absolute knockouts. I haven't offered these yet
because of the simple reason that I had to offer certain wines first or they would have sold out. I spent a few hours with Jochen in August of last year and really got to know his wines and the first offer I wrote I did not effectively communicate how terrific his wines are and what a talented winemaker he is. He is certified organic and on his way to becoming biodynamic and is incredibly passionate about it as he spends almost all his time in the vineyard. I love the growers who spend all the time in the vineyard. His sites are beautifully tended and there are so many different other plants in between his rows of vines. A true living ecosystem exists in his parcels. I'm not going to go into this too much but I believe that this kind of viticulture adds to the complexity of the wine. Clemens really works his behind off in the vineyards and I had to call him back in to come taste with me on this 100 degree late August day. But am glad I did as his 2015s are the biggest sleepers of the vintage in my whole book. I was stunned with one wine after another. The electricity and energy was palpable as was the terroir expression. Wintrich, where Clemens is located, has some serious vineyards. One wine today is from Wintrich and one wine is from neighboring Dhron where AJ Adam has made the Dhroner Hofberg one of the most famous vineyards in Germany.
Up first is one the superstar Kabinett feinherbs of the vintage. This vintages sweet spot in the Mosel is definitely Kabinett. That ripeness combined with the ripping acidity of 2015 truly made some legendary wines. Trocken, Feinherb or fruity the Kabinetten of 2015 were knockouts. I also believe that 2015 is a vintage where the feinherb style really shined and Jochen crafts some of the mosh haunting and elegant of this barely off-dry style. A great Kabinett feinherb should be dry-tasting more than anything and the extra RS should be only perceived as a textural enhancer when the perfect feinherb is achieved. Okay, I'll admit I'm a bit of a wine geek to talk about the perfect Kabinett feinherb but if this is not it I'll quit my job and start cleaning toilets. Today I have the 2015 Weingut Clemens Dhroner Hofberg Kabinett Feinherb for only $19.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Run and order this wine. It's $19.99, so you've got nothing to lose. I've been doing this for almost 20 years and wines like this get me more exited than many a trophy bottle. The nose immediately grabs your interest as it has that extra level that only comes wish terrific vintages. Intensely mineral with slate cubed on the nose and then it reveals peach and green apple but you gotta dig for it as the slate expression is so fine and detailed. It has the thrilling ripeness of 2015 and power for days. You will not believe the core of dense fruit and mineral this wines has. Did I mention this is $19.99? The concentration is just incredible. Yet with this mammoth core and all this power and concentration you have a wonderful elegance that makes this wine the perfect feinherb. It's amazing the tension this wine creates. To have that core finessed out to the max is such an achievement. The finish keeps pumping and pumping and pumping out layers of slate and mineral and man is this juicy but retains a sense of weightlessness. And it is so clean. Perfect serene like balance and so deep. Great vintages give wines so much depth. Sometimes one takes it for granted. This has legs and I think is easily a 10-12 year wine and this will be magic in 5 years. Very hard to resist young but the wait is worth it to see this at peak. I think some of the smaller 15s once they've had some age will be revelations. I still wish I had some 2001 Mosel Kabinetts. I won't make this mistake with this vintage. Neither should you.
This offer is like a rarities offer in that I'm offering up a Kabinett Feinherb and now a full on Spatlese. I cut my teeth on Spatlese and and always a sucker for a brilliant bottle of Spatlese from a top site in the Mosel. I think this is the 2nd and last fruity style Spatlese I'll offer from this vintage. I'm really picky with Spatlese. The glop stops here. I don't want floppy gloppy Spatlese. I need tension. I need nerve. I need acid. I also need slate expression if this is the Mosel and it is. At Fass Selections HQ we call the Spatlese we like Slatelese. There is nothing like the mineral expression of Mosel Slate in a great vintage. Today may I present the 2015 Weingut Clemens Wintricher Ohligsberg Spatlese for $27.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. It never gets old selling inexpensive German wine from some of the greatest sites in the world. The Ohligsberg is on the same level as Goldtropfchen and in fact Rheinhold Haart has made it very famous. His is around $40 and wunderkid Julien Haart's Ohligsberg is $45. This is just as stunning. And obviously less expensive. The nose is just drop dead with incredible depth. So aromatic. Just a knockout. Flowers, slate, huge fruit with deep and intense nuance. There is also a staggering amount of dried and fresh herbs which adds to the complexity. Lime, pink grapefruit and even more intense slate after air. It is a wine that is wafting with stank. I love it. This is so excitingly opulent on the midplate but then you get a whiplash of acidity that frames all the flavors that just echo and echo on the palate. So deep. But man is that acid cleansing. There is a deep ocean of minerals that wash your palate intermixed with super ripe but über clean 2015 fruit. All the herbs echo on the long finish. It retains such elegance and is very filigreed. The density of this wine is amazing. So deep. So rich. Just a stunner. This will age for 20+ years.
Germany makes the best wine wine values in the world.
2015 Weingut Clemens Dhroner Hofberg Kabinett Feinherb - $21.99 ($79.96 4-pack)
2015 Weingut Clemens Wintricher Ohligsberg Spatlese - $29.99
($111.96 4-pack)
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