Alsace Eat Your Heart Out - Grand Cru Quality Pinot Blanc Plus Another Single Vineyard 'Grand Cru' Riesling from One of the Most Talented Young Winemakers in the Pfalz

It always takes me a few visits to get acclimated with a grower as the first visit they can be somewhat

shy. But for me, my favorite thing to do with a grower is the vineyard walk right before, during and slightly after the sun goes down. Usually if this scenario is playing out it means it is my last appointment of the day which means I am not in a rush to get anywhere. So anyway, sunset vineyard walks are great because I am never in a rush. I'm relaxed, the winemaker is relaxed and walls come down and insight is gathered. I had the right address for Sven Klundt, but I was one town farther than I needed to be, and some middle aged German guy was smoking a cigarette, having a grand old time laughing at me and my driver as we cold not figure out why the complex we were at was not a winery. Last time I saw Sven, it was dark, cold and rainy in February, and it was the first time I was at his winery so I didn't really remember what it looked like. Anyway, after he finished laughing at us, the cigarette smoking German man helped us figure out we were at the right address in the wrong town. We were fifteen minutes away, the sun was going down in 40 minutes and I was getting slightly anxious. We got to Sven's, he said hi, and I said, take me to the vineyard, and we went. First to Kastanienbusch, and then to the Steinweg which is near Godramstein, which next to Birkweil are the two villages that have the best vineyards in this area. It was a terrific vineyard walk and we saw many plots of Sven's and we chatted about many things. But much of it can't be repeated here as what is talked about in the vineyard stays in the vineyard. I got lots of great pictures, saw what a keen eye Sven has for his plots down to the grape and learned a lot. We then went to taste. I could really spend time with the wines when sometimes I don't spend as much time as I'd like with the wines. I found two wines that truly were outstanding with one being perhaps the greatest value in that category that I have come across.

First up today is the greatest Weissburgunder value I have come across in all my years as a Grau/Weiss wine geek. Weissburgunder aka Pinot Blanc is a big deal in Germany. It has classified vineyards just like Riesling and Pinot Noir and when in the right hands it can soar heights that only are reserved for Riesling and Pinot Noir. It also has many growers who oak the crap out of it for god knows what reason and destroy all the nuance and subtlety this wonderful expressive grape has to offer. This area, specifically, I find is one of the greatest areas for Weissburgunder in all of the Pfalz. I used to drink a ton of the Rebholz Im Sonnenschein Weissburgunder GG but then it became too expensive. Even when it was not expensive it was expensive. I sold the '04 for $60. Today I can offer the 2014 Sven Klundt Wacholderberg Weisserburgunder for $24.99 on the 4-pack. Make no mistake, this is GG quality Pinot Blanc for $25. This is a silly deal. Just silly. If Sven was in the VDP I'd have to sell this for $45 with my direct model and through 3 tiers one is looking at $50-$65 a bottle. The 2014 Wacholderberg is from 45 year old vines planted in limestone. Limestone and Pinot Blanc also works in other places very well, notably Burgundy, even though not much is made there. The exposition is SE and the vineyard is on the slope-toe of a concave mirror like basin which causes high daytime temperatures, but also very cool nights that make sure it has perfect ripeness and bracing acidity. The 2014 is just a beautiful bottle of wine. Hugely mineral nose with lovely crisp and clean green apple fruit. Really aromatic nose. The palate is all chalky/limestone infused stone fruits. What density! Insane inner mouth aromas! What depth! So long, so linear, so precise. In short this wine is amazing for its combination of tension between stone fruits, limestone and amazing acidity. A balancing act with terrific freshness and purity. It can't get better for $25. Maligned grape, not in VDP, great terroir, young winemaker and my direct model make this one of the most compelling deals of the year.

But it does not end there for the young genius Sven Klundt. He also has a new Riesling the 2014 Sven Klundt Riesling Steinweg, which can be had for as little as $27.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. The vineyard is near Godramstein and is called the Steinweg, which translates to "Stoneway", which as soon as you get to the vineyard, it becomes obvious why. There is so much white limestone in this vineyard it looks like shells on an endless beach of vines. The vines are an average of 34 years of age. It is remarkable and grand terroir, and from it comes this remarkable counterpoint to the great Kastanienbusch. If Kastanienbusch is tropical, baroque and spicey, Steinweg is stoney along with tropical but also there is a fascinating, unique smokey minerality that makes this wine so sedcutive. This also blew my mind for how high the quality is and how low the price is. GG style for $28. Sven Klundt is doing amazing things in this sleepy area of the Pfalz. This wine has majorly dense aromas, with tons of tropical fruit and herbs and that distinctive smokey minerality. The nose is just beyond. The palate is all minerals with a lovely smokey and mostly salty aftertaste. Terrific concentration and sap.  Obviously young now but this is an amazing wine with a great future.

2014 Sven Klundt Wacholderbderg Weisserburgunder - $26.99 

($99.96 4-pack)

2014 Sven Klundt Steinweg Riesling - $29.99 ($111.96 4-pack)