The Greatest Value Pinots Region in the Greatest Value Pinot Country - Village Under $20 and Premier Cru Under $30 - Micro Production

One of Our Most Inside Baseball Wineries
 - In Germany, Rare and Spoken with in Hushed Tones
 - Only 4,000 Bottles Total

2015 Spater-Veit Pi No Trocken
 - Stunning 2015 Vintage
 - Red Riesling (Pinot Fruit with Riesling Minerality)
 - Beautiful Ripeness Yet Gorgeously Elegant
 - Village Pinot for Under $20?!  Case Purchase Value

2012 Spater-Veit Spätburgunder Piesporter (Formerly "P)
 - Current Release
 - Ageworthy and Very Serious
 - Like Great Vosne Romanee
 - Kaleidoscopic Nose - Black Cherry, Mineral Cinnamon, Spice
 - Rich, Structured, Grippy Palate
 - Incredible Value for Premier Cru Pinot Noir

Let's play a quick game of association.

The Rhone ... Syrah
Champagne ... Sparkling Wine
The Mosel ... did anyone reply Pinot Noir?

Mosel Pinot Noir has to be the most "inside baseball" of all German Pinot Noir regions.And let's face

it, outside of Germany almost no one outside of this list pays attention to German Pinot Noir in the first place.  If someone has heard of German Pinot Noir more than likely it is from the south like In Baden or the Pfalz. Or oddly enough north of the Mosel in the Ahr.  But the Mosel? No!!! That's where wines are from that might be sweet or might be dry or something in between. Red wine? Never. Once upon a time, I tasted the excellent Pinots of Stefan Steinmetz, who sent me to today's producer, Spater-Veit and said, "Niklas Welter makes the best Pinot Noir in the Mosel." I said no way. He said, "you gotta trust me." I did and we are all the better for it. The Mosel is very competitive and Stefan is a competitive guy so for him to say this estate makes the best was serious. Now that we have picked up Marbleous as well in Winningen we have two of the top producers of Mosel Pinot Noir. I don't think any of you have a grasp of how small the production of Spater-Veit Pinot. Across four bottlings it's 4,000 bottles total. And most of that is the first two bottlings of Junior and Pi No. The 1er Cru (P) and the Grand Cru (#1) are the smallest production. These are Mobitz/Marbleous numbers. There is no wine.  In Germany it is rare and spoken with in hushed tones by people in the know. I'm lucky to have the connection with Stefan to sell these wines. I say I'm lucky to sell a lot of wines but I'm maybe the luckiest to sell these as of how "inside baseball" it is and how rare it is.  And the fact that Mosel Pinots are relatively unknown has depressed the prices - these are insane values.

I had a great tasting with Niklas this year and tasted a lot of great wine for offers that will go into the next 3-4 years as they hold the 1er and Grand Cru wines back longer than anyone except Josef Walter. I can't figure out what to start with today because both wines, in their own ways are extraordinary.

The Village Wine
I'll just pretend I'm conducting a tasting and start with the "Village Wine" which is the first 2015 I will offer from this estate and is truly an extraordinary wine and thus might be the most I've ever written about a $19.99 wine maybe in the history of Fass Selections. This is an incredible wine. As many of you had the 2014 can attest to this is one of the greatest Pinot Values ever. I just did an Instagram Video Tasting Note of the 2014 but the 2015 is altogether a whole different animal. It is a work of art. Forget the price. There is nothing like this wine. The 2015 Spater-Veit Pi No Trocken for $19.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is stunning in every way. It was super elevated glou-glou in 2014 but in 2015, which is an extraordinary vintage for Mosel Pinot Noir, it is as serious as any 2015 I'll sell. The fact that it is $19.99 is truly the cherry on top. It's one of those wines both with uncommon depth and loads of sweet fruit. The 2015 is noticeably darker than the 2014. There are deep vivid and such pure black cherries on the nose with stunning spice and slate. So unique and yet so Pinot. What a nose. Truly amazing. In the Red Riesling style I've written about. The fact that they make Riesling possibly contributes to this but as you all know that in order to make the Red Riesling style one doesn't need to make Riesling. See Walter and Enderle & Moll as examples.  It has a bit of older barrique aging that give it such nice depth and structure as well as deeply penetrating, rich and earthy sweet fruit. This is amazingly rich and fresh for a wine that is $19.99. It is ridiculously well made. It is also elegant and with a sleekness and amazing tannins. Sweet, ripe and velvety. So juicy and yet so delicate. Terrific acidity keeps this super fresh and cuts that dark cherry fruit. Gorgeous, elegant, nimble and mineral but also with amazing depth of fruit. So chewy and nice. I mean it's silly to me this wine exists for $20. It's like a loophole but it's just market conditions.Terrific value. Very pure and fresh. Amazing fruit and balance. I loved this wine. Buy a case.

The Premier Cru
Up next is the "1er Cru" which is the 2012 Spater-Veit Spätburgunder Piesporter Trocken (Formerly Known as "P") for $29.99 on a 4-Pack. The last "P" I sold was 2008 and is an amazing place and I also offered it way too cheap. $24.99??! What what I thinking? Even this at $29.99 represents such stunning value it cannot be comprehended. Going $10 up in Burgundy gets you nothing. Going $10 up in German Pinot Noir is like going up $100-$300 in Burgundy. It's a massive leap in quality. This is the age-worthy wine. The ambitious wine. The great wine that will stand up to other great German Pinots in 3-4 years in a massive tasting I hope to hold. How about a German Pinot La Paulee in NYC down the road? Anyway, that would be epic. The "P" means Piesport and this is sourced from 3 parcels from a measly 1 hectare, which is all they farm. This was just released as there is a minimum of 5 years of aging before they arrive in the market. This wine is extraordinary in every way. A work of art.

Stunning nose. Serious black cherries and mineral. Just super intense sappy fruit on the nose. Cherry, cinnamon, spice, limestone and slate develop after some coaxing. White pepper, rosemary and even more vivid cherry. I can't say how clear the cherry fruit is in this wine. An aromatic kaleidoscope. Highly aromatic and cerebral but super charming. Like great Vosne-Romanee or Gevrey.


The palate is just as incredible. Wonderful grip and richness. Amazing concentration. We are no longer in the Mosel, we are in Vosne-Romanee. This is so exuberant and expressive. Sappy and such intense fruit. I mean, the fruit on these wines is just another level. Super duper structure yet sleek and slippery but make no mistake, massive structure here. A wine of enormous concentration yet incredible finesse and energy. Stunning fruit saturation on the palate and finishes so slatey yet with echoes of wild raspberry, wild strawberry and big cherries. Long and complex with such grippy and sweet tannins. Remarkable clarity and depth. Incredible extract and sweetness. I mean this is remarkable wine. Remarkable. I cannot think of any reason this wine is so cheap. It is a damn crime. Limited.

2015 Spater Veit Pi No Trocken - $21.99 ($79.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)

2012 Spater Veit Spatburgunder Piesporter Trocken (Formerly "P") - $31.99 ($119.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)