A PBC Offer (Please Be Chill) - 99 Point Pinot Noir for $63, I Don't Have A Lot But Will Do My Best to Allocate Fairly (And Yes, It's THAT Good)

 The 2018 Vintage
 - Stunning Fruit Density
 - Remarkable Fruit Clarity
 - These Are Must Buys for Pinot Lovers.  Must Buys

2018 Thorle Hölle Pinot Noir "GG"
 - 99 Points Stuart Piggott
 - "this pinot noir from Rheinhessen in Germany is up there with the very best in the world!" (Pigott)
 - Nose: Stunning Florals
 - Violets and Mid Season Cherries
 - Stunning Earth and Minerals
 - Smells Like Elite 1er Cru Red Burgundy
 - Vosne-Romanee or Chambolle-Musigny
 - So Complex after 10 minutes or So
 - Even Better on the Palate
 - Unreal Power, Depth and Concentration
 - Super Refined
 - $62.99 NET

2018 Thörle Spätburgunder Gutswein
 - Please Show the Love for the 92 Point Entry Level Wine So We Can Get More Holle Next Year! 
 - Amazing and Delicious Fruit
 - Crazy Intense Dark Cherry and Raspberry Nose
 - Woodland Berries
 - But Has That Thorle Minerality and Acidity
 - You Know You'll Need an Affordable Red You Want to Drink Some Day...
 - 92 Points for $21.99 

- ($19.99 on a Case Purchase Which Is Insane)

The Thorle Brothers

As we noted in the Holle 19 Riesling offer, the Thorle brothers are most famous for their Pinot Noir.  Their Pinots stood toe to to with very good 1er cru Burgundies at a famous tasting a few years ago.  And the Thorles have gotten better since then and their vines are older.

What is the upside for this winery?

Honestly, I have no idea how great these wines can be as the vines get older and the winemakers continue to improve.  They are already stunning and the Thorles are still very young.  The history of German Pinot Noir is being written before our eyes.

The 2018 Vintage 

I just finished tasting through the 2018 Thörle Spätburgunders and they were revelations. These were stunning wines with fruit density, elegance, terroir character, freshness and some of the cleanest most vivid fruit I've ever tasted in Rheinhessen Pinot Noir. They have progressively gotten better since the first vintage we worked with them in 2014. They have not made a leap, just a slow and steady progression to an elite level of quality where they are today. They work hard and have incredible winemaking skills. The samples they did send me were delayed 4 times because of pandemic related delays to the container / shipping system. So some of my allocations are not as large as I'd like them to be. But in 2019, which is also an excellent Pinot Noir vintage, I will again be able to offer my normal allocations. They made 2 Grand Cru reds in 2018 and I'll start with the one I have the least of. 

99 Points

Today I have the highest rated German Pinot Noir Noir Stuart Piggott has ever rated. Yes you heard that
right. I have what I have which is 144 bottles. I respect Stuart's palette as much as any critic out there and his passion for German wine is palpable. He reminds me of me. His passion has only grown for German wine as he has gotten older. In this profession most people get jaded. Not me or Stuart. German wine is so exciting now as the history of German Pinot is being written now and I'm humbled to be one of its authors. So what does a 99 point German Pinot Noir taste like? 

The 2018 Thorle Hölle Pinot Noir "GG" can be had for $62.99 NET. My note is below from a few weeks ago. 

Nose is slightly muted but has stunning florals. Violets and mid season cherries. Really ethereal. Stunning earth and minerals. Just sick. Such clarity, detail and vividness. A nose one cannot stop smelling. Smells like elite 1er Cru Red Burgundy. Like Vosne-Romanee or Chambolle-Musigny. Maybe a Nuits St. Georges near Vosne Romanee. This is the creme de la creme. My goodness this is a benchmark German Pinot. Wow.  Nose gets so complex after 10 minutes or so. Just insane. Herbal, forest, wild flowers. Sickness. There are so many elements here it's hard to describe. 

This is even better, albeit young on the palate. Sweet like you cannot believe and unreal power, depth and concentration. Such power but also grace. This is super refined and also has substantial structure and length. Wow the length. The sweetness on the palate is crazy. But it's backed up by unreal minerality and earthiness. While this is obviously young, this is the greatest young Thorle Pinot I've ever had. Just stunning. Closes up with air and the structure becomes more prominent but just massive power, depth and concentration. 

On day 2 the eliteness continues. Elite complexity on the nose. Just super elite. Floral and sweet. Unreal spice. Just so wafting and complex. Beautiful use of discreet wood. Elite grand cru Burg level. Palate is heaven. Creamy and structured. Super deep and pure. Tremendous sap. Long. Young but just amazing wine. Amazing concentration and density. Massive fruit soak. Epic. I think this will shine in 5-6 years. I'm not sure drinking one young is of benefit. I walked so you can run. 

Below is the 99 point Stuart Pigott review. 

"Be prepared to be totally amazed, because this pinot noir from Rheinhessen in Germany is up there with the very best in the world! The black-cherry, herbal and roasting-coffee aromas pour from the glass, then comes a giant wave of the finest tannins and minerals and bowls you over. So vibrant and pure at the almost endless finish. Drink or hold." - 99 Points, Stuart Pigott

Of all the wines I reach for and that impress me the most are always terrific Pinot Noir values from Germany. I don't know how they do it but they do and they keep the price so fair. Under $20 is a very very hard category to get a high quality Pinot Noir or a high quality red wine. Next to impossible. Period. Full stop. Leave it to the Germans who, 20 years ago, had no decent Pinot Noir under $50-$40-$30-etc they have come a long way. I can say, easily, that in the under $20 category for Pinot Noir, the Germans are the world leader.

Today, I have the stunningly delicious and brilliant 2018 Thörle Spätburgunder Gutswein for $21.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack and $19.99 on a 12 bottle case. This got 92 points by Stuart Pigott. Neck breaking QPR. This is a silly stupid deal for a wine that is this delicious, charming, a full blown super expressive Pinot with fruit and lovely limestone sap, and a nice elegant structure. It doesn't exist. I think out of all 3 of the under $20 German Pinots I sell this is the most textured, structured and mineral while having the always transcendent and pure Pinot fruit that is next to impossible to get at under $20.  A value does not always have to be a $20 bottle of wine. Value comes at all price points. But today's wine is $20 and one of the best values I sell. 

The nose is so intense and has loads of dark cherries and wild raspberries. Some woodland berry aspects as well as a strong limestone footprint. After air the gorgeous nose of mid season cherries, sour cherries, some hints of black cherries and loads of earth and mineral leap out of the glass. 

The palate has huge, ridiculously delicious and textured sweet fruit, a hint of mint, lovely freshness due to on point acidity that is so clear and precise and a very long mineral finish with hints of salted woodland berry. Just terrific. Sappy, sweet and deep. Terrific red fruits and awesome energy and purity. Stunning depth and sweetness. What a value for Gutswein. As it airs you even get some citrus on the nose. Terrific hint of rusticity and great velvety tannins that suggest short term aging Wonderful ripe tannins that are so elegant. This is a stunning wine for the money. It does not get better for $20 and this is a case purchase for sure. It is perfect for wine geeks and normies alike. Below is the Pigott 92 PT Review.

"A wonderfully fragrant pinot noir that you could easily mistake for Volnay village, this is very elegantly proportioned for the humble category. Love the way the rather fine tannins support the long, dry finish. Drink or hold.."- 92 points Stuart Pigott

2018 Thorle Holle Spatburgunder "GG" - $62.99 NET 

2018 Thorle Spatburgunder Gutswein - $23.99 

($87.96 4-Pack, $239.88 12 bottle case {$19.99})