- According to the "Edward Gibbon of Riesling," One of the Greatest Rieslings He Has Ever Had
- The Platonic Ideal of Minerality
- An Absolute Reference Point Wine
- You Only Get This in the Pfalz in a Great Year, a Great Vineyard and from a Great Winemaker
- Un Reviewed, Under-appreciated, Massively Underpriced
- 2018 Is the Best Vintage Since the Now Legendary 2013
- Nose: A Finely Grained Mineral Explosion
- Fine Citrus Perfume
- I'd Put This Nose Up Against Any Chablis You Can Find
- Palate: Strength, Power, Elegance, Finesse
- A Superlative Mineral and Structural Density to the 2018
- Palate Coating Minerality
- (Yes There Is Wonderfully Dense, Citrus Fruit, But That Is Not the Point)
- From One of the Great Vineyards in Germany (Rebholz's Version Through 3 Tier Is $70+)
- A Wine That Will Evolve, Improve, Define for Decades
- The 2013 Placed #7 in a Top Wine of Germany Blind Tasting
- Special Case Pricing of $29.99
Before I get into the important history of this wine, I want to lay this out briefly. This is a reference point wine for mineral style wines. I would put this above virtually any Chablis for mineral density and purity.
- The Pfalz is known for mineral wines
- Kastanienbusch is one of the great vineyards of Europe and is renowned for making intense and densely mineral wines.
- 2018 is a fantastic year in the Pflaz for white wines.
This wine will age for decades and it's a wine that you will want to stock up on and enjoy for many years.
Oh, and please ignore the price - I get this direct so it's very inexpensive and the German wine classification system is inane (please see the box) so this wine is underpriced by at least 50%.
Sven Klundt, Rebholz, Martin Zwick and Fass Selections
First, let's go back to 2014. Martin Zwick is a well respected German Riesling lover and he had an annual blind tasting of the top Rieslings in Germany. And somehow, Sven Klundt, who was a
The Idiocy of German Wine Marketing
So say what you want about the French - they know how their bread is buttered. They know that one of the things that they are great at is wine. And they have that down pat. The monks demarcated every vine in every vineyard centuries ago. And these demarcations are mostly accurate. A Grand Cru wine is a Grand Cru wine. A Premier Cru is a Premier Cru. We all know what to expect.They've done a spectacular job of explaining to people which wines are good and bad so it's easy for the consumer.
The Germans....not so much.
Aside from the fact that the Germans have repeatedly changed their classification systems over the past 30 years, there is no accepted list of the top vineyards. Believe it or not, the top vineyards "Grosses Gewachs" are denoted by a trade organization (the VDP) that you have to pay to join. So if you do not pay to join the VDP, you don't get to call your wine "Grosses Gewachs" which means that you get much less money per bottle for it.
So this means that there are a goodly number of smaller producers who can't afford to join the VDP that are selling Grand Cru/Grosses Gewachs wines for almost nothing.
But for Germany, this was basically the equivalent of some college quarterback from AA beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
So I heard about this and drove over to the Pflaz and tasted with young Sven. The wine was, as expected, a miracle. A perfect example of Pflaz Riesling. It's been a staple of our portfolio ever since.
The 2018 Vintage
Have you had 2013 Sven Klundt Kastanienbusch Riesling yet? Some of you have but most of you have not. I sold it in 2014. The list is much bigger now but people who were on the list back then who are enjoying their 2013 Kastanienbusch are having their minds blown. Totally blown away. The "Edward Gibbon of Riesling" just emailed me the other week with a picture of the 2013 and "INSANE" in the body of the e-mail. This dude knows his Riesling like nobody I've ever met. It's a high high compliment that he loves the 2013. But even he wishes he has more. And he thinks that the 2018 is his chance. 2018 is a clone of the legendary 2013 but might even be better. We will only know down the road.
The Wine
This remains one of the single most electrifying bargains in the entire book and the 2018 Sven Klundt Riesling Kastanienbusch for $30.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is just an insane deal. Even more insane is the special $29.99 Case Price. The 2018 is the best since the legendary 2013. I really really love 2018 and tasted around 30-40 wines recently and the vintage is truly stunning. Dense and mineral with stunning textures and freshness. There is terrific intense acidity but also a wonderful mineral freshness that puts these wines on another level. They evolve open for days. The Klundt was still going so strong on day 3. It closed on day 2, which tells me it will last decades.
Let's dive into this wine.
The Nose: As soon as I opened this it was stunning and wide open. Just incredible. Picture taking finely grained minerals and blasting them into your nose with aerated citrus peels. It's simply an explosion of dense minerality - the absolute Platonic ideal of minerality that you only get in the Pflaz in great years by great producers. There was also an incredible rainwater quality to the nose that just soared from the glass. It smells like nature. Like a vineyard. So, so floral. White flowers. So fresh. Floral, spicey with loads of peach skin as well. Deep penetrating aromas of insane complex Pfalz love. Wow. What a high toned nose. So much peach, peach pit, citrus that is superbly clean and pure. Iodine-like minerality. Citrus zest. Lime zest. Huge pitted stone fruits, potpourri, herbs and vivid minerality. A hint of honey and more defined florals develop with air. Great Pfalz dry Riesling is unlike that from other regions in Germany. And Klundt's style perfectly expresses it. The minerality is so insane, the word minerality does not suffice to describe it. This is simply as gorgeous a nose as you can find for this style of wine.
The Palate: The palate is hard to describe. It has such strength and power yet top levels of elegance and finesse. There is a precision and the density in the 2018 that raises the bar. There is a brilliant roundness that I only find in the best white wines yet it remains energetic, dense, high toned and super linear which is what one wants from an electric dry Riesling. Yes, there is also a huge backbone of dynamic fresh and very vivid fruit as well but even that has insane refinement. Incredible tension and structure. Super intense and bright palate, what a powerhouse, it is so packed. Pure. High toned. Explosion of tropical fruits. Massive structure, the cleanliness of this wine is stunning. What a finish of complex rock candy. Sweet saline. Citrus. Mineral sweetness. Lime blossom. Just a massive wine with huge extract, huge structure, huge texture, huge acids. Dramatic and coiled. Balanced, clean and elegant. Nice acid wash at the end. Cleans your palate. The minerality just coats the palate in an almost savory manner like few wines in the world. Almost a wall of flavor wine. There is a an herbal presence in this wine that I only find in German Riesling from great vintages. In a word, this is a stunning effort that will age 15+ years no problem.
2018 Sven Klundt Riesling Trocken Kastanienbusch - $32.99 ($123.96 4-pack, $359.88 12 bottle Case {$29.99}) (*Including Tariff of $3.01)
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