Quadruple Value Threat: Brilliant but Unknown Producer, Region, Grape, Direct Purchase

Würrtemberg 
 - The Fourth Largest Wine Producing Regin in Germany
 - Relatively Unknown in the US
 - A Quadruple Value Threat (Lesser Known Producer, Lesser Known Region, German Pinots Are Underpriced and I Buy Direct from the Winery)

2017 Leon Gold Spätburgunder "Wanne"
 - Nose: White Chocolate, Red Cherries, Cassis, Spice, Game
 - An Almost Fixin/Gevrey 1er Cru character
 - Intense Tiny Berry Fruit
 - One of Our Most Structured and Deepest Pinots
 - Incredible Refinement
 - A Startling Juxtaposition of Epic Fruit and Epic Freshness
 - The BEST Spatburgunder You Are Not Drinking
 - If You Love Ziereisen, Enderle & Moll or Juwel, You NEED This. 

2018 Trollinger Alte Reben
 - Really Ridiculously Deep Fruit: 
 - Great Earthy Finish
 - Under $20 - A Wine You Can Drink Just for the Pure Pleasure
 - A Cult Following for Some of the Listers who Seek Variety
- With the Brilliance of the 2018 RED Wine Vintage in Germany This is a CASE BUY. 
 - Best Version Ever And It Is Not Close

Würtemberg: The Undiscovered Country
Würtemberg is a region that for some reason, has not gotten the level of love in the States as the Mosel, Rheinhessen, Pfalz or Baden.  It's actually the fourth largest region by area planted in Germany (just ahead of the Mosel).  And there are some established producers like the inimitable Rainer Schnaitmann.  But for some reason, the region is not top of mind for most Americans.  It's right next to the Northern part of Baden and due south of Franken.  So of course, I wanted a great producer because the less well known a region is, the better value the top producers are.

Leon Gold
And boy do I have a great producer.  Leon Gold is firmly up there with the top 10-15 producers of pinot noir in Germany.  I like all of his wines, but his pinot is really in a class by itself.  Most importantly for me, in addition to pure quality, is that he has a unique style that makes it a great wine to drink alongside my other great producers.  Leon is relatively young, with a young family and while his wines are great, based on my experience he's at the age where he can still get even better.  He's definitely a winemaker to watch.

What is the wine? It's the 2017 Leon Gold Spätburgunder Wanne for $45.99 a bottle on a 4-pack.  The Wanne is one of our most structured and deepest Pinots. It has seriousvdensity and always is more black fruited than red (think Morey St. Denis) but in 2017 there is a red fruit vibe that is unmistakable and compelling but it still has the cooling black dark fruit quality I love about this. It is also insanely fresh, has superb balance and sap and jaw dropping purity. It is a rousing  success and I don't need to tell you how great a bargain this is.  One client said it reminded him of Meo-Camuzet. This is THE Spatburgunder that is insane that no one really knows about.  This is an extraordinary bottle of wine that is like Gevrey 1er Cru but also has that nimbleness that makes German Pinot Noir so special. Red Riesling. This one also such a startling juxtaposition of epic fruit and epic freshness as well. It is a thrill a sip. This is insanely great.

It smells like great Galeyrand Gevrey. Stunning nose of white chocolate, red cherries, cassis, big red cherries, skoche of sweet oak, mint, spice, game and an almost Fixin/Gevrey 1er Cru character. Terrific soil tones. Wow. Sweet, silky and sappy with big structure but stunning purity. So so refined and elegant. Sappy, juicy and so complex with such pure fruit.

The fruit is of the tiny berry intensity style and has so much crunch, depth and sap it's almost too much. But yet this is all wrapped in finesse. Wow. Such fruit presence and purity. Deep and cuts a swath. Stunning. So long. So much cut and sweetness. Big sappy and dense with amazing purity and tiny berry intensity. Wonderful silky and sweet tannins that are so well defined. Amazing.  It finishes so stoney and earthy yet with so much fruit this really has a real sense of energy and sense of place. Long and chewy finish that stays and stays. Leon's brilliant winemaking skills show so splendidly in this masterpiece. I thought this was best at the 3 hour mark being (please decant) open and needs either 3-5 years and then will hang on for 10+. What a beauty.

The second wine is Trollinger in Pinot Noir clothing and it's Leon's terrific 2018 Trollinger Alte Reben for $19.99 on a 4-pack. 2018 is an insane vinatge in Wurrtemberg for the red grapes and Leon thinks it is as good as 2015 but deeper and more fruit. I don't doubt him. But I can say that his Trollinger has a bit of a cult following amongst Fass Selections clients and that is from the 15,16 and 2017. The 2018 is so much better. I have never had a better Trollinger. It is an absurd value in 2018. I couldn't believe it. It has that dark fruit character that the previous Pinot has albeit on a lighter frame. It has what can only be described as a purple-fruited nose. You know exactly what I mean. There is cassis and huge fruit. But it is so fresh. So mineral. But this is not a wine you wax poetic about the nose. You chill it got 25-30 minutes in the fridge and drink it too quickly. It's one the few wines I sell like this but man do I reach for it a lot. The only other type of wine I have in my cellar that is in the same family is Gamay and sometimes I am not in the mood for Gamay. It is the most easy wine to drink that I sell. There is such a unique spice on the nose and on the palate. It is deep, with such lively, deep and sweet fruit. Man is it sweet and dark. It is perfectly ripe with incredible acids and freshness. There is a pluminess as well but also has earth notes all over the finish. For how fruity the attack is the earthy finish catches you off guard in the best possible way. It's long and the dark fruits sit on your palate. This is an amazing bottle of inexpensive wine.


I sell fewer under $20 reds than any other category because most of them are terrible. Trollinger is a local varietal that is also known as Schiava in Italy which only the hardcore wine geeks know. Basically its a lighter red grape that is very common in Wurrtemberg and most of it is plonk. It's overcropped and cheap and much of it is drunk locally. It can have really big tannins for being so light in color. It's in the category of grapes that are strange and abused in Germany yet there are a few intrepid souls that lift it above plonk into a work of art. Muller-Thurgau and Dornfelder fit in this category. As does Trollinger. It has been planted in Wurrtemberg since at least the 8th century after originating in Italy. 1/3 of Wurrtemberg is planted to Trollinger but most of it is forgettable. You need serious skills to make a good one and in my experience old vines help Trollinger more than a lot of other grapes. Obviously old vines are better in general but young vines can be good as well. With Trollinger the old vines are almost the only way to go. Young vine Trollinger can be brutal. But when you find that one bottling of that used and abused grape (I mean overcropped with high yields, the vineyards look like jungles for some of these high yielding Muller-Thurgau and Trollinger vineyards) it is a vinous epiphany like no other.

017 Leon Gold Spatburgunder "Wanne" - $47.99 ($183.96 4-pack) 

 (*Including tariff of $5.09)

2018 Leon Gold Trollinger "Alte Reben" - $21.99 

($79.96 4-pack, $215.88 12 bottle case {$17.99}) 

 (Including Tariff of $1.39)