- Blind, They Would Grade Out As Grand Cru
2018 Weltner Rödelseer Kuchenmeister Sylvaner Trocken Erste Lage
- Composed Like a *** Michelin Dish
- Unbelievable This Is Not His Top Bottling
- An Absolute Wow Wine
- Transportative Aromas
- Amazing Depth and Precision
- Lime Zest, Lime Pith, Airy, Mineral, White Pepper
- Calming and Zen-Like
- Palate - Unbelievable Refinement
- Concentrated and Deep
- Remarkable for its Purity, Poise and Precision
- Mineral Wall of Flavor on the Finish
2018 Weltner Rödelseer Schweinlete Sylvaner Trocken"Alte Reben"Erste Lage
- What Sylvaner is all About and Should Aspire to
- More of a Brilliant but Wild Child Than the Kuchenmeister
- The Artsy Cousin
- Heaven on the Nose
- Candied Liquid Minerals
- Salty, a hit of Weltner Opulence
- More Aromatic than Kuchenmeister
- Insane Inner Mouth Aromas
- A Wild Feral Character
- So Clean, Pure and Deep
- An Utterly Unique Drinking Experience
- The Structure to Age for up to 10-15 Years
Mary Cassatt
When you think of famous impressionist painters, the names that first come to mind are Matisee, Monet and Degas. These are the names that we learn about in school and the ones that take up the class A real estate in museums. But people who really know are on an entirely other group of artists as well. And one of them is the American painter Mary Cassatt. Cassatt is not exactly an unknown as her paintings have sold for up to $4 million. But she is less famous than the best known French painters. She had a long professional relationship with Degas and her works displayed women in a new light. As intelligent, educated, productive individuals (this was during the era when suffrage was being debated). There is a serene beauty in her work and she managed to capture just enough about her subjects to make them crystal clear but not one stroke more.
I compare Weltner to her because even though I feel that he is a top 15 white winemaker in Germany, his wines are still relatively unappreciated. Maybe this is because he is most well known for his
In any case, Weltner's wines are incredible. Even his 1er Cru wines taste like Grand Cru wines. And his work with Sylvaner is ground breaking. It's Riesling's less popular cousin, but it shouldn't be. This is another crazy value because of Paul being less known. It's why the winemakers and real geeks on the list stock up on them.
The Craziest Thing I Ever Said
Every time I offer a Paul Weltner wine it makes me reminisce. Why? Because one of Paul's wines was the spark that lit the match that started Fass Selections. It was 2011 I think. Maybe 2010. I was in Germany and having dinner with Sebastian Fürst in Bürgstadt, Josef Walter's village. Sebastien pulled out a white to start and it was a Scheurebe from Weltner. I had it and was blown away. I had only heard of Hans Wirsching and Schmitt Kinder from Franconia at the time and I only remember Wirsching making Scheurebe. The wine blew me away and Sebastian could tell and said, "Lyle, why don't you import it"? I said, "Nah, I couldn't pull it off, you only know this wine because you live here and Paul is your friend." Then I said the stupidest thing I've ever said.
"Sebastian, All great winemakers are already out there and exist. I couldn't find anyone new or interesting. There's no new great estates. They all are already imported."
That was nine or ten years ago and I think it's crazy that I thought that way. I had zero confidence in my ability to find great, new and unheard of wines. But now as I work with my 7th vintage of Paul Weltner wines, it was his winery that inspired Fass Selections. Even though I decided only in 2012 to open the company, I could because I had a great new winery. And boy is Paul great.
Paul Weltner
There are many winemakers that are genius' but there is only one Paul Weltner making the wine that he is making. This is the 7th vintage I have worked with this mad genius and his wines get better and better. I've gotten so many emails from seasoned wine drinkers that are just blown away by the high quality and distinctiveness of Paul's wines. Paul is one of the few winemakers that people actually send me emails thanking me for bringing these wines into their life as they had no idea they were missing. From Schuerebe to Silvaner to Riesling every bottling is a masterpiece. He pushes himself harder andharder in the vineyard and does not rest on his success or laurels. He is a top 10 producer in Germany. Easy. He's in Franken so his wines remain affordable. He has in his wines what I like to call the wall of flavor. Roulot has it. Schafer-Frohlich has it. Battenfeld Spanier has it. And Paul Weltner has it in spades. It's a combo of fruit, minerals and acid that just assault your palate like a wall crashing down. Add Paul's unique and distinctive opulence and you have wines that literally takes ones breath away. Today I have his 1er Cru wines aka Ortsweine. The value here cannot be overstated. Paul is very happy with his 2018 vintage. There is more acid than 17, same amount of finesse and elegance and full bodied with stunning balance and juiciness.. Paul is very excited about the ageability of these. To quote Paul when I asked him to send me a blurb on both of the wines. He sent me the below.
The 2018s at Weltner
"Both wines bombing this year." (that means the bomb in German-English).
So that's promising and I have to agree with him.
These are 2 totally different but brilliant wines. Both amazing, but polar opposites.
- The first is like a beautifully composed appetizer at a Michelin *** restaurant.
- The second wine is more of a brilliant but wild child.
Up first is the 2018 Paul Weltner Rödelseer Kuchenmeister Sylvaner Trocken Erste Lage for
The aromas of these wines transport me. Just like a field. Heavenly. Amazing depth and precision. So refined. Silky this is under $30. Lime zest, lime pith, airy, mineral, calming and zen-like. White pepper. As it opens the wine's aromas become confectionary. Electric acids. Not over the top acids but perfect acids. Gets it to a bit beyond lean. So good.
Palate is god-level. So juicy and clean. Unbelievable refinement. Structured, balanced and so so juicy. Concentrated and deep with spring mineral favors and fresh vegetable flavors. But only the best ones like fiddlehead ferns, bok choy and others of that ilk. The finish is long. Wow. Longer than it should be. This is remarkable for its purity, poise and precision as this bottling always is. Mineral wall of flavor on the finish. Just divine wine.
On Day 2, as is the case with Weltner it was even better. Stunning nose. Mint, wafting minerals, airy and tons of rocks. Rock droplets. Palate is so juicy and clean. So refined,cooling and long. Opulence and minerality. Like a laser of Sylvaner. Such a long finish. This is a wine anybody can love. I wish people would drink Sylvaner rather than mediocre Chardonnay.
I also have the 2018 Paul Weltner Rödelseer Schwainleite Sylvaner "Alte Reben" Erste Lage which for me is one of his signature wines, for as little as $27.99 on a 4-pack. It is what he is all about. Heck, one could say that this is what Sylvaner is all about and should aspire to. If you like white wine, do NOT miss this wine. It is completely outrageous and absolutely trounces every Sylvaner on the market at this price point and 20% higher! I adore this wine and never have enough. I want to open it for anybody and everybody. The vineyards are around 20 years older than the wonderful Kuchenmesiter Sylvaner. The Kuchenmeister is more compact and finesse driven and I love it but the Schwainlate is brilliant in a novel way. It has complexity to burn.
Heaven on the nose. Always this bottling slays me. Wet stone drops. Candied liquid minerals. So pure. So deep. Floral. Some kumqwat.
Palate is superb and so deep with intense sweet lime minerality on the finish. So salty, also with that hit of Weltner opulence. Awesome length. Just so well made and juicy. There is a theme of spring mints as well that just echoes and is hinted at. Gorgeous. Super concentrated and so fresh. Insane inner mouth aromas. So long. The electricity and the acid balanced is unreal. Wow. This is a smoking young Schweinleite. Just epic. So many flavors and textures and a bit of jagged minerality that bounces all around your mouth. The Schwainlate is incredibly crisp with remarkable length. and depth. It has that full-bodied 2018 fruit and the length is just incredible. It has a wild feral character to it all the while being so clean, pure and deep. The texture on this wine is crazy. It has so much of an herbal character as well with intense minerality from the deep Keuper soils. This wine is more aromatic than Kuchenmeister which holds its aromas in reserve due to the soils being different. If you think that you know what Sylvaner can achieve, just throw out all of those preconceptions. The wine is just a unique drinking experience - I've never had any Sylvaner like it and the second best doesn't even compare. This wine has the structure to age for up to 10-15 years. Day 2 it was even better.
The Wall of Flavor
These wines are also, perhaps the "Fassiest" wines in this portfolio. They have very good acidity, amazing intensity (these are not light whites), huge dry extract, massive minerality, stunning purity, epic textures and are faithful to respective sites. In short, the Wall of Flavor: when you drink them your palate is assaulted by a moving wall of fruit, minerality and aromatics that won't quit and lasts 30-45 seconds after you swallow.
2018 Paul Weltner Rödelseer Kuchenmeister Sylvaner Trocken Erste Lage - $29.99 ($111.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $2.58)
2018 Paul Weltner Rödelseer Schwainleite Sylvaner "Alte Reben" Erste Lage $29.99 ($111.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $2.58)
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