- Keller-Like Precision and Density
- Gorgeous Fruit Presence, Just this Side of Ripe
- Remarkable Denisty and Concentration Like a Coiled Fist
- Crystalline, Sparkling Minerality
- Balanced, Integrated Richness
- Very Linear with Terrific Clarity
- Precise Minerality
- Utterly Striking
- These Wines Could be Among the Best in Germany with 5 Years of Age
- As Close to Burgundy As You'll Get in Germany
Next to Enderle & Moll Liason, Our Most Popular German Pinot
2018 Juwel Alsheim Spatburgunder
- Cranberry, Pomegranate, Bing Cherries, Glorious Spice
- That Keller Clean, Preceise Elegance
- Freshness, Drive and Energy
- With Air, Bouquet is an Overflow of Raspberry and Other Berry Fruits
- Palate: Red Riesling Minerality
- Terrific Fruit "Sweetness"
- Incredible Balance
- This Is Going to Get More Allocated and More Expensive Over Time
In the 7+ year history of Fass Selections I've never had the overwhelming positive response that I've had for the wines of Julianne Eller and her eponymous Juwel winery. It seems every other day another email comes in thanking me for finding her wines and bringing them in. What's even more crazy is the wine that I least thought would become a hit has become a huge hit, which is her Spagtburgunder, which is about as honest and authentic a wine I've ever sold. It made everyone happy across the spectrum of my clientele. From the casual wine drinker to the über serious wine geek.
Eller's Mentor: the Legendary Klaus Peter Keller
There are many mentors and even more proteges in the wine world. But there are few who have risen so far so quickly as Julienne Eller. We all know her mentor, Klaus Peter Keller, who has single handledly shattered the "price ceiling" for German wines with his $1,500+ G-Max. Keller is, I think,
The Eller Style
Julienne Eller's wines have all of the Keller precision but they have more of Julianne's intensely mineral style with just gorgeous fruit presence just this side of ripe. Her wines shimmer with delicacy but also have super Fassy acidity and freshness. There is also an underlying intensity as well, like a coiled fist.
Her wines shimmer with delicacy but also have super Fassy acidity, minerality and freshness. The wines are stylish and have beautiful harmony and depth. Class in a glass. Julianne is so talented that I am lucky to have her and every bottle is a gift to the vinous world. I won't have enough to satisfy demand but hopefully I will. I want as many people as possible to experience these wines but they are limited.
The Wine
Today I have the 2018 Juwel Alsheim Spatburgunder for $34.99 per bottle on a 4-pack. This wine is arguably, next to Enderle & Moll Liason, our most popular German Pinot Noir. This has all that the '17 has and it even more refined as Julianne refined her style. 2018 is a very strong vintage in the Rheinhessen for Spatburgunder. 2015 is great and very comparable to 18 but 18 is more fresh. The 2018 is, and I hate this term, Burgundian to the max.
Gorgeous, subtle and super pure nose. Cranberry, pomegranate, so clean, bing cherries that are so so bright. Glorious spice. So so glorious. Like a feather it is just the purest, sweetest, most elegant, nimble like Red Rieslingesque Spätburgunder I've ever had from Jewel. Amazing freshness, drive and energy and also a firm mineral backbone and core. So delicate and nimble. Wonderful purity. The mineral red fruited sweetness is gorgeous. Tannins are delicate but there. I see this aging very well for 6-8 years. Gorgeous wine.
After some air the bouquet is an overflow of raspberry and other berry fruits. Floral as well but more like a big bowl of berries picked as fresh as can be, but under that is a pile of wet soil and leaves. It gets so defined as it aerates. Maybe even some mashed flowers. It has a stunning noble perfume. Just stunning and noble aromas but also effusive, easy and inviting.
On the palate, there is structure and acid and so much clean fruit as this is Pinot Noir and it's 2018, which is like 16 turbocharged! Gorgeous, gorgeous wine with amazing depth. Such incredible razor sharp minerality for a red wine. The fruit is at once sweet and earthy and so textured you can get lost in the midpalate. Really incredible texture. And this is pure, mid-season brambly blackberry / raspberry fruit that just crunches in your mouth with such deliciousness, focus, freshness and intensity.
The freshness is something that runs throughout all of Julianne's wines. The mentoring and influence of Klaus-Peter Keller hovers throughout yet without sacrificing her individual style. It has a medium body feel to it in the mouth but is still nimble and most importantly it had the transparency her beautiful Rieslings have. Silky and tense yet inviting, this is a wine that is impossible to hate and easy to like, and easier to love.
2018 Juwel Alsheim Spatburgnder - $36.99 ($139.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $3.59)
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