And Now for Something Completely Different ... 3 Fascinating German Reds that Are Not Pinot Noir - Ultimate Change of Pace Wines

Some Days, You Want Something New
 - Today Is the Day to Stock Up in Anticipation of That Day

2016 Leon Gold Zweigelt "Bienstein"
 - Dark Berry Fruit
 - Great Mineral Spine for a Red
 - Terrifically Vibrant
2016 Leon Gold Großheppach Cabernet Sauvignon
 - Classic Cab Dark Berries, Spice 
 - Great Minerality
 - Amazing Freshness
 - Burgundian In Style
2016 Trollinger Alte Reben
 - Really Delicious Fruit: 
 - Great Earthy Finish
 - Under $20 - A Wine You Can Drink Just for the Pure Pleasure

The lead in this E-Mail of course refers to the famous 1971 Monty Python film that was a collection

of their sketches from the first 2 years of the Flying Circus (it was also a catchphrase used in the show).  While today's wines lack the humor of the famed British troupe, I'd like to think that they are a bit offbeat (at least insofar as none of them are from my normal go to red wine grapes, Pinot Noir and Syrah).

I think Leon Gold, our wunderkind in Wurrtemberg, is the expert on this type of wine in the entire book. Today I am offering a special case discount if you mix and match in addition to the normal mix and match 4. These 3 wines go together and really fill a niche. All 3 can be medium term aged and I actually recommend it. The wines are all fresh, vibrant, deep, full of incredibly refined fruit, supple textures, and super intense and delicious minerality. Clean, interesting and distinctive. I love all three of these wines.

Up first is a wine a wine I have not been able to stop thinking about I tasted it in August 17! The 2016 Leon Gold Zweigelt "Bienstien" can be had for $23.99 a bottle today on 4 bottles and $22.99 on a mix and match case! This is a steal for a wine of this high quality. First of all many of you are probably like wait isn't Zweigelt an Austrian grape? Yes, it is, but small amounts are grown in Wurrtemberg. To our delight.  Leon is a true talent with red wine. Some of the most refined reds in all of Wurrtemberg. Nose of mint, moss and hints of dark berry fruit. There's a serious mineral element here as well. that reminds me of Pauillac graphite mixed with St. Joseph granite. It's crisp and gives the wine so much energy and freshness on the nose and throughout the palate. The palate is so refined and exceptionally balanced. Terrifically juicy with great bright, deep and vibrant structure that is supported by the giant mineral spine.  Bright yet somewhat dark wiry almost pastiche like fruit as well if that makes sense. Really really long and vibrant. Extraordinary wine. Brilliant. It's amazing how deep and mineral this is yet also how nimble it remains.

Up next is the 2016 Leon Gold Großheppach Cabernet Sauvignon for $26.99 on a 4-pack and $25.99 on a mix and match 12 bottle case. This wine is absolutely unbelievable. While this is opulent, it has that 2016 acidity.  The '16 is perfect.  I opened the 15 the other night and it just blew my mind. This Cabernet is the ultimate ringer for any tasting of Bordeaux or CA/WA Cabs. It also has a sensual Burgundian texture. The wine has all the fruit you could want, yet also retains stunning finesse and freshness with a pure and vivid mineral core. I could not dream up a better Cabernet Sauvignon. It's perfect. What a Cabernet. Outside of Bordeaux this is only 100% Cabernet I work with. There is a reason. Nose is exuberant with spice and deep dark pure fruits. It also has some beautiful elements of classic Cabernet. Cassis, deep minerals, some wet moss and soil tones. Palate is so elegant. Refined and juicy with a lovely core of sweet and ripe cassis fruit and terrific structure that tells me this can age 10+ years. What incredible purity and freshness. Textured and sleek. Supple. Almost creamy. Needs 30 minutes to really start shining. What fruit. What power. What finesse. What minerality. Balance is amazing. This is a ridiculous bottle of wine. So impressed with Leon's Cabernet. Unreal value. Everyone needs this. It's like if Germany, Burgundy and Bordeaux had a baby.

Next up is Trollinger in Pinot Noir clothing and it's Leon's terrific 2016 Trollinger Alte Reben for $19.99 on a 4-pack and $17.99 on a 12 bottle mix and match case. 2016 is a very good vintage in Wurrtemberg and Leon thinks it is as good as 2015. I don't doubt him. I actually think it is better. It's got more dark fruit to it and serious structure. It can be laid down. But I can say this his Trollinger has a bit of a cult following amongst Fass Selections clients and that is from the 15. The 16 is so much better. I couldn't believe it. It has that dark fruit character on a light frame. It has what can only be described as a purple fruited nose. You know exactly what I mean. There is cassis and huge fruit. But it is so fresh. So mineral. But this is not a wine you wax poetic the nose. You chill it for 25-30 minutes in the fridge and drink it too quickly. It's one the few wines I sell like this but man do I reach for it a lot. The only other type of wine I have in my cellar that is in the same family is Gamay and sometimes I am not in the mood for Gamay. It is the most easy wine to drink that I sell. There is such a unique spice on the nose and on the palate. It is deep, with such lively sweet fruit. Man is it sweet and dark. It is perfectly ripe with incredible acids and freshness. There is a pluminess as well but also has earth notes all over the finish. For how fruity the attack is the earthy finish catches you off guard in the best possible way. It's long and the dark fruits sit on your palate. This is an amazing bottle of inexpensive wine.

I sell fewer under $20 reds than any other category because most of them suck. Trollinger is a local varietal that is also known as Schiava in Italy which only the hardcore wine geeks know. Basically its a lighter red grape that is very common in Wurrtemberg and most of it is plonk. It's overcropped and cheap and much of it is drunk locally. It can have really big tannins for being so light in color. It's in the category of grapes that are strange and abused in Germany yet there are a few intrepid souls that lift it above plonk into a work of art. Muller-Thurgau and Dornfelder fit in this category. As does Trollinger. It has been planted in Wurrtemberg since at least the 8th century after originating in Italy. 1/3 of Wurrtemberg is planted to Trollinger but most of it is forgettable. You need serious skills to make a good one and in my experience old vines help Trollinger more than a lot of other grapes. Obviously old vines are better in general but young vines can be good as well. With Trollinger the old vines are almost the only way to go. Young vine Trollinger can be brutal. But when you find that one bottling of that used and abused grape (I mean overcropped with high yields, the vineyards look like jungles for some of these high yielding Muller-Thurgau and Trollinger vineyards) it is an vinous epiphany like no other.


Wurrtemberg is red wine country and has a slew of great winemakers making high quality red wines. The terroir supports Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Zweigelt and the always unique Trollinger. They don't make these red wines because the market demands it they make them because  these grapes work in these soils. In Großheppach the soils are very warm and in the summer it is like a basin and heat builds up during the daytime and due to this warmth is kept longer. The soils for Leon's Cabernet Sauvignon is called "unter BunteMergel" and is very fertile, nutritious and warm. It is perfect for the ripening of Cabernet Sauvignon.

2016  Leon Gold Trollinger Alte Reben - $21.99 
($79.96 4-pack, $215.88 12 bottle Case) (LIMITED)

2016 Leon Gold Großheppach Cabernet Sauvignon Trocken - $28.99 ($107.96 4-pack, $311.88 12 bottle Case) (LIMITED)

2016 Leon Gold Beinstein Zweigelt - $25.99 
($95.96 4-pack, $275.88 12 bottle Case)(LMITED)