The Grand Cru Vineyard Making 2 of the Most Cerebral Wines in Germany: Pinot Noir and Riesling from Battenfeld Spanier

2018 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck Riesling Grosses Gewachs
- Nose: Deep and so Much Aromatic Flavor
- Rich Minerals, Smoked Slate
- Palate: A Rotating Mineral Toothbrush
- Audrey Hepburn Elegance like Expensive White Burgundy
- Lanolin, Melon and So Much Complexity
- Precise, Insanely Fresh and So, So Refined
- Super Mineral and Opulent
- 17.5 Jancis Robinson Which Is Very Good

2017 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck Spätburgunder
- Joyous, Deep, Complex, Fresh and Insanely Invigorating
- Unreal Nose. Spicy Cherries, Sour Cherries, Mid Season Cherries,
- Hint of Cassis, Loads of Earth, Mineral and Limestone
- Palate: Gorgeous Elegant and Ethereal Tiny Berry Fruit
- Energetic, Elegant, Pure, Stunning Balance and Depth
- Classic Red Riesling
- 18.0 Jancis Robinson Which Is Incredible

The wines from Kirchenstuck have had quite an evolution. When I first offered the whites, they were the geekiest of the 3 Grosses Gewachs.  The red (which I sold twice) was somewhat fruit forward.

Boy have things changed.

The white is still fascinating but it's much more dense and well rounded than when I first sold it. It went from being the last GG to sell out to the first.

The Spatburgunder has gone from fruit forward to full on red riesling.  It's a wow wine.

Kirchenstuck always had the ability to produce fascinating, top end wines. It just took a while for H.O. to hone in on how to do it year in and year out. He's the only winemaker making top end wines in the vineyard so it took him a few years. But now it joins the list of dual threat vineyards (red and white).

To name a few:
 - Laurent Boussey's Monthelie 1er Cru Les Champs Fulliots
 - Comte de Vogue's Musigny Grand Cru Pinot Noir and a Musigny Grand Cru Chardonnnay.
 - Sven Klundt's Pinot Noir and Riesling from the great Kastanienbusch

The 2018 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck Riesling Grosses Gewachs for $54.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is an extraordinary value and one of the best GGs I've ever sold. The trio of Riesling GG's from Battenfeld Spanier will go down in history like the 01 Donnhoff Spatlesen or the 2012 Herve Murat Burgundies. Or the 02 Willi Schaefer Auslesen. Legendary wines. All of them. The depth and complexity of the Battenfeld GGs in 2018 is unreal.  It is the best vintage ever for these wines. 18s from Battenfeld are just insane.

Yeasty and intense nose. So deep and so much aromatic flavor. Intense herbals and so, so deep. Earth. Rich minerals. Some smoked slate.  Deep ocean like. The most perfect raw honey ever. Ocean air. Amazing. New nuances every 30 seconds. It's got lanolin, melon and just so much complexity it can't be called stable as it's always changing. What a nose. 9.6 on Delectable off the bat for the nose.

Palate is dense but so lithe and has amazing inner mouth aromas where the minerality just guts your

mouth. So precise, insanely fresh and so, so refined. Has that playful Kirchenstuck quality but is also so much more serious since it turned a corner after 12 and 13. It's so juicy and the length is just insane. So pure. So clean. So long. This is regal and aristocratic. The young prince has grown up to be a King! Extraordinary mid palate and then squeezes so much juicy fruit on finish. Then the minerality then cleans it all up. A magnificent wine. Stunning. On Day 2 as good if not better!  Super mineral. Opulent. Honey. Honey flower, other flowers, caramel, so so so good. Palate is amazingly precise  so so juicy and just swimming with minerals. Hit of honey and freshness just is so good with the perfect amount of sap. So long, so popping and so pure. Grand Cru all the way.  The is so balanced and so pure it's crazy. Wow. This also got an 17.5 from Jancis Robinson which is very rare air. Below is the review.

"Gentle on the nose with yellow fruit and a subtle hint of herbs. On the palate the fruit of nectarine and peach is juicy, with fair acidity and generous texture contributing to a harmonious performance. A sprinkling of dried herbs completes a Grosses Gewächs with ample curves." 17.5, Jancis Robinson

Now we have one of the most elite, classy, refined and over the top delicious Spätburgunder GG's I've ever had. The 2017 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck Spätburgunder for $57.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is just bonkers. I have not been more surprised over a wine in years. This blew me away and is so Red Riesling it's uncanny.  Unreal wine. Best Battenfeld Pinot GG ever.

Unreal nose. Spicy cherries, sour cherries, mid season cherries, hint of cassis and loads of earth, mineral and limestone. Smells like Red Riesling in a way that almost defines the Red Riesling style. Palate is just gorgeous and so delicious I could not stop drinking this wine. So, so, so red Riesling. Gorgeous sweet cherry fruit. Caressing. The palate is spacious and also squeezes gorgeous elegant and ethereal tiny berry fruit. Mid season cherries galore. Energetic and pure, with stunning balance and depth. So so elegant and clean. Amazing mouthfeel and the most elegant and refined tannins I've maybe ever had in a Spätburgunder GG. What a finish. Concentrated and deep with lovely ripe cherry skins lingering on the finish. Just awesome. A masterpiece. After 1 hour this is incredible. Super elegant. Very high qualify stuff. On day 2 it is even better.  Smells like GG Riesling with a Pinot kick. Mid season cherries, sappy sweet fruit, forest. Super earthen cherries. Woodland berries and spice.  Blasted cherries on the ground. Complex and nuanced. Unreal palate. Like Riesling of Pinot Noir. Elegant, so so so elegant and so so deep. Amazing tannins. Some of the best tannins on german Pinot I've ever had. Velvety, spreading tannins. Impeccable balance.  It also got a massive 18.0 from Jancis Robinson.


"The fragrance of cherries and blackcurrant blossom makes a hedonistic promise, which the palate keeps with plenty of juicy fruit and a dash of cassis. At the same time tannins are still quite prominent, as are the roasted notes of barrique ageing. A compact substance indicates plenty of potential, which will need some time to unfold." 18.0 Jancis Robinson 

2018 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck Riesling GG - $56.99 ($219.96 4-pack) (VERY LIMITED) (*Including tariff of $6.38)

2017 Battenfeld Spanier Kirchenstuck Spatburgunder GG - $59.99 ($231.96 4-pack) (VERY LIMITED) (*Including tariff of $6.80)

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