Francois Truffaut' "The 400 Blows" - An Offer a Decade in the Making - the Brilliantly Distinctive Pinot Noirs of Stefan Steinmetz

 The Style

 - Laser-Like Precision and Purity of Fruit

 - Amazing Depth

 - Terrific Energy to the Fruit

 - Crunchy, Explosive Tiny Berry Fruit

 - Very, Very Important German Pinot Noir Producer

2018 Günther Steinmetz Kestener Herrenberg Pinot Noir
 - Herrenberg - an Elite Site
 - 1er Cru Quality
 - Incredibly Deep Aromas
 - Super Dark Cherries and Vivid Cranberry

 - Wonderful Hint of Anise and Tree Bark
 - Palate: Cranberry, Cherry, Dark Cherries, Sour Cherries, Pinker Cherries and White Cherries
 - Sappy and Powerful
 - Elegant and Ethereal
 - Off the Charts Energy and Purity

2019 Günther Steinmetz "Alter Satz"
 - A Field Blend of Extinct Varieties
 - Like a Hypothetical Blend of Pinot Noir, 50s and 60s Bordeaux and Blaufrankish
 - Nose: Crazy

 - Wild Berries, Black Berries and Wild Strawberries, Black Cherries
 - Forest Soil, Wild Herbs, Wild Mint, Roses, Orange Roses
 - Terrific Complexity
 - Wild, So Distinct and Wonderful
 - Palate: Huge Core of Very Small Berries
 - Super Sappy Black Fruits
 - Fresh Gamey, Meaty Aspect
 - Massive Structure and Density
 - Old Time Bordeaux Vibe from the 50s/60s/70s

 - 92 Pts MFW for $23.99!

- "The wine delivers the beautifully silky and fruity structure of a Burgundy on the palate . . ."- Mosel Fine Wines

The "400 Blows"

When the history of the Renaissance of German Pinot Noir is written, one of the most important winemakers will be Stefan Steinmetz. Let me give you a little background. 

Francois Truffaut

Stefan was, for Fass Selections our Francois Truffaut. Francois Truffaut was famously a film critic for the legendary Cahiers du Cinema magazine before he became a world class filmmaker. Stefan is like our Truffaut in that he's always advised Fass Selections on German Pinot and is responsible for us getting two of our all star Pinot producers. Yes, he was making elite Pinot Noir but I couldn't sell it. He was working with other distributors. But now I can introduce the United States to the brilliance of Stefan's Pinot Noirs. Finally. 

The Long Waited Debut

The 400 Blows was Truffaut's debut film and is considered with Citizen Kane and The Seven Samurai, one of the greatest films of all time.  It is a defining film in the French New Wave which emerged in the 1950s and rejected the norms of standard filmmaking.  It was highly experimental with regard to editing, visual style and narrative and was highly focused on social issues.  "The 400 Blows" is semi-autobiographical and deals with the struggles of a troubled, misunderstood teenager.

This is Stefan's and Fass Selections' "The 400 Blows" moment.  After a decade of relying on Stefan as a critic, advisor and confidante.  We can finally sell his brilliant Pinot Noirs. 

The Style

Stefan is a brilliant winemaker.  

He may be an even better vineyard manager.

As a son of a great winemaker, he has been working the vineyards in the Mosel since he could walk.  He assimilated decades of wisdom from his father by the time he was 20.  Of course, he had a formal education in German wine school.  

His pinot noirs are similar in style to his rieslings.  There is just amazing energy and purity to the fruit with such beautiful site expression. The 18s are a breakout vintage as warm vintage/cool region is perfect for German Pinot Noir. His style is ultra refined and pure with laser-like precision and focus. Amazing depth and such fine and sweet tannins along with perfectly expressive ripe fruit that crunched and explodes with tiny berry fruit intensity. These are firmly in the Red Riesling camp. I've wanted to sell these wines for years and today I finally have the privilege. I also have an incredible red that is one of the most absurdly underpriced red wines I've ever sold from anywhere. 

The Wines

Up first is the 2018 Günther Steinmetz Kestener Herrenberg Pinot Noir for $32.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is the 1er Cru and this is where Germany really outdoes Burgundy. In the under $35 category of Pinot Noir Germany crushes Burgundy in the 3 tier system. Just a fact. Today's wine is a 1er Cru quality wine from an elite vineyard site that Stefan has made great. Kestner Herrenberg before Stefan Steinmetz is like the New England Patriots before Tom Brady. No one cared and it was a largely ignored site tended by mediocre winemakers but Stefan saw potential. This is what he does and this is why he is a genius. He finds these underrated and underutilized parcels and farms them correctly and then works his cellar magic. This 18 Kestener Herrenberg is a glorious bottle of Pinot Noir and the perfect wine to introduce you to the list. Of the 3 Pinots he makes the Herrenberg has the most complexity and finesse out of the gates.

The aromas are so layered, delicate and fine as soon as you pop and pour. You know you're In good hands. Nose has super dark cherries and super vivid cranberry. The clarity that Stefan gets on this is just incredible. Cranberry is last of season and the cherries are late season. Black raspberry as well. There is a superb forest aroma. Not just the floor but the leaves, the bark, the spores, the flowers, the whole forest as an aromatic ecosystem. There is also a very intense and deep wild mint note. Incredibly deep aromas. There is also a wonderful hint of anise and tree bark. It's so complex. In general I hate anise aromas but this is so different and unique. This is fine natural anise. 

The palate is stunning. It has ridiculous freshness and the initial attack of all that glorious ripe 2018 fruit is something to behold.  Cranberry, cherry and a mix of dark cherries , sour cherries, pinker cherries and white cherries assaults and engages your palate at the same time. Amazing big and ripe tannins that are velvety, sweet and substantial. Stefan used 50% stems in this wine and the structure shows. This will age gloriously. It has ridiculous energy and the precision of the red Riesling style. It's wide but ripe but also tight and compact.  German Pinot has a unique ability to be playful while also being super serious. Sappy and powerful but still remains elegant and ethereal. Gorgeous tannic structure that is ripe but too ripe. The avid is just amazing in 2018. All of Stefan's Pinots have terrific acidity in 2018.  Late harvesting vineyards like the Herrenberg gave huge acidity in 2018. Pinot Noir tends to concentrate acidity at the end of ripening process. Extract in 2018 is huge as is sweetness from the ripeness but this wine is super dry. Energy and purity just off the charts. There is such a fine hint of Earl Grey tea on the tongue. Endless complexity. 

The finish is unreal. It lasts and lasts while squeezing all that ripe fruit on a large yacht of tannin. Just a layered wave of black and red cherries with a sour cherry edge which adds to the energy already from the acids. This is so accessible as Stefan's wines drink so well young. This is from 22-32 year old vines and 2 different parcels and is all a French clone of Pinot which Stefan thinks contributes to the depth, length and complexity of this wine. 

Next up I've got a wacky, ridiculously underpriced wine that is as original and delicious as anything I've ever tasted. The 2019 Günther Steinmetz Alte Satz can be had for $23.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is as geeky as it gets. This wine is peak wine geek and so delicious you will not believe it is $23.99. The wine is a blend of Hartblau, Süßschwarz, Schwarzblauer, Affenthaler, Schwarzurban and Frankischer Burgunder. Talk about esoteric. This is a field blend that Stefan makes from cuttings from a nursery that reproduces old extinct varieties. Some guy found them in different places and many in the ruins of old castles. In medieval times this was a typical blend. The owner of the nursery wanted for some reason to make single wines from each grape but Stefan went the medieval route and I think that's the way to go. The wine is stunning. It's like a hypothetical blend of Pinot Noir, 50s and 60s Bordeaux and Blaufrankish. It's a dark wine but not black like Cahors and some parts of it are like Pinot Noir. It's really hard to explain. The 2019 is the debut vintage and Stefan charged way less then he should of because the wine is so out there. This drinks like a $40-$50 wine. 

The nose is crazy. Wild berries, black berries and wild strawberries abound. Black cherries. Forest soil. Wild herbs. Wild mint. Roses. Orange roses. Nose acts more like Bordeaux of yesteryear than like a Pinot. It's more aggressive. One can smell tannins. One can smell the terrific complexity on the nose. It is so wild, so distinct and just wonderful. You're smelling history. 

The palate has a huge tannic structure. Stefan used no stems. There are super sappy black fruits on the attack and it's a full bodied wine. It's low in alcohol but full in body. It's so heavy and full in the mouth. Only 12.5% alcohol. Huge core of very small berries. It's got and awesome tiny berry fruit intensity to it. These are all warmer climate varieties. More darker fruits plus there is a fresh gamey, meaty aspect like cutting open a fresh animal after a hunt. Lots of aspects of mature Bordeaux. This will easily age longer than 10 years. Stefan told me this wine surprises him every time he tastes it. He thought it was going to be easy drinking but it's got massive structure and density. Energy, freshness and very good acids. I mean the acidity is very strong. Not dominant but very present. Old time Bordeaux vibe from the 50s/60s/70s. Medium finish right now that will expand more with age. Tannins are more dominant at the moment. They are ripe. Very present but velvety and luscious. Bordeaux tannic structure and much Bordeaux like rather than Pinot but there is a Pinot vibe as well. Truly an exceptional and profound wine and will be an important part of the portfolio going forward. 

"The 2019er Alter Satz is a red wine made from a field blend of old grape varieties including Hartblau, Süssschwarz, Fränkischer Burgunder, Schwarzurban, and Schwarzblauer Affenthaler, which Stefan Steinmetz planted a few years ago to revive this old vineyard tradition in the Mosel. The wine was fermented and aged in a used Barrique from Burgundy for 12 months. This bright colored wine offers a fascinating nose of dark spices, juicy cherry, and fine spices much as one expects from a high-end Portugieser. The wine delivers the beautifully silky and fruity structure of a Burgundy on the palate and leaves a terrific feel of spices, ripe red berried fruits, and soy sauce. This debut vintage of this gorgeous red wine is a huge success! Now-2029. - 92 Points, Mosel Fine Wine

2018 Günther Steinmetz Kestener Herrenenberg Pinot Noir - $34.99 ($131.96 4-Pack) 

2019 Günther Steinmetz "Alter Satz" - $25.99 ($95.96 4-Pack)