The First Riesling Grosses Gewachs from the Celebrated Rings Brothers: You Are Going to Love the Saumagen!

Have you ever tasted a wine that was so delicious that you were challenged to write a tasting note?

"hints of peach..."

Damn this is good.

"Do I get some lemon peel?..."

Damn this is good.

Such are these wines.  Are they complex?  Yes.  Are they all that Grand Cru Wines should be?  Yes.
 But I challenge you to sit still and write a tasting note.  They are just so absolutely delicious that it's hard to really say much more that really adds to that. The overall balance of fruit, acidity, minerality, texture, aromatics, salinity and just some mystical stuff I can't even describe are so there in plenitude, clarity and balance that I can't even begin to try and describe these wines.  I can say that I was shaking my head at how good they were and I really hope that as many of you try them as possible.

The first wine is the first Grosses Gewachs/Grand Cru from the Rings Brothers (they just got into the VDP). The 2014 Weingut Rings Riesling Saumagen Grosses Gewachs which can be had for $39.99 on a 3-pack. This is one of my favorite sites in the Pfalz.  The Rings version brings a delicious and ageworthy interpretation of this great site. The nose of the 2014 Saumagen GG immediately let me know that they have arrived on the scene.  Gorgeous, super  floral, very defined minerals, loads of ripe and vivid peach and peach pit. Very layered, delicate and complex nose. I love this nose. Palate is oh so juicy, long, serene, zen and complex and very very deep.,

At the great VDP GG tasting in Wiesbaden this year the buzz in the room was that the 2014 Pfalz Rieslings as a whole were the most successful category at the tasting overall. After tasting the breathtaking 2014's of the Rings brothers I'd have to agree. They will be talking about this vintage in the Pfalz for generations. It is so money. These wines are so drinkable in this vintage. Silky and sexy yet with a deep mineral punch that finishes delightfully salty. The wines were just awesome and everything one wants from dry Pfalz Riesling. It is like the same qualitatively as 1998 and 2008 except it is not as packed, backwards and dense as those vintages. It is cheerful, vibrant, deep, ripe and dazzlingly pure. They were crystal-clear and yet wonderfully deep at the same time.

The Saumagen has tons of lime marl mixed in with tons of small limestones. South and south east facing these are in a nice cool climate which ensures a lengthy ripening. There is an unmistakable quality to Riesling grown in limestone that as I get older I find myself attracted to in the more southern localities in Germany. Wow this is beautiful stuff. The depth, purity and freshness is striking. The price is even more striking. One of the great 2014 GG's in my portfolio. Drinks like $65+!

Now I also have another treat as after I had tasted through all the 2014's, they offered to open a 2011 Weingut Rings Kallstadt Riesling Trocken for as little as $29.99 a bottle on a 4-pack as an example of a Rings Riesling with some age. They held a bunch of bottles back and waited till it was perfect to release it and it is indeed perfect now. They served this to me at the end of the tasting and it was gorgeous and just entering maturity. Lovely secondary aromas already of honey, petrol, confit like peach fruit and lovely mineral purity. This is lithe and elegant with such lovely pure flavors and balance. Pithy peach fruit on the palate with great acid/mineral tension to finish it off and more of a salty/nougat finish. So clean. This is drinking great now and a lovely example of a mature wine from Rings. I selected this as you don't see many mature wines at this level as there are all drunk up. Cheers to Andreas Rings for holding some back when it could have easily sold out.

One thing that I have always wanted in my portfolio was a VDP Pfalz producer of high quality dry Rieslings. Little did I know that I had it all along under my nose the whole time. How is that you say? That's because the great winery Rings in Freinsheim is now in the VDP starting with the 2014 vintage. When I started working with them they were not in the VDP, but I smelled and tasted unlimited potential. Many of you have sent me emails after tasting the great 2012/2013 Steinacker Rieslings, with their depth and above all their clarity and purity, and even above that, the amazing price. These are top top values through my model from a winery that is winning accolade after accolade in Germany for their reds and whites. Because they are so famous for their reds, winning multiple Berlin Cups (Martin Zwick's highly influential series of tastings of the top wines of Germany at his home in Berlin) the whites tend to get overlooked. Now that will change in the brilliant 2014 vintage. These are the best set of Rieslings yet from this young and dynamic duo. It was my first appointment at 10:00 AM so my palate was precise and focused. 10:00 AM is my favorite time to taste. If I dare say these Rieslings reminded me of the revered Nahe name, Helmut Donnhoff. Compact, deep and with a clarity that is so beguilingly clear/fresh and pure you are almost drinking an essence of Riesling.

2011 Rings Riesling Trocken Kallstadt - $32.99 ($119.96 4-pack) (LIMITED) 2014 Rings Riesling Saumagen GG - $42.99 ($119.97 3-pack) (LIMITED)