The Hardest To Get Wines In Germany - The Next Big Thing, Top German Chardonnay and Sven's Second Favorite German Pinot Ever

 2020 Aufricht “Van Hauen” Chardonnay

 - Likely the Best German Chardonnay I've Ever Had

- Roulot/Brisset/Boudignon/Pillot/Ramonet style

 - Enormous Concentration

 - Maybe the Purest Chardonnay I’ve Ever Had

 - Smells like Meursault 

 - Lemons

 - Amazing Linearity

 - So Elegant

 - Insane Purity and Acidity

 - Only 24 Bottles

2020 Aufricht “Krähen” Pinot Noir

 - Sven Enderle Said the Closest He's Seen to His Legendary 2010 Pinots

 - Nose: Ethereal Cherries and Cherry Flower

 - Stunning Minerality and Depth

 - Gorgeous Florals

 - Remarkable Purity

 - Gossamer-Like 

 - Palate: Nimble yet Densely Fruited

 - Delicate Lacey Texture

 - Tremendous Palate Presence and Depth

 - Insane Inner Mouth Aromas

 - Amazing Structure

 - Only 36 Bottles

"This is an out-of-the-blue, from-zero-to-top producer in an unsung region of Baden: Bodensee (Lake Constance). Just two wines are produced so far by Johannes Aufricht, who studied in Geisenheim and just returned to his parents' domain. Weingut Aufricht has been the finest producer of this region for many years, but I have never tasted purer, finer and more breathtaking wines from this domain and, with all due respect, not even a percentage of this quality, which is doubtlessly world-class. Johannes cultivates the family's vineyards and follows his own road, hoping his efforts will lead to his own domaine one day." - Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

An Apology

The first thing I need to do is apologize for the fact that I don’t have enough of today’s wines. I deal in very small production wines and sometimes to get a foot in the door I need to accept what the winery offers in hopes that I will get more wine. Having said that I am so so excited to introduce one of my discoveries of my career. I think the best way to approach this offer is to tell it the way it happened to me chronologically. 

The Background

I was doing my research for my August German trip and happened to come across a winery that I was very interested in. Small, low alcohol and very high quality. When I say small we are talking 800 bottles of each cuvee and already everybody in German wants them. So whatever I was hoping to get if they deemed me worthy was going to be a pico amount. That has never stopped me before and it wasn’t going to stop me this time. 

This winery is truly not near any of our other wineries. It is on an island in Lake Constanz which is like the Martha’s Vineyard of Germany and the most stunningly beautiful location of a winery I have ever seen in my life and I have been to a ton of wineries. But Aufricht is something special. A winery that completely hugs the coastline of the biggest lake in Germany. Sven Enderle was my guide and he knew the area very well. We had two choices to get there after we checked into our hotel. Drive to the winery which means we had to drive 1.5 hours all the way around the lake or get on a ferry with our car for a 15 minute ride and then get dropped off for a quick 10 minute drive to the estate. We got on the ferry and it was heavenly. Just an incredible experience there and back. A true bucket list moment. Lake Constanz is a glorious place and if you’re ever around those parts I can’t recommend enough taking the ferry. We got there and took the small drive to the estate. 

Johannes Aufricht

Johannes Aufricht is a fascinating guy and dare I say a genius. Aufricht is a large winery and the wines I am selling are 1/2 a hectare of the 50 hectares. The other 49 1/2 hectares are the main wines they sell whilst the 1/2 hectare is the no holds barred, spare no expense realization of a dream. Johannes dropped out of Geisenheim which is the large German wine school where tons of our growers went to study. Johannes marches to the beat of his own drummer, and went to work in Burgundy and went back to his family estate. He decided to do this project when he came back. There are nothing like these wines in Germany or in fact the world. He only focuses on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and makes only 3 wines. A chardonnay, a pinot noir and a sparkling blanc de blancs. Today I have the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir but hopefully one day I’ll sell the BDB which is easily the single most exciting sparkling wine I have ever had from Germany. It is not close. 

The Wines

First up is the 2020 Aufricht “Van Hauen” Chardonnay for $59.99 NET. I only have 24 bottles. Anybody who gets this wine is a lucky ducky. This is the best German Chardonnay I’ve ever had. It’s just a genius wine. The stats are crazy for this wine. 3 weeks in 100% new oak. THREE WEEKS. That’s it. It’s 11.5% alcohol. What? Both of those are completely new things to me in my long wine journey. So how does it taste? It tasted like if Roulot made top German Chardonnay. The acid is insane. Just insane. Timothy Leary is blushing. It is so sleek and so refined one cannot believe it. It’s got enormous concentration and is maybe the purest Chardonnay I’ve ever had and that counts Burgundy. I gave it a 9.8 on Delectable. My note is not long or expansive but below is it.

Smells like Meursault and is very lemony. Thus is like 1er Cru Meursault. Terrific inner mouth perfume. Wow. This is so serious. Amazing linearity. The angles are so taut it would make Isoceles jealous. So intense and so so good. Insane purity and acidity. This is so lean and so elegant. 11.5%. Just a freak show. The most new wave white Burg style I’ve ever had in Germany. Think Roulot/Brisset/Boudignon/Pillot/Ramonet style. This wine is magic and as good as the 2020 is I shudder to think about the 21. Anybody who gets this who lives in NYC has to drink one with me. 

I also have the 2020 Aufricht “Kräher” Pinot Noir for $59.99 NET. Where do I begin? Sven Enderle said it’s the closest Pinot Noir in Germany to what he achieved in 2010 at Enderle and Moll. I know not many of you have had the 2010s but let me tell you they are benchmark wines in German Pinot history. For Sven to say that is insane. It is one of the most delicate, lacey and ephemeral Pinot Noirs I have ever had from Germany. Super elite and a wine that takes one’s breath away. It is magic. Again, I’ve had nothing like it. It had major major reduction and I had to shake shake it to get the stank away. But once it did go away it was magic. Harry Potter wine as the wizardry that Johannes Aufricht conducted to make a wine this good is unbeknownst to me.

Nose is ethereal cherries and cherry flower with stunning minerality and depth. The florals and the purity of the aromas are just incredible. So ethereal and pretty with gossamer-like strawberry and cranberry. 

Palate has a delicate lacey texture and lovely sweet fruit and elegant, beautiful tannins. Rocking bottle. So ethereal and just like a red Riesling. like sour cherry, ripe and velvety tannins. So so juicy and clean with tremendous palate presence and depth. Insane inner mouth aromas and a structure that remains structured but is also eminently drinkable if that make sense. Nimble yet densely fruited with extraordinary balance and purity. Big structure. Lovely tannins and freshness. Ideally needs an hour to breathe and the fruit to really shine. The fruit is stunning here and so lip-smacking and pure. Super long finish. Superb. The texture of this wine is one of the best I’ve had from Germany. It’s 5-D. Better than 4D. A tiny of hint of opulence and unreal sapidity. 

2020 Aufricht “Van Hauen” Chardonnay - $59.99 NET

2020 Aufricht “Krähen” Pinot Noir - $59.99 NET