Now, I could have opened up with this offer as the wines are that good. I do get pigeonholed as the German guy, so I wanted to throw you all a curveball with some French stuff first. At the end of the day my passion is well made wines from wherever they may be from. It happens to be that most of the great wines of the world that do not get much exposure are the wines of Germany. One of my main goals with Fass Selections is to change that. |
| Long story short, if that is possible for me, is that the Caspari-Kappel wines, of all the wonderful German estates I will import and offer to you, stands out. It all starts with rock star winemaker Gernot Kollman. I tasted Gernot's first vintage back at his estate, Immich-Battiereberg, in 2010 (the 2009's) and was hooked on his stunning wines. After tasting these three vintages I was convinced that Gernot Kollman was The King of the Mosel. This recent visit, Gernot had a surprise up his sleeve and had Uwe and Nico from Caspari-Kappel stop by and present their wines to me. I will be thanking Gernot for the rest of my life as these wines were eye-opening. The first wine is the 2011 Urschiefer Trocken for $14.99 (drinks like $20-$22 estate wine) and the just dumb good 2011 Enkircher Ellegrub Spatlese Trocken Alte Reben for as low as $25.49 a bottle which drinks like a Grosses Gewachs costing twice the price. The Enkircher Ellergrub is a must try for fans of dry German
Riesling as well as Riesling newbies; the beautiful fruit, minerality, acid balance and pure refined elegance remind me of Grand Cru Chablis from a top producer.
Please reply to this E-Mail by Saturday, March 23 at 9 PM EST with your orders. After that I cannot accept any more orders.These wines are organically farmed, terroir-driven, dazzlingly pure and clean, dry and off-dry Mosel Rieslings. I am beyond thrilled to offer these wines as I believe they are true gems in the new happening area of the Mosel called Enkirch. Uwe Jostock worked at Clemens Busch (the leading voice for biodynamic/organic viticulture in the Mosel) before he met Nico and they started Caspari. Before that he was the winemaker at Immich-Battiereberg and became only one of 8 estates to get a 5 star rating from Eichelman, which in Germany is the guide for dry and off dry wines. I could just offer the entire portfolio of Caspari-Kappel and be very happy. You would also be very happy. Uwe and Nico are also two of the nicest, earnest and humble guys to do business with. |
| As usual, finding Enkirch was a bit of a trial as my sense of direction is about as good as a blind man with a map. My business partner was driving and I was following the loyal GPS. The Mosel is hilly to say the least; we took a wrong turn and ended up in someone's garden. The towns look like they are dropped from the sky, because who would build a town in the middle of a 45 degree slope? But that is how it goes in Enkirch. Uwe and Nico told me that land in Enkirch, cultivated land ready to grow vines or land that has had vines planted, goes for 1/10 the price of that same land in Wehlen or Graach. If the land is uncultivated they might just give it to you, they joked. That is probably not that far from the truth. It is beautiful country up here and the sites are special and plentiful. Yet it is wild in this area from a topographic perspective. You will see a perfectly normal vineyard next to a long stretch of wild uncultivated land. Bushes, trees, thorny brush. It's probably brutal work to get that land ready for vines, yet the terroir is top notch. There is opportunity aplenty in Enkirch and the surrounding areas. This is one of the areas where young, talented winemakers (with little money) are putting in sweat equity to build the next generation of Mosel wineries. There is an area near and within Enkirch called the Starkenberg Slope that is particularly special. It is a stretch of steep slope between Traban-Tarbach and Enkirch. It is a sight to behold. One of those places you are just in awe of instantly. Battiereberg, Ellegrub and Zepwingert are the three vineyards that are a part of this slope and these are the great vineyards of Enkirch. One day these will be just as famous as Himmelreich, Domprobst and Wurzgarten. The quality is certainly there. This is majestic and great terroir capable of producing truly memorable wines, but most importantly, in a range of styles. Dry, Feinherb and fruity all work great here. |
| The first wine was the 2011 Urschiefer Trocken. You never offer out the first wine you taste from an estate, right? Isn't that like some unwritten importer rule? My first note was "love it." 2011 was ripe, but not overripe, and really made so many pretty wines at all levels. They are wines to drink and enjoy but have enough acid balance to keep them fresh and I don't see them shutting down at all. This had a super mineral and confectionary nose. Really got my attention. The palate was juicy with fresh lively acids, a wealth of fruit. Fruit pith, mineral finish. Long. Amazing grip and structure. A dry-tasting wine that is complex and terroir driven. This complexity is also a Mosel specialty, not just in pradikat residual sugar wines. This wine is something to forget about for 5 years and pop the last remaining bottle of a six pack at dinner and be amazed at how such a humble bottle can age into something really interesting down the road. These vineyards are steep (most estate wines in the Mosel are made on flat sites). It's crazy I can offer this for $14.99. Once I tasted this I knew this estate was a keeper. Essentially a wine business card. The next wine is just madness. Silly good. GG quality here for 1/2 the price. Ellegrub is a great vineyard and may be my favorite of the three on the Starkenburg slope. It is mostly weathered blue/grey slate soil. According to Lars Carlberg, who runs the best subscriber Mosel website out there (no commercial interest and just a happy subscriber) "the Ellegrub, Battiereberg and Steffensberg were all the highest ranked vineyards according to the 1897 Mosel-Weinbau-Karte, the Prussian viticultural tax map of the Mosel for the administrative district of Koblenz." The quality has been apparent in Ellegrub for a long time. The 2011 Enkircher Ellegrub Spatlese Trocken is a perfect trocken Riesling. The nose is a perfume of cooling blue fruits and a bazaar-like spectrum of mineral/slate aromas. The Mosel symphony in full effect. Ellegrub for me, gives off this particular aromatic profile every time I taste it, no matter who is making it. That is another sign of a great terroir: distinction. 2011 is a perfect vintage for dry wines. Ripe, not high in alcohol, zesty acids and pure vivid fruit. It is a mouthful of tangy fruit, with such killer texture in the mid palate and more of a soothing cooling presence on the palate. Great concentration, killer finesse and depth and showcases the cool minerality of Ellegrub. Leaves you wanting another sip quickly. But air this out as it gets better and better. Ellegrub always has a lot to reveal. This will age very nicely. The structure is very impressive. That is why I am offering it at a special six pack price for $152.94 as I see it as a very worthy candidate to age for up to 15 years. I could easily sell this for much more. Say $45 as that is what it drinks like. Amazing quality for the money. Enkirch is an amazing place and Caspari a shining star in this now rediscovered enclave of the Mosel. It is one of the wineries helping to form an identity for an area that once ranked at the top of the Mosel hierarchy. These wines will arrive in the Fall. Please reply to this E-Mail by Saturday 9 PM EST with your orders. After that I cannot accept any more orders. If I could please ask you to hit reply and send me your billing and shipping addresses along with your order if you are already not a customer. My phone number is 917-912-4355 and you can reach me to give me your CC #'s (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail). You will have an invoice within 72 hours after the offer ends.
2011 Caspari-Kappel Urschiefer Trocken $14.99
2011 Caspari-Kappel Enkircher Ellegrub Spatlese Trocken Alte Reben $26.99 ($152.94 6-pack)
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