I've Tasted Dozens of German Sauvignon Blanc and Never Offered One - Finally I Have One that Matches Up with Sancerre

You may not know it stateside as the wine hipsters and somms have not anointed it......yet,  but Today I can offer the 2014 K.H Schneider Sauvignon Blanc Trocken for as little as 21.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. 

Sauvignon Blanc is a big deal in Germany. It is typically the first wine to sell out at a winery and sometimes it can be more expensive than fantastic village Rieslings. Having said that all of it is not successful and definitely falls into the 95-5 rule of appreciating anything. 95% of it is not worth your time, while 5% is and that 5% can take a lifetime to appreciate and exolore it. For German Sauvignon Blanc it is more like 99%/1% for now. I've tasted Sauvignon Blanc across many regions in Germany and by far, for me, the most successful region is the Nahe. There is some promising stuff from Franken but the Nahe is the home of German Sauvignon Blanc.

Sauvignon Blanc can be a very polarizing grape so I can start by telling you what this wine is not to get that out of the way.

It is not offensive.

It is not cat piss, gooseberry or really that much if any fruit aromatically (yay!). Typical Sauvignon Blanc from CA, NZ has aromas that are like 4-dimensional obnoxiousness. If they could aromatize the Kardashian family it would be New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

It is not that fruity.

It is not wooded.

It is not innocuous.

It is not low in acid.

Now to the good part. What is this wine and why is it so good? It is great because it lets the terroir shine through.  The most successful German Sauvignon Blancs should have a breakdown of 85% terroir aromas and taste and 15% varietal aromas and taste. Too much Sauvignon Blanc that makes you remember with every sip that you are tasting Sauvignon Blanc is never a good thing. If the Germans put their mind to something they will master it. They made great sweet Riesling and now they are make great dry Riesling. The style here at Schneider is one that is dripping in terroir and in some cases you need a powerful atomic microscope to find the Sauvignon Blanc character. That is a very good thing. Andi's was by far the best I have tasted and it has the terroir of Bad Sobernheim in this wine like a rainbow in a prism. It is so there.  So precise. The wine is all about minerality and terroir. It is present in the aromas, the taste, the structure. Everything. There are some hints of grassiness that let you know the Sauvignon Blanc is the grape. The purity is astonishing and there is freshness and persistence that linger and linger. So much finesse and mineral sap. The elegance and class is what impressed me the most. I honestly would rather drink this than any $25 dollar Sancerre and I have a soft spot for Sancerre. Terrific wine and maybe the best Sauvignon Blanc value in a style you did not know existed until you read this e-mail.

2014 K.H. Schneider Sauvignon Blanc - $23.99 ($87.96 4-pack) (Limited)