7 and 8 Year Old Pinot Noir, Direct from the Cellar - NSG/Vosne Cross - Why Is It Under $31?

Wine Production Costs About $1-2 a Bottle
 - Wine Costs More than That Mostly Because of  Vineyard Costs
 - No One Is Paying Any Attention to Mosel Pinot Noir Right Now
 - These Are Top 1er Cru Quality Wines 
 - From One of the Best Vineyards in the Mosel
 - But They Sell for $30.99 Because They Are off the Radar
 - A Historic Buying Opportunity for Pinot Noir Lovers

2012/2011 Spater-Veit Pinot Noir Reserve
 - NSG/Vosne Romanee Grit, Grip and Structure
  -Spice, Depth and Silk
 - The Elegance, Finesse and Head Spinning Aromas of Vosne-Romanee & Sultry Sweet Fruit
 - Ridiculous Floral and Fruity Nose
 - Ripe, Concentrated Yet Elegant, Fresh Palate
 - A New Top Wine (for Spater-Veit)
 - 24 Months On The Lees
 - Only Sold to Rich Germans and Me
 - Brand New Wine

2011 Spater-Veit Pinot Noir Reserve
- Vosne Romanee-like Nose: Gorgeous and Deep
- Wood Spice, Mulberry, Bright Deep Dark Cherries, Cardamon and Clove
- Devastating Purity
- Floral like Crazy
- Ripe Mid-Season Cherry Fruits, Some Cherry Flower
- Palate: a Dream You Don't Want to Wake up From
- Terrific Acidity with Super Precise Sweet Fruit

2012 Spater-Veit Pinot Noir Reserve
- More Depth Than the 2011
- NNose: Gorgeous Mulled Spices, Raspberry, Wood Shavings, Mid Season Ripe Cherries
- Palate: Incredible Sweetness and Depth
- Dazzlingly Pure and Persistent Finish
- So Elegant, and So Pretty
- Serious Concentration and Wonderfully Intense

I am selling both vintages because they are both awesome.

Before I get into today's offer I'd like to speak about the unexpected universal praise of the Spater-

Veit Pinot Noirs I get from all of you who have bought them. There is a bell that they ring that cannot be unrung. They occupy that special place between profound and delicious. They have a Burgundian way about them but remain firmly Mosel and firmly in the Red Riesling camp. At every quality level they overachieve. At first I did not know how the list would react to Mosel Pinot Noir as that is sweet/dry Riesling country. 

But then again, $ or so for a Grand Cru German Pinot Noir is really not that significant of a commitment. And I had a track record at that point with Enderle & Moll, Möbitz, one vintage of Jewel and Ziereisen. But still, Piesport Pinot? Were people ready for this. Yes they and you were. The wines have taken off and I'm super thrilled to offer a new wine and a rebranded QPR favorite. The quality these wines offer with age is remarkable. Both of today's wines are drinking out of their minds right now. The 12 is perhaps denser and a tiny bit younger but OMG the 11 is just in the zone now. I adore both.

I am selling the 2011 and 2012 Spater-Veit Pinot Noir Reserve for $30.99 a bottle on a 4-pack, which is a new Grand Cru wine. It is from the same vineyards as the P, which is Piesporter Falkenberg.

How do I describe this wine? If Josef Walter is more Cote de Beaune (Volnay, Corton, Maranges) and Enderle & Moll and Zieriesen are more of a Vosne-Romanee style then I have to say Spater-Veit is more of a Nuits-Saint-Georges / Vosne-Romanee style. But it's those Nuits vineyards that are next to Vosne-Romanee like Bousselots and Chaignots. The wines still have that NSG grit, grip and structure but they also have the elegance, finesse, sweetness and head spinning spicebox aromas of Vosne-Romanee. As they age they become more Chambolle-like. The 2008 and 2010s of other Grand Cru and 1er Cru cuvees I sold in the past are glorious now. But now these are in the zone and need to be tasted to be believed.

The 2011
The nose is damn near ridiculous and still one of my most memorable of my wine career. Complex with loads of spice and so layered and really jumps out of the glass. Just profound. 2012 and 2011 are great vintages for Pinot Noir in the Mosel and a bit cooler than say 15 and 10, but they are so refined and classy. Think 2014 Burgundy but with a Mosel twist.  The aromatics that Spater Veit brings to try table are incredible.

The 2011 is Stunning. Vosne Romanee-like nose. Just gorgeous and deep. Hint of wood spice, mulberry, bright deep dark cherries, cardamon and clove with devastating purity. Nose is so layered, and man is it pungent. Smells like it is just entering its drinking window.  Floral like crazy with a melange of fruits -  ripe mid season cherry fruits and some cherry flower. So mineral, so slatey, so pretty. A true drop everything and run and get this wine nose so you can smell It for days. Insane spice and so much layered nuance. Nutmeg, clove, Xmas, cardamon, just gorgeous spice.

Palate of the 2011 is a dream you don't want to wake up from. Sappy and pure with a hit of opulence and lovely fruit that is more skin than body. Incredible balance and purity with a step above lithe structure. Terrific sweetness and exquisite balance. Long lingering finish.  It has that Pinot lacey texture and impressive sweetness. This is gaining depth and sweetness as it opens. Brilliant. It's got terrific acidity with super precise sweet fruit and such linearity and freshness. So you have thick luscious fruit that is buoyed by some delicate poignant acids. The warmer vintages are very good for Pinot Noir in the Mosel as it's cold but the "normal" vintages, which would be warmer vintages 20-30 years ago are now just normal. In a cool vintage  30 years ago you'd have a difficult time ripening Pinot Noir in Piesport.  White pepper. Roses. But if it is this great now how will it be in 5-6-8 years? $is just bonkers.

The 2012
Wow the nose on the 2012 is insane. Wow the nose is stunning. More depth than the 2011but different and just as good. Gorgeous mulled spices, raspberry, wood shavings, mid season ripe cherries, so deep, hit of honey, so wafting and wonderful levels of insane spice.

Palate is just so, so impressive. Incredible sweetness and depth with exquisite purity and concentration. Amazingly clean and so lacey. Grippy, ripe and sweet tannins. Dazzlingly pure and persistent finish that has spice and fruit with a lovely hit of opulence on the finish that adds so much. Amazing wine. Will age longer than you will think. 15+ years. The palate after air on the 2012 is so elegant, and so pretty with terrific ripeness and is ultra juicy and precise. Those day yet sharp 2012 lines are there. The clarity is unreal.  Serious concentration and wonderfully intense. Stunning. Ripe beautiful tannins with a long and mineral finish. The slate is so apparent on this wine and the freshness is like Mosel Riesling. But man that sweet fruit. There is more of a density to this 2012. This is as nimble and delicate as Mosel Riesling and often shares the same characteristics  but is fully in decked out Pinot Noir clothing. Very juicy, stunning purity and clarity with just amazingly clean and deep fruit. Stunning. It has tannins and just a stunning structure that will ensure this baby lasts 15 more years. Easy. But will peak in 5-6.

The Reserve is from the great Piesporter Falkenberg which up until this point I only have had Stefan Steinmetz's Riesling from this site. It is a terrific site with absolutely rocking top notch terroir. It is a very high south facing vineyard with blue slate. Most of Spater-Veit's production is dry, off dry and sweet Riesling. This is almost a side passion project. Most of the Cru wines are released, minimum, 5 years after harvest. I have tasted some younger vintages and I have to agree that is a wise decision and luxury that they can afford to do it. It is also a huge boon for the consumer. For $30 just get this wine.


The idea is to match this with their two white wine "Reserves." One is Weissburgunder and one is Riesling. Both of those white wines lay on the lees for 18 months in a wooden barrel without sulfur. This wine, the 2014 Pinot Noir Reserve was on the lees for 24 months and without sulfur. Then bottled and left to rest. They use sulfur at bottling but as small amount as possible.

2011 Spater-Veit Pinot Noir Reserve - $32.99 ($123.96 4-pack)

 (*Including Tariff of $3.10) 

2012 Spater-Veit Pinot Noir Reserve - $32.99

 ($123.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $3.10)