Schafer-Frohlich is a star in the Nahe, making some of the most coveted dry Riesling in Germany. Family owned and growing winegrapes for over 200 years, this is an essential estate with limited availability in the USA.
Powerful, mineral-drenched and resolutely bright, these are some of the finest white wines in the world, at a fraction of the price of their peers in Burgundy or Alsace. As a result, allocations are tiny: Michelin-starred restaurants fight over them and European collectors stash as many in their cellars as possible. The estate was brought to the attention of the American importer Rudi Wiest by none other than Helmut Dönnhoff.
Current winemaker Tim Frohlich took over his family’s estate at the impressive age of 19 in the mid-1990s. The estate was invited into the VDP consortium in 2001. He became the youngest person in the history of Germany to be named the winemaker of the year by Gault-Millau in 2010.
They have continued to impress and amaze, winning award after award for the quality of their wines. Tim’s goal for his wines is to exemplify finesse, elegance and the character of the site where the grapes were grown. Their holdings encompass 47 acres in 6 different GG areas, making their quality consistently high across their portfolio.
We have stellar pricing across the board, including on the hard-to-find GG wines, which are the pinnacle of the Schafer-Frohlich lineup.
“…even the dry village/terroir wines are gorgeous here and have more expression than many German GG Rieslings. The Felseneck GG is probably one of the finest dry Rieslings produced in Germany so far. I can hardly think of more precision, finesse and elegance in dry Nahe Rieslings.” -Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
10% off any 9 or more in-stock Schafer-Frohlich wines
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Discount ends Saturday, February 3rd at 9 am Pacific
In Stock and On Sale Now from Schafer-Frohlich:
Schafer-Frohlich Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $26, that’s $24.70 at 5% off and $23.40 at 10% off, 7 bottles in stock now
Stuart Pigott (JamesSucking) 92 points “A seriously racy and minerally dry riesling that has serious depth at the long, sleek finish, where it achieves lift off! Drink now.”
David Schildknecht-Vinous 91 points “Here is one of those Nahe Rieslings from a vintage that leads with unusually Chablis-like animal and mineral elements. Saffron and sea breeze mingle with lemon rind, struck flint and chicken stock on the nose as well as on a polished, infectiously juicy palate, where an influx of ripe white peach serves for succulence and the piquancy of peach kernel and lemon pip for further counterpoint. The buoyant finish – by no means for the first time in a Schäfer-Fröhlich Gutsriesling – gets a remarkable purchase on the salivary glands while both enthralling and refreshing the lucky consumer. In its own way, arguably, this wine testifies as vividly to the value of Bockenau terroir as do Schäfer-Fröhlich’s two Grosse Gewächse from his home village, because nowadays this entry-level offering labors under the handicap of being sourced almost entirely from very young vines. Yes, the “Vulkangestein” and “Schiefergestein” bottlings that serve as the estate’s middle-tier dry Rieslings are more overtly concentrated. But in vintage 2017, they aren’t more complex than this ostensibly lesser sibling, and lack its sheer charm, buoyancy and infectious drinkability.”
Schafer-Frohlich Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2018 750ml Displayed Price: $26, that’s $24.70 at 5% off and $23.40 at 10% off, 22 bottles in stock now
John Gilman 90+ points “The 2018 Estate Riesling Trocken is also an excellent bargain from Tim Fröhlich this year. The wine is twelve percent in alcohol and carries an impressive 8.5 grams of acidity this year, with all of the fruit for this bottling hailing from volcanic soils. The bouquet is beautifully expressive out of the blocks, offering up scents of lemon, tart orange, wild yeasts, an excellent mineral underpinning, white flowers and citrus zest. On the palate the wine is pure, elegant and medium-full, with lovely focus and grip, outstanding cut and grip and a long, complex and dancing finish. A stunning value this year! 2019-2040+.”
“Schiefergestein comes from vineyards of slate in Bockenau and Monger as well as younger vines from the grand cru of Felseneck, planted to soils of blue Devonian slate, basalt and quartz.” -Importer note
Schafer-Frohlich ‘Schiefergestein’ Bockenauer Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2020 750ml Displayed Price: $38, that’s $36.10 at 5% off and $34.20 at 10% off, 30 bottles in stock now
Stuart Pigott (JamesSucking) 95 points “Forget what you heard about this vintage in Germany, here is a very exciting exception. What a mysterious dry riesling this is, the complex nose of fresh sage, anise and flint pulling you into the staggeringly focused, mineral palate. Dangerously energetic at the explosive wet-stone finish. From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification. Drink or hold. (8/8/22)”
Now it’s even lower!
The next best price is $47.99
“Vulkangestein consists of vines planted to holdings with volcanic soils in and around Schlossbockelheim as well as younger vines from the grand cru Felsenberg, planted to weathered volcanic porphyry soils and quartz.” -Importer note
Schafer-Frohlich Vulkangestein Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2020 750ml Displayed Price: $28, that’s $26.60 at 5% off and $25.20 at 10% off, 34 bottles in stock now
Stuart Pigott (JamesSucking) 94 points “Intensely spicy and expressive, but the fruit aromas are just beginning to unfurl. Grapefruit pith and bergamot, plus a slew of wild herbs. Somehow this manages to be very structured, yet have a silky texture on the sleek palate. Intense wet-stone minerality at the finish. 100% from the GG vineyards Felsenberg and Stromberg. From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification. Drink or hold.”
The next best price is $38
Close-Out Sale Wine: Was $79
Schafer-Frohlich Felsenberg Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $69, that’s $65.55 at 5% off and $62.10 at 10% off, 7 bottles in stock now
John Gilman 96 points “The 2017 Felsenberg GG is a masterpiece in the making, with the bouquet soaring from the glass in a youthful and very elegant constellation of pink grapefruit, wild yeasts, tart peach, plenty of smokiness, a great base of salty soil tones, dried flowers and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with ripe, snappy acids, superb complexity and great length and grip on the poised and perfectly balanced finish. This is a stunning young vintage of Felsenberg!”
Stuart Pigott (JamesSucking) 96 points “Despite the ample concentration and power, this is really filigree with great delicacy and breathtaking freshness at the finish.”
Mosel Fine Wines 95 points “This Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg GG is quite smoky and reductive at first, and only gradually reveals its complexity as notes of thyme, orange zest, black tea and a hint of fennel emerge from the glass. The nose expands by the minute yet remains highly smoky. The wine proves beautifully fruity and delicately smooth side on the palate, where some cream and pineapple juice add to the overall charming yet complex side of this Riesling. The finish proves still quite compact and beautifully linear, which gives a gorgeously focused and restrained feel to the wine. This is in need of aging, but the potential at maturity is huge. 2027-2047.”
Schafer-Frohlich Felsenberg Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2018 750ml Displayed Price: $89, that’s $84.55 at 5% off and $80.10 at 10% off, 12 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 95+ points “The 2018 Felsenberg Riesling GG opens with a deep, intense and rich, concentrated and aromatic but also flinty bouquet full of ripe Riesling fruits and coolish herbal/vegetal as well gooseberry aromas. On the palate, this is a lush, intense, very mineral, salty-piquant and tightly structured dry Riesling from volcanic rocks. It’s a powerful but elegant, fresh and precise Riesling with great complexity and lingering salinity. A fabulous Felsenberg with lots of vitality and youthful grip. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in August and October 2019.”
John Gilman 94+ points “By picking early in the Felsenberg, Tim Fröhlich was able to keep around 7.5 grams of acidity in his GG here this year, and he estimates that the wine will end up just about 12.5 percent octane. It is an absolutely superb bottle in the making, with the nose delivering a beautiful young constellation of tart orange, pink grapefruit, flint, smoke, lemongrass, wild yeasts, citrus peel and a delicate topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is pure, fullbodied and very elegant and seamless in balance, with a superb core of fruit, lovely backend mineral lift, bright acids and a very long, complex and extremely promising finish. Great juice. 2024-2065.”
Schafer-Frohlich Kupfergrube Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2018 750ml Displayed Price: $99, that’s $94.05 at 5% off and $89.10 at 10% off, 18 bottles in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 96 points “The 2018 Kupfergrube Riesling GG is clear and precise on the aromatic nose that displays enormously ripe and concentrated Riesling fruit that reflects the heat of the vintage, especially in south-facing vineyards like this. Almost raisin flavors here. Crystalline and elegant on the palate, this is a linear and mineral but lush, rich and powerful Riesling with grip and tension and lingering salinity that indicates very good aging potential. 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted from a bottle declared as Fassprobe (a sample) in October 2019.”
Close-Out Sale Wine: Was $85
Schafer-Frohlich Stromberg Grosses Gewachs Riesling, Nahe 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $75, that’s $71.25 at 5% off and $67.50 at 10% off, 19 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht-Vinous 96 points “White peach, gooseberry and lime are laced in the nose with chamomile, peppermint and pennyroyal. Those juxtapositions anticipate the dynamic of ripeness and citricity as well as of soothing and pungently invigorating elements that characterize this entire amazing performance. There is remarkable sheer succulence and intensity of glowingly pit-tinged white peach, zesty lime and crunchy, seedy gooseberry on the surprisingly silken palate. It’s as if concentration of fruit flavors were inversely proportional to the Stromberg’s rocky, virtually topsoil-free surface. But this is not to suggest that mineral flavor elements are short-changed. Far from it! That “dark minerality” that Fröhlich deems can be unpacked as some combination of smoky peat and black tea with stone suffusion and alkaline accents. ‘As ripe as they might get,’ notes Fröhlich, ‘the berries on these old vines never lose their greenish tint or make the transition to deep gold,’ and that is reflected in the vivid freshness and juicy animation of a long, fugal finish that tingles the tongue and tugs at the cheeks. If Bockenau’s virtues went virtually unnoticed until the 21st century, those of today’s Stromberg sites were almost completely unknown until Schäfer-Fröhlich produced their first, vintage 2012 Grosses Gewächs showcasing them. ‘When we had to demonstrate to the VDP with historical evidence that this site was Grosses Gewächs-worthy,’ relates Fröhlich, ‘we uncorked a [nearly-dry] 1957 Spätlese from my grandfather that was unbelievably fresh and fine.'”
Mosel Fine Wines 96 points “The 2017er Bockenauer Stromberg GG proves rather reduced and smoky at first. It then gradually reveals riper notes of pineapple, orange, yellow peach, tangerine and gingerbread, all wrapped into spices and residual scents from the spontaneous fermentation. The wine proves coats the palate with juicy and lightly flavors. The finish is however focused and even racy thanks to a pure and lime driven acidity kicking in. A slightly tart side in the after-taste still needs to melt into the wine but the wine is hugely impressive. 2025-2037”
Decanter 95 points “The customary reduction resulting from a spontaneous, slow ferment still clouds the nose of this Riesling. From porphyry soils on a rocky, elevated site we get almost piercing freshness that presses all of the pleasure buttons of dry Riesling fans. Bundled around a central, bright shaft of acid are alluring notes of citrus and juicy passion fruit. A most wonderful, stony, precise juxtaposition of exactitude and juiciness.”
Schafer-Frohlich Stromberg Grosses Gewachs Riesling, Nahe 2021 750ml Displayed Price: $115, that’s $109.25 at 5% off and $103.50 at 10% off, 3 bottles in stock now
Schafer-Frohlich Stromberg Grosses Gewachs Riesling, Nahe 2021 1.5L Displayed Price: $259, that’s $246.05 at 5% off and $233.10 at 10% off, 5 magnums in stock now
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 98-99 points “The 2021 Stromberg GG offers a bright and pure, enormously radiant and earthy/herbal bouquet of crushed porphyry rocks and concentrated Riesling berry aromas intermingled with iodine notes. Great purity mixed with intensity and complexity. Full-bodied, refined and enormously salty on the palate, this is a compact, fresh and challenging dry Riesling with elegant and rich fruit, great density and no makeup at all. This is a bone dry but juicy wine that represents a long-distance runner with salty grip and tension. Tasted as a sample at the domaine in July 2022.”
Close-Out Sale Wine: Was $39
Schafer-Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spatlese, Nahe 2017 750ml Displayed Price: $33, that’s $31.35 at 5% off and $29.70 at 10% off, 20 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht-Vinous 93 points “Elder flower and peony, ripe quince and white peach on the nose presage a lusciously-fruity and profusely floral inner-mouth performance. The feel is glossy but buoyant. The succulent and superbly-concentrated finish remains transparent to floral nuances as well as revealing a shimmering sense of crystalline and flinty stoniness.”
Schafer-Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spatlese, Nahe 2018 750ml Displayed Price: $44.50, that’s $42.28 at 5% off and $40.05 at 10% off, 18 bottles in stock now
David Schildknecht-Vinous 93 points “As usual, this issues from the estate’s oldest Felseneck vines. An estate-typical reductive note of struck flint and bruised lime peel is allied to aromas of ripe kiwi and white peach, along with hints of green herbs that are transformed into a cooling sense of infusion on the lusciously fruited, silken-textured and buoyant palate. For all of its richness, this finishes with near-rapier penetration, tongue-tingling vibrancy and transparency to underlying wet stone.”
Close-Out Sale Wine: Was $59
Schafer-Frohlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spatlese Goldkapsel, Nahe 2018 750ml Displayed Price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off and $44.10 at 10% off, 17 bottles in stock now
John Gilman 93+ points “The 2018 Goldkapsel Spätlese from the Felseneck vineyard was made solely with shriveled golden berries and there is not a trace of botrytis in this beautiful wine this year. The bouquet is nicely youthful at the present time and takes a bit of coaxing to offer up a gorgeous blend of pear, white cherries, wild yeasts, a lovely undertow of salty slate, white flowers and a whisper of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is very pure, medium-full and racy, with a lovely core, superb filigree and bounce and a very long, vibrant and complex finish. This just dances across the palate. 2024-2070.”