Weekend Vinopolpick- Jadot, Mugneret, Terry Theise

October 25, 2014

    Pre- Arrival Highlights

 

From Burgundy with Love
2012 Vintage, Two Major Domaines, Arriving in November
 

 

Louis Jadot 2012
Arriving November 11th

 

“Our aim is to express the true nature of Burgundy through our wines, a terroir that can be both proud of its past and optimistic about its future.” – Maison Louis Jadot

Louis Jadot’s label, with the Bacchus head, decorative frieze, and the signature pale yellow paper, is perhaps one of the most instantly recognizable of all Burgundy producers.  Maison Louis Jadot was founded in 1859 by the Jadot family, beginning their estate with the Clos des Ursules vineyard still in the family’s possession to this day.  A significant core of Jadot’s domain vines were assembled some 60 years prior to the formation of Maison Jadot, this holding of eleven grand and premier cru vineyards totaling about 16 hectares were all left to the Jadot family and have been a part of the Jadot estate ever since.  These original domain holdings are highlighted on their respective bottle labels as Domaine des Héritiers Louis Jadot.Today, Jadot is one of the largest winemaking and negotiant houses in the world, with over 100 various vineyard holdings throughout Burgundy, Beaujolais, and Macon.

2012 in Burgundy, like many vintages of the past decade, promised the worst and came through with the best.  Though yields are low, making these sought after reds and whites even more difficult to find, 2012 is another great year for Burgundy, offering up glamorous reds and superbly concentrated and intense whites.  Variation in style and flavor profile are to be expected as Jadot’s holdings run the expanse of Burgundy, but there is one consistency in Jadot’s winemaking: value.  Whether a Grand Cru or village level bottling, Jadot’s prides itself on producing the top quality level in every area from which they grow or source.

Arriving November 11th

White Burgundy

Louis Jadot Chassagne Montrachet Cote de Beaune 2012 ($79.95) $59 pre-arrival special
From the Winery
“This traditional vinification in oak casks brings forth the rich, plump fruit and full body of the wine, which shows a vigorous, aromatic bouquet and persistent, earthy finish. These great wines should be kept for special meals : foie gras, entrées and fish in cream sauces, fine charcuterie and white meats in rich sauces.”

Louis Jadot Puligny Montrachet Cote de Beaune 2012 ($79.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Burghound 87-90 points
“This is aromatically quite reticent and only persistent swirling coaxes the elegant floral, citrus, pear and soft oak toast aromas to emerge from the glass. There is impressive richness and intensity to the lightly mineral-inflected middle weight flavors that terminate in a mildly edgy and gas-filled finish. My predicted range offers the benefit of the doubt that this will harmonize once it is prepared for the bottling.”

Louis Jadot Morgeot Clos de la Chapelle Monopole Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru 2012 ($99.95) $79 pre-arrival special
From the Winery
“The Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru “Morgeot” ‘Clos de la chapelle’ is a very well balanced wine, showing us a lot of concentrated aromas of honey, white fruit and flowers. This wine is full bodied, powerful and rich. It should be kept for special meals like foie gras, fish in cream sauces, shellfish and white meats in rich sauces.”

Louis Jadot Clos de la Garenne Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($119.95) $99 pre-arrival special
Burghound 89-92 points
“An elegantly layered and cool nose features aromas of lemon peel, white flowers and spiced pear. There is a really lovely texture to the solidly constructed and concentrated middle weight flavors that display ample minerality on the citrus-inflected and dry but not especially austere finish. The inherent class of Puligny is on display here.”

Louis Jadot Puligny Montrachet Les Referts 1er Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($99.95) $79 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 90-92 points
“The 2012 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts has a poised, mineral nose that displays good intensity at this early stage. The palate is nicely balanced with a fine line of acidity, hints of tangerine and spice, leading to a nicely composed, vibrant finish. This is a mild mannered but well-crafted Puligny.”
Burghound 89-92 points “There is solid intensity and plenty of mid-palate fat on the delicious and seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that possess a moderately austere and dry finish that delivers fine length and depth.”

Louis Jadot Chevalier- Montrachet Les Demoiselles Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru 2012 ($479.95) $399 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 94-96 points
“The 2012 Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles Grand Cru has a strict, aristocratic, stony bouquet that is taut and focused – no messing about here. The palate is very intense on the entry with a mineral core wrapped up in precise orange zest and spicy notes that fan out sensually across the slightly saline finish. This is a Chevalier that you have to think about, unfurling in the glass, surely with hidden facets that will be revealed with age. This is a regal grand cru.”
Burghound 90-93 points “Here the reduction and sulfur are sufficiently strong as to completely mute the fruit. As is often the case with this wine, it is built on its minerality with very fine intensity to the medium weight plus flavors that also culminate in an impressively long but still quite compact finish. The linear backend is clearly in need of time to flesh out as this presently lacks that peacock tail effect that often makes this wine so wonderful.”

Louis Jadot Domaine des Heritiers Louis Jadot Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($219.95) $159 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 92-94 points
“The 2012 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, which comes from Les Pougets (the same as the red), has a bewitching floral, mineral-laden bouquet with flinty scents that should become develop once bottled. The palate is nicely balanced with a tense, yet slightly mellifluous entry. There is a fine bead of acidity here that cuts through the leesy, citrus fruit. The finish is mild-mannered but nicely focused. Very fine.”

Louis Jadot Batard Montrachet Grand Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($359.95) $279 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 90-92 points
“The 2012 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru has a richer, more tropical-scented bouquet compared to the Bienvenue. The palate is smooth and rounded, rich and mellifluous in the mouth with a long, seductive finish that needs just a little more tension and poise.”
Burghound 90-93 points “Very mild reduction and a touch of sulfur detract from the appeal of the otherwise pretty aromas of acacia blossom, spiced pear and white peach scents. The delicious, muscular and pure broad-shouldered and powerful flavors are bigger than those of the Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet while possessing an almost painfully intense palate impression that continues onto the concentrated and impressively persistent if compact finish. This is somewhat youthfully awkward and rather hard to read yet the underlying material is so good that it seems reasonably clear that this should be very good to excellent in time.”

Louis Jadot Le Montrachet Grand Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($699.95) $599 pre-arrival special
Wine Spectator 94-97 points , Wine Advocate 92-94 points
“There are five barrels of the 2012 Montrachet Grand Cru in 2012 compared to the usual ten. The nose is surprisingly reticent at first, opening gradually in the minerality poking its head from under the covers. Coming back after three minutes, the aromatics are accelerating away. The palate is very well-balanced as one would hope, very focused with subtle, spicy notes under the carapace of citrus fruit.”

Red Burgundy 

Louis Jadot Cotes de Nuits Village Le Vaucrains 2012 ($41.95) $37 pre-arrival special
Burghound 89-91 points
“A ripe, fresh and expressive nose of dark cherry, damp earth and menthol aromas leads to dense and very powerful medium-bodied flavors in the context of the appellation. There is outstanding intensity to the rustic and serious finish and overall, this is an excellent example of the genre. Recommended for those who don’t mind cellaring it for at least 5 years.”

Louis Jadot Beaune 1er Cru Les Bressandes Cote de Beaune 2012 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Burghound 88-90 points
“Strong sulfur renders the fruit difficult to appreciate. There is good mid-palate concentration to the moderately toasty medium weight flavors that possess an agreeably vibrant and seductive texture, all wrapped in a detailed and mildly edgy finish that delivers fine persistence.”

Louis Jadot Nuits-Saint-Georges, Cote de Nuits 2012 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Burghound
“There is good freshness to the pungent nose of various red berries, menthol and distinct earth aromas. The supple, round and relatively forward middle weight flavors possess a lovely sense of energy and while they are not as concentrated or complex as the best villages examples in the range, this is still attractive in its fashion. This should be approachable young but reward 6 to 8 years of cellar time too.”
Antonio Galloni “The 2012 Nuits-Saint-Georges expresses the richness of the year in its huge fruit and pure power. Sweet red berries, crushed flowers, mint and anise emerge from the glass. Floral notes add a measure of lift on the finish. This solid, entry-level offering should deliver considerable pleasure for a few years after release.”

Louis Jadot Pommard, Cote de Beaune 2012 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Antonio Galloni 88-90 points
“Super-ripe red berries, smoke, iron and savory herbs all flesh out in the 2012 Pommard Clos de La Commaraine. This is a decidedly rich, racy Pommard with hints of over- ripeness possibly from slightly sunburned grapes. My sense is that the 2012 will offer its best drinking sooner rather than later.”
Burghound “Barnier indicated that this was not the final blend and thus my comments should be viewed as provisory. Here too there is that hint of pine cone with ample if not dominant wood to the otherwise ripe and fresh liqueur of black currant suffused nose. There is a velvety texture to the big-bodied, concentrated and very serious medium-bodied flavors that culminate in a rustic and ever-so-mildly dry finish. In its present incarnation this is concentrated and old school.”

Louis Jadot Gevrey Chambertin Cotes de Nuits 2012 ($59.95) $51.90 pre-arrival special
Burghound 89-91 points OUTSTANDING TOP VALUE
“A ripe yet markedly cool and restrained nose offers up notes of cassis, spice, earth, underbrush and menthol. There is a lovely mineral streak to the rich and relatively large-scaled flavors that possess excellent mid-palate concentration and plenty of verve on the complex and impressively persistent finish. This is a fine Gevrey villages and worth your attention plus it is sufficiently pliant to enjoy young but should reward longer term cellaring as well.”

Louis Jadot Chambolle Musigny Cote de Nuits 2012 ($79.95) $69 pre-arrival special
From the winery
“Louis Jadot produces a deeply coloured wine which develops a red berries fruits – and undergrowth aromas when older. Full bodied, delicate this wine has a silky finish. The soil is responsible for Chambolle Musigny’s exceptional delicacy and a character not possessed by any other wine of the Côte de Nuits. It will perfectly match with delicate dishes, not too spicy like red meat, game and quite strong cheeses.”

Louis Jadot Savigny les Beaune Clos des Guettes 1er Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate & Burghound 89-91 points
“The 2012 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Guettes comes from the lower slopes of the clos. It demonstrates very good intensity on the nose with rounded, almost plush dark plum and raspberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, good substance. Overall, you might describe this as a ‘solid’ Savigny that attests to the low yields. Excellent.”WA
“An exceptionally ripe yet not roasted or jammy nose features notes of black cherry, anise and plenty of Savigny style earth. There is a lovely sense of energy to the overtly mineral-inflected medium weight flavors that are markedly firm on the moderately austere and rather serious finish. Patience advised.”BH

Louis Jadot Domaine des Heritiers Louis Jadot Beaune Clos des Ursules Monopole 1er Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($99.95) $79 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 91-93 points
“The 2012 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Ursules is one of their premier holdings with a propensity to age with class. It has a fragrant, more floral bouquet with fine delineation – perhaps more feminine than the other Beaune premier crus. The palate is ripe and generous on the entry. This has good substance and breeding, the quality of the terroir really coming through on the persuasive finish that lingers long in the mouth. This Clos des Ursules is brimming over with confidence and class. Bravo!”
Antonio Galloni 92-94 points “The 2012 Beaune Clos des Ursules is the most lifted and refined of the Beaune 1er Crus from Jadot. Sweet raspberries, tobacco, freshly cut flowers, mint and cinnamon meld together gracefully in the glass. The Ursules is distinguished from the other Beaunes by its silky tannins and fabulous length. There is plenty of richness in the glass, but without the excess weight or extraction found in some of the other wines.”

Louis Jadot Domaine des Heritiers Louis Jadot Corton Pougets Grand Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($149.95) $119 pre-arrival special
Antonio Galloni 93-95 points
“Black cherries, plums, smoke, licorice, new leather and cloves jump from the glass as the 2012 Corton Pougets shows off its personality. Rich, concentrated and voluptuous to the core, the 2012 is unusually opulent in this vintage. The tannins are nearly buried by the pure resonance of the fruit. This is going to be a fascinating wine to follow.”
Burghound 91-94 points “Here the nose is quite similar to that of the Grèves other than it’s just a bit more elegant as the fruit is just a touch higher-toned. The sense of having just a bit more refinement present is reinforced by the more obviously mineral-driven medium weight flavors where the supporting tannins are not quite as austere, all wrapped in a notably firm finish that delivers stunningly good length. This will also need plenty of time.”

Louis Jadot Nuits St Georges Les Boudots 1er Cru Cotes de Nuits 2012 ($149.95) $119 pre-arrival special
Stephen Tanzer 91-94 points
“Healthy dark red.  Lovely lift to the complex aromas of red and black fruits, minerals, violet and licorice.  Suave on entry, then fine-grained, vinous and brisk, boasting terrific mineral energy and peppery lift to the flavors of blackberry, flowers and menthol.  This wonderfully silky, shapely wine finishes with noble tannins and captivating mineral and floral perfume.”
Antonio Galloni 91-93 points “The 2012 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Boudots is the richest and most immediate of the three Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Crus I tasted. The darkness of the vintage comes through in a huge Nuits that stands out for its opulent fruit and seamless texture. The tannins are there, but they are nearly completely buried by the fruit. The 2012 will appeal most to readers who enjoy full-throttle wines, while classicists will likely gravitate towards the Vaucrains and St. Georges.”

Louis Jadot Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru Cote de Beaune 2012 ($149.95) $119 pre-arrival special
Burghound 91-94 points SWEET SPOT OUTSTANDING
“A heady nose of very strong menthol and wood toasty aromas barely allows the cassis, spice and earth scents to be appreciated. The flavor profile is notably denser and more serious than either the Vaucrains or Les St. Georges as is the finish that is powerful, complex, mouth coating and imposingly long. This should reward longer-term cellaring and note that it will definitely need at least a decade first.”

Louis Jadot Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru Cotes des Nuits 2012 ($179.95) $149 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 91-93 points
“The 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Suchots has a typically more floral and feminine bouquet, erring more towards the red fruit spectrum: raspberry, crushed strawberry and Morello emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with a rounded, fleshy opening. There is good weight and extract here, although it remains linear, preferring not to fan out on the finish, but remain ‘correct’ and perhaps ‘conservative’. Again, this will require 5 to 6-years in the cellar.”
Burghound 91-94 points SWEET SPOT OUTSTANDING “In marked contrast to the Malconsorts the ripe and exceptionally spicy dark berry fruit, violet and plum-suffused nose is quite expressive. There is excellent volume to the solidly concentrated and highly seductive medium weight flavors that possess really lovely balance partially thanks to the fine grain of the supporting tannins on the beguiling complex finish. Good stuff and like the Malconsorts this is very Suchots.”
Antonio Galloni 92-94 points “The 2012 Vosne-Romanée Les Suchots blossoms beautifully in the glass. Sweet spices, menthol and new leather meld into a core of expansive dark red/black fruit. The 2012 deftly balances volume and structure. All the elements fall into place as this gracious, hugely appealing Suchots shows off its considerable personality and pure class.”

Louis Jadot Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru Cote de Nuits 2012 ($219.95) $179 pre-arrival special
Antoio Galloni 93-95 points
“The 2012 Clos Vougeot is one of the most impressive of the Grand Crus I tasted at Jadot this year. Powerful, rich and layered, the 2012 has more than enough fruit to balance the tannins. Dark red fruit, scorched earth, chalk and iron are all layered into the supple, racy finish. This is a surprisingly finessed Clos Vougeot. Hints of rose petal and mint add lift on the close. There is so much to admire here.”
Stephen Tanzer 91-94 points “Good bright, deep red.  Very ripe aromas of black cherry, licorice, dark chocolate and espresso; less floral than the Gevrey premier crus that preceded it in my tasting.  Backward but brisk, with good minty lift and energy to the liqueur-like black cherry, menthol and spice flavors.  For all its ripeness, this wine also shows an enticing coolness.  Finishes with substantial ripe tannins, very good cut and plenty of structure to support a slow evolution in bottle.”
Burghound 92-94 points “A brooding and almost completely inexpressive nose reveals the barest glimpses of dark berry fruit and discreet notes of moderately toasty wood. The unusually round and very supple flavors possess good mid-palate concentration as well as fine size, weight and power before terminating in a velvety, delicious and only slightly austere finish that is mildly rustic. This is deceptively approachable because while the mouth feel is indeed inhabitually pliant, the finish tightens up quickly and this will require long-term cellaring to be at its absolute peak.”

Louis Jadot Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques 1er Cru Cotes de Nuits 2012 ($219.95) $179 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 92-94 points
“The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jacques has a fragrant bouquet: floral at first with touches of violet, later revealing a stony scents, hints of chalk dust and flint surfacing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins and impressive focus. It feels composed in the mouth with good matiere, yet it remains sophisticated and tense right to the finish. There is nothing flash here, just pure quality.”
Burghound 92-95 points SWEET SPOT OUTSTANDING “A beautifully complex and airy nose features ripe aromas of exuberantly spicy plum, violet, sauvage and essence of red currant. There is a very round and velvety mouth feel to the delicious medium weight flavors that somehow manage to retain a good sense of delineation and energy on the overtly mineral-inflected and wonderfully long finish. I very much like the sense of harmony where the fine-grained tannins add to that impression. This should be excellent in time though note that it will require a minimum of 10 years of cellar time before this is approachable and another 5 to 7 before it arrives at its peak.”

Louis Jadot Echezeaux Grand Cru Cotes de Nuits 2012 ($279.95) $219 pre-arrival special
Antonio Galloni 94-96 points
“Dark red cherry, plum, menthol, licorice and new leather explode from the glass in the 2012 Echézeaux. A rich, layered wine, the 2012 boasts superb depth and pure power, with tons of richness, breadth and volume. Today, the Echézeaux is simply magnificent. However, it will require bottle age to show at its best. Jadot’s Echézeaux emerges from parcels in Les Rouges du Bas.”
Wine Advocate & Burghound 92-94 points “The 2012 Echezeaux Grand Cru has a sensual, expressive, kaleidoscopic bouquet with wonderful vibrant blackberry, cassis and blueberry scents infused with minerals. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine, sappy red berry fruit, a citric thread of racy acidity that neatly offsets the extravagant finish. There is plenty to savour on the vibrant, vivacious Echezeaux.”WA

Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares Grand Cru Cotes de Nuits 2012 ($419.95) $349 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 93-95 points ,Wine Spectator 93-96 points
“The 2012 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru, which underwent a tardy malolactic fermentation, is surprisingly well behaved on the nose strict at first and preferring to unfold in piecemeal fashion to reveal saturnine black fruit laced with inkwell and Indian spice scents. The palate is very well balanced packed full of dense black fruit and struck through with a keen, almost racy acidity. The finish is very solid and structured for Bonnes-Mares that I suspect will age extremely well. In its youth, I suspect this will be impressive more than pleasurable…at least for the first decade of its life.”WA
Antonio Galloni 94-96 points “Jadot’s 2012 Bonnes Mares is shaping up to be a modern-day classic. Firm tannins underpin a core of blue/black fruit, smoke, tobacco, licorice, cloves and violets, all supported by massive, imposing tannins. Totally alive and pulsating in the glass, the 2012 boasts superb depth and intensity from the very first taste. Savory herbs, licorice and new leather all add complexity over time. This towering, statuesque Burgundy is going to need serious time to come together.”

Louis Jadot Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru Cotes de Nuits 2012 ($419.95) $359 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 93-95 points
“The 2012 Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru is more mild-mannered and serious on the nose when compared to the Echezeaux–poker-faced black fruit hand in hand with tertiary aromas. The palate is very refined with silky smooth tannins. This is very harmonious with impressive weight and sensuality towards the finish that fans out with more precision and grace than the Echezeaux, retaining tight control at every moment. Excellent.”
Burghound 92-95 points DON’T MISS! “A slightly more complex and even a bit more elegant nose offers up notes of menthol, spice and very fresh red currant and wild raspberries that are set off by moderate wood influence. There is excellent richness to the mouth coating big-bodied flavors that brim with plenty of dry extract as well as solid power and muscle on the gorgeously long finale. This is at present very serious and while not rustic it’s clear that this will require plenty of cellaring.”

Louis Jadot Chambertin Clos de Beze Grand Cru Cote de Nuits 2012 ($479.95) $399 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 95-97 points
“The 2012 Chambertin Clos-de-Beze Grand Cru, which like the Chapelle-Chambertin is domaine-owned, has a more voluminous, multi-faceted bouquet with engaging incense and mineral notes infusing the beautifully defined black fruits. The palate is very well balanced on the entry with more tension and nervosite than the Chambertin, building effortlessly towards a quite regal, sophisticated finish whose mineralite lingers long in the mouth. Outstanding.”
Burghound 94-97 points “Here the nose is largely if not completely similar to that of the Chambertin but in this case there is a bit more spice to the perceptible riper nose. There is a sophisticated mouth feel to the velvety and extract rich big-bodied flavors that coat the mouth with exceptionally firm but phenolically mature tannins on the explosively long finish. This is a ‘wow’ wine and very much worth a special search to find.”

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Mongeard-Mugneret
Arriving Late November

For more than eight generations, the Mongeard family has been established in Vosne Romanee, right in the midst of the Cote de Nuits, producing wine with an utmost respect for tradition. The Mongeard family arrived in Vosne-Romanée in the eighteenth century, and records show a Mongeard working as vigneron for Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in 1786. The historic domaine of Mongeard-Mugneret (known as Mongeard until 1945), based in Vosne-Romanee, today encompasses 30 hectares spread over 33 different appellations of the Cote d’Or from Marsannay to Puligny-Montrachet. Jean Mongeard was a key figure within Burgundy, serving as the President of the Association des Viticulteurs de la Cote d`Or for many years and as one of the area’s most prominent growers. In 1985, Jean handed over responsibility for winemaking to his then 29-year-old son Vincent. With meticulous pruning, crop selection, and traditional winemaking style, owner-winemaker Vincent Mongeard passionately continues his family’s craft, including returning to a more traditional method of bottling, without filtration, filtering only with certain vintages. In the words of Robert Parker, “the style of winemaking seems to extract rich, supple, concentrated fruit from the grapes…The wines always seem to show well young, but age nicely for 10-15 years.”

Wines Arriving Late November


Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Grand Cru 2012 ($119.95) $99 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 94 points
“It seems a bit disorientating to only have the single example of Echézeaux produced from the Mongeard family these days, as their Vieilles Vignes bottling was such a flagship of the estate. However, with that parcel now reverting back to a cousin, in 2012 there is just this single Echézeaux in the stable, but the wine has really turned out beautifully in this vintage. The wine wafts from the glass in a very classy blend of red plums, cherries, woodsmoke, a complex base of soil, fresh herbs, incipient notes of venison and bonfire and a fine framing of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and very refined, with a rock solid core, lovely soil inflection, ripe tannins, tangy acids and a very long, classy and palate-staining finish. Lovely juice. 2025-2075.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA!
The average listed price is $115 / bottle

Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2012 ($179.95) $149 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 94+ points
“Like the 2012 Echézeaux, the Clos Vougeot from Mongeard-Mugneret is supremely elegant out of the blocks this year. The superb bouquet is a mix of red plums, cocoa, cherries, gamebirds, a touch of nutskin, woodsmoke, a fine base of soil and spicy new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and complex with a sappy core of fruit, excellent focus and balance, velvety tannins and great style and grace on the long and youthfully complex finish. A great bottle of Clos Vougeot in the making. 2025-2075.”


This is the lowest listed price in the USA!
The next best listed price is $169 / bottle


Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux La Grand Complication Cru 2012 ($199.95) $179 pre-arrival special
Burghound 92-94 points
“A background application of wood frames the intensely floral aromas of ripe black cherry fruit and Asian spice nuances. The stems are evident on the big, dense and very serious flavors that brim with dry extract that helps to buffer the very firm tannic spine on the wonderfully complex and persistent finish. This is decidedly old school in style and I wouldn’t buy this beast without the express intention of cellaring it for the long-term.”

Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Grands-Echezeaux 2012 ($219.95) $189 pre-arrival special
John Gilman 96+ points
“The 2012 Grands Echézeaux from Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret is a great young wine and a very impressive example of just how special this vintage is in the Côte de Nuits. The exceptional and quite classic bouquet offers up scents of red and black plums, cocoa, duck, woodsmoke, a beautifully complex base of soil tones and a very suave base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and quite plush and refined on the attack, with a sappy core of fruit, great soil signature, fine-grained tannins and a very long, tangy and utterly seamless finish. A great wine. 2025-2075.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA!
Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret Richebourg 2012 ($599.95) $419 pre-arrival special
Burghound 93-95 points
“Don’t miss! A distinctly toasty nose of subtle spice, earth and very cool yet ripe dark berry fruit aromas are trimmed in plenty of floral character. There is gorgeous intensity to the mineral-driven big-bodied flavors that possess outstanding delineation on the extract-rich mid-palate before terminating in a refined but overtly powerful and muscular finish that delivers strikingly good length. This too is decidedly built for longer-term cellaring.”

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2014 Terry Theise
German and Austrian Offerings
Arriving in our store the last week of November

Terry Theise Vintage Report for Germany 2013
“When 2013 works it gives wines of great relief and contrast; these are vivid wines. They’re almost never creamy, but they are sometimes quite silky. They can seem deliciously savage at times, like a raspy-voiced singer; it isn’t a “pretty” voice but still you love it. 2013s are high in acidity and stunningly high in extract; this is tactile and discernible, not a metaphor. That said, bottling will often subdue this component, not insofar as it exists but insofar as it can be tasted. At that point extract behaves as a buffer to acidity (and to sweetness if it is there) and confers a richness to the mid-palate. 2013s are often high in botrytis, and the degree to which botrytis was managed is a leitmotif of the vintage.

“As such ’13 invites comparison to two previous vintages, 2010 and 2000. But it is both less ripe and not as monstrously high in acidity as ’10 was. It has in common with ’10 its tendency to an almost monumental solidity along with always-prominent (and sometimes unbalanced) acids. Regarding 2000, nearly every grower told me the conditions in ’13 were less challenging, there was less overall mildew, plus they’d learned from the earlier vintage and were better prepared this time. All of this may very well be true. The best 2000s have aged surprisingly well, but that “best” is a slim tip of a large iceberg.”

German Wines

 

Von Winning/Dr.Deinhard (Pfalz)
Von Winning Riesling 2013 ($24.95) $18 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise “Lilac, melon, wisteria, markedly flowery; a tasty wry balance on the palate, wherein a tiny sweetness delivers a huge payoff. Slim and lissome but long and classy. Completely amazing quality in the “basic” echelon, and a classic example of one of the Great Truths of German wine: A perfect dry Riesling is often not perfectly dry.”

Von Winning Deidesheimer Paradiesgarten Riesling Trocken 2013 ($34.95) $27 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Tasty, barley and cask-y notes behind a grainy delineated Riesling; less creamy than the ’12 and showing some of ’13’s more pointed edge, but it delivers length, clarity and some ineffable Pfalz-ness, and they tell me it will be smoother  by the time its bottled.”

Schlossgut Diel (Nahe)
Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Burgberg Riesling Spatlese 2004 ($69.95) $54.50 pre-arrival special
Stephen Tanzer 92 points
“Resplendent aromas of papaya, pineapple and oyster shell. Dense but juicy, with a finely spiced acidity that seizes one’s palate. Finishes with impressive concentration and length. One of the finest spatleses of the vintage.”

Donnhoff (Nahe)
Felsenberg Riesling GG “Felsenturmchen” 2013 ($69.95) $54.50 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Distracted while tasting, so my note is sketchy. The wine is markedly sleek and delineated, and “greener” (in terms of tea and herbs, not lack of ripeness) than ’12. ”

Dellchen Riesling GG 2013 ($69.95) $54.50 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Remarkably approachable young Dellchen! It’s not that the wine is usually forbidding; it’s just closed until about 3-4 years old. But this is as pixilated and herbal-stony as I’ve ever tasted, so full of grasses and herbs and rock-dust. Ethereal finish, exceedingly delicate.”

Hermannshohle Riesling GG 2013 ($79.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Surprisingly forceful and masculine, and showing a certain Calvinist rectitude, as if the Trimbachs had visited and vinified it. This view is likely distorted, as this among all the wines was the least forthcoming.”

Oberhauser Leistenburg Riesling Kabinett 2013 ($31.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“A trebly wine in general meets a trebly vintage in particular, and the result is like a St. Elmo’s fire of flavor; high-toned lemony aromas, talc, spearmint, with a scythe-like cut and relief; almost shockingly taut in this very young stage”

Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Spatlese 2013 ($49.95) $41.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“An aside—there’s no Felsenberg Spät in the small crop of 2013, as all of it went into the dry wine. Thus we head straight into Brücke, and into its quiet monastic stirring and yearning. That’s the essence of Brücke, this kind of ur-Riesling that seems to find our own primordial souls. In ’13 its acids feel more prominent, and it’s brooding just now, but serenely—Brücke can be obscure but is never austere. I opened the 2001 over the winter and it needs 4-5 more years, though you can drink Hermannshöhle now if you insist. ”

Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese 2013 ($64.95) $51.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“After the Brücke this was vividly lively again. Qualities of sublimity and qualities of almost hyperactive acidity. A decades- keeper, or if you drink it young, then food please. You need to carpet over an end-palate snappiness. The trebly skeins-of-herbs-and-flowers style of ’13 is well expressed here! But again—take this all with some grains of salt. I was early to this particular party.”

Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2013, 375ml ($39.95) $33 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“The first since 2006. Clarity goes without saying. Berries, mint and wintergreen and aloe vera; the transparency, reserve and intricacy are divine, and the Gyokoru and balsam finish is heart-rending. The best Auslese I tasted from 2013—so far”

Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2013, 375ml ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Now we see the cherry and verbena elements of this greatest of all Riesling vineyards in the elevated form of a parfait. It’s sweet and overt yet also mysterious, as intense and as light as the best macaroons.”

Spreitzer (Rheingau)
Oestricher Doosberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2013 ($24.95) $18 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“A sponti done in large cask; fragrances of lilac and iris; dry but gentle and complex; still cerebral but lots of pleasant musings in its flowery lime oil and green-tea articulations. I’m drinking a pot of Wen-shang Bao-Jhongas as I write, and the limpid deliberate crawl of exquisite flavor is analogous to this wine.”

Rosengarten Riesling GG 2013 ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Two bits of news: one, the Rosengarten is now officially a GG—up till now the designation was approved pending the final decision. And two, it’s now “GG” everywhere (instead of “Erstes Gewächs” in the Rheingau alone). It would be hard to imagine two more opposite wines. Rosengarten is all about fruit and yumminess. Even in ’13, though it’s angular out of the gate, the finish is suave and juicy, and the whole thing’s like a herb-and-fruit smoothie. ”

Wisselbrunnen Riesling GG 2013 ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Wisselbrunnen is almost anti-fruit, more about nut-husk and toasted grains and quinoa; it’s firm, in control and sure of itself, and shows the greater complexity. But Rosengarten is more adorable.”

Merkelbach (Mosel)
Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese 2002 ($24.95) $18 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Pure and lovely, though there’s a bit of young-vines stiffness; it’s pedagogically slatey. We’ll move into a juicier fuder 23, which is quite salty and mineral, when this sells out. ”

Joh. Jos. Christoffel (Mosel)
Estate Riesling Feinherb 2012 ($24.95) $19 pre-arrival special

Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 2013 ($29.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise ” Steady as she goes; a teensy tic of ’13 saltiness but otherwise polished and silky, very ripe and salty-sweet. It has some of the ’13 cling, but check this out—over 110º Oechsle with acids over 9g/l and RS 62g/l/. It makes me wonder, what do we mean by “Kabinett” any more?”

Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese 2013 ($39.95) $29 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Curiously, though this is sweeter now, it also seems cooler and shadier than the two Kabinetts. (This sometimes happens at Diel too.) Another salty wine but not a beast; it’s ultra-refined and crystalline.”

Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese 2012 ($39.95) $29 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Now this is explosively expressive. If I say “apple and slate” yet again, it’s boring but true. It’s the combo of hi-def clarity and torque, firmness and brilliance yet many-layered density, and this goose-flesh tingle threaded through it all—that makes it uncanny”

Erdener Treppchen Riesling Auslese “Herzlay” 2013 ($69.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“‘Lay’ is old dialect for slate. This is from an old ungrafted parcel among the cliffs, and as it often it, it’s masterly. Divine apple and walnutty slate; stunning salty length, like having an old Comté with those crunchy crystals and putting that and an apple in your mouth together. Somehow with “only” 115º it tastes markedly riper than the (110º) Kabinett. This is the spectacular wine; next up is the compelling riddle.”

Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2013 ($29.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“The one and only Kabinett of their vintage! The first wine I tasted, not knowing what was to come, I wrote that it overcomes the vintage’s botrytis by sheer density of spicy material, and an almost incredibly fervent expressiveness, so absurdly spicy it’s almost a caricature of Würzgarten.”

Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese 2013 ($39.95) $29 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Now we really do taste botrytis, which is curiously reassuring. It has the semi-solid construction of ’13, and all sorts of lime zest and lime blossom and if you could concentrate lime juice and strain it through pulverized slate, it would also taste like that. The complexity unfolds tart and salty but in a basic matrix of sweetness. It unfolds deliberately, like an opening rose. A wine with secrets, and plenty of time to tell them”

Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese “Kauen” 2012 ($49.95) $41.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“We’re making a change in labeling. When we did stars – 1-star, 2-star, 3-star – it tended to create a false hierarchy, and led buyers to suppose they had to have the “best” one or the bullies would kick sand in their faces. So now we’re going to use the actual micro-parcel name, because the wines do in fact hail from single small pieces of land. It’s more informative, more truthful. This parcel is way up in the most forbidding terraces, and its wines have a kind of para-sensual slate expression, a sonnet of the rocks. It’ll buzz your fillings, this wine. ”

Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese “Kranklay” 2013 ($69.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“This parcel is below the sundial, spreading to either side, down where the slate is more crumbled and the wines have more finesse. This transparent delicacy is prized, bless them, above all other things such as ripeness or power. But this ’13 is a typically dark and brooding, at least today. It tastes like it’s encased in a crust of salt, fruit in a tiny dense kernel, waiting to pop.”

Willi Schaefer (Mosel)
Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2013 ($27.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“It’s limpid though some botrytis is present through the gently polished texture; as is often the case with ’13s the fruit emerges with air, as does the salty concentration; the delicate (and moderate) sweetness is welcome. Which wine is it, the salty botrytisey one or the semi-solid fruity one? We shall see.”

Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese 2013 ($39.95) $33 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Again quite backward, a concatenation of stubbornness! At first only botrytis shows, and the sweetness seems too low. Patience… and after about five honest minutes it starts to smell like itself, and really good; lots of lime, wintergreen and empire apples, and now with fruit showing the sweetness seems correct, but the acidity gives the wine a Feinherb  profile.”

Graacher Himmelreich Riesling  Auslese #4 2013 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Sleek, tangy, streamlined version of Himmelreich, angular and quince-y. Acids are pointed and botrytis is high-toned and gingery. At the moment depth is obscured by the glaring brilliance; there’s little apparent middle, yet there must be, so judgment of necessity deferred.”

Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett 2013 ($27.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Very spicy and salty and the acids are quite prominent; ginger and tropical fruit are emphatic, but this is still pre-filtration and it has many more tartrates to precipitate—so hard to judge right now.”

Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spatlese #5 2013 ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Highly complex aromas in a strong-willed rendition of this perennially great wine. Pure force of self and no desire (or need) to charm. Swollen acidity engulfed in turn by massively dense fruit and perfectly balanced RS; the wine seems creamy, clotted, you could ladle it as much as pour it.”

Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese #14 2013 ($109.95) $89 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Candied ginger. Rather into BA-territory now. The first of these to taste discretely “sweet.” Already balanced, albeit turbulent, but this is glaringly brassy and brilliant. The customary Schaefer serenity is elsewhere. Impressive finish here, and fathomless miles to go.”

A. J. Adam (Mosel)
Riesling Trocken 2013 ($27.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“A little purchased fruit this year, the crop was so small. All Dhron. Half & half sponti and cutured yeast, all done in steel.The ’13 aroma is there but the wine is more limpid and pebbly than most, balanced-dry, with cool quince-y fruit; ’13expresses as burnt-candle now, and this smells as much like (good!) Chenin as like Riesling”

Hofberg Riesling Trocken 2013 ($69.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Hofberg Riesling Trocken 1.5L 2013 ($149.95) $127 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“This is the quasi-GG and of all these obstreperous ’13s it was the best behaved. In fact a lovely dry Riesling, herbal, juicy, malic and salty; long and clinging finish; amazing equipoise of ethereal delicacy and heavy density and grip. 94º Oechsle, rather little botrytis, cask-fermented and aged on the fine lees, and finely smoky; only 8.5g/l RS but extract concentration confers a kind of facsimile of “’sweetness.'”

Dhron Hofberg Riesling Kabinett 2013 ($39.95) $29 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Half-half cask and steel, this was typical and completely delicious; everybody’s favorite among the ’13s that day. Euphoric site fragrance, like a Nahe wine; mirabelle, quince and lemon pudding, not to mention Alishan Oolong. The considerable RS is obliterated by natural acidity that looks scary on paper but which cracks and pops in the glass.”

Dhron Hofberg Riesling Kabinett 2011 ($27.95) $21.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“This in fact was a cask-sample, and is entirely rapturous! Just splendid gorgeous Mosel Riesling. Will be the last lot of ’11 Kab to be bottled, and <whew> you’ll be the happiest person you know as soon as you drink this.”
Wine Advocate 92 points “Talcum and orange blossom fetchingly scent Adam’s 2011 Dhronhofberger Riesling Kabinett, then join white peach on a luscious, delicate, subtly creamy palate, with a sense of wafting inner-mouth perfume as well as nut cream and wet stone undertones lasting into a refreshing finish, where the effects of a small lot of wine with unusually high acidity are noticeable and engender a certain largely productive tension. As this opened to the air, a sense of interactive dynamic between its fruit and flowers on the one hand and emerging stony, alkaline, and saline notes on the other served to heighten an already high level of stimulation. This should be a delight to follow for the next 15 years or so and will probably gain in nuanced complexity.” WA

Dhron Hofberg Riesling Spatlese 2013 ($49.95) $41.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“A voodoo-exotic Auslese-styled Spät that’s left the corporeal world behind. It’s all steel, and tasted like melted candy, a sort of pure experience of untamed flavor, a study in superripeness and lavish, almost kinky fruit.”

Terry Theise Vintage Report for Austria 2013

“No reason to be coy. For Riesling and Grüner Veltliner this is a classic vintage, a serious candidate for Greatness, and the best young crop I’ve tasted since the 1999s.

“It was a late harvest, and the meteorology of the vintage was unremarkable except for the very late beginning and uneven flowering. Cool and warm periods alternated, and as the Fall lingered on there were no issues with rots. The growers talked about high acidity, and by their standards it was noteworthy, but I tasted no wines in which acids were marked. (The prevailing acids for GV run between 6g/l and 7, and for Riesling between 6.8 and 7.8.) But I emphasize there were very few times I felt “This wine is zippy!” but many times I felt What a lovely paradox, so much detail with so much substance with so much liveliness.

“So, I’ll stick my neck out with “classic,” because I just had one hell of a good week tasting, but I’ll reserve “Great” for the fullness of time.”-TT

Austrian Wines


Ott (Wagram)
Grüner Veltliner Am Berg 2013 ($24.95) $18 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“CORE LIST WINE. Bernhard’s entry-level GV is ludicrously good in 2013, partly because of the vintage but also because he controlled all the grape-sellers vineyards for the first time, and picked them by hand with his own team. It’s sensationally juicy and rich, not in ripeness but in substance. I found I couldn’t spit it, however manfully I tried.”

Grüner Veltliner “Fass 4” 2013 ($34.95) $27 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Salty and herbal pork crackling or the skin of the roast; rose hips and rhubarb; the plus is for sheer torque and force, and the wine has the absurd happiness of a great rock song.”

Grüner Veltliner “Der Ott” 2013 ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Ott’s premiere line of Grüner Veltliner’s begins with “Der Ott,” made from the younger, 10-12 year old, vines of the top three Erste Lage sites – Spiegel, Stein and Rosenberg.”

Grüner Veltliner Spiegel 2013 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“The highest elevation among Ott’s three Grand Crus, thus the coolest and breeziest. The soil is gravel over conglomerates. This ’13 is salty and pheasant-y like a sous-vide breast with Burgundy truffle; esoteric spices and tropical fruit and parsnip chips; markedly ripe and concentrated.”

Grüner Veltliner Stein 2013 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“The subsoil is the so-called Gföhler gneiss (such as is in the Gaisberg, for example) with a sandy-loessy topsoil. Bernhard leased the vineyard in 2006, as part of a growth phase. The owner watched him working in the vineyard, and was so impressed by the way he cared for the soil, she offered to sell it to him for “any price you want to pay.” I heard that story and had to blink a few times… Complex aromas, like a quarry of mineral; a firm, stand-at-attention GV, intense and cool but wonderfully expressive, not aloof; basmati and corn, something leafy, lemon and mint, a liquid Ricola drop; herbs and stones and grains. Technically in the Kamptal, by the way.”

Grüner Veltliner Rosenberg 2013 ($64.95) $51.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“The exegesis of loess here. Wet cereal, polenta and honey and buttery scrambled eggs; it has an imposing salty force, pure power, not just the alcohol-facsimile of power; eucalyptus and ginger; a vibrating mass of ur-salt, magma; a singular vintage of this GV icon.”

Willi Brundlmayer (Kamptal)
Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben 2008 ($49.95) $41.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“You get to make a stylistic choice; the ’08 is out of diapers, and it’s all green beans and twigs, with the cool angularity of the vintage, and with a kind of power having little to do with strength but rather with a precise expressiveness.”

Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein 2008 ($39.95) $33 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“What a perfect time to reintroduce this lovely ’08. And what a perfect foil it is to the masterly ’13. The older wine is herbal and mineral, tansy and dill and romanescu. Back in ’09 I described it as piquant, and having “moon fruit.””

Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein “Lyra” 2012 ($74.95) $61.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“The wine is named for the Y-shaped trellising system that increases canopy, thus shading the grapes and increasing photosynthesis. It also “looks like the vine is throwing its arms up toward the sun,” says Willi (poetically!), who adds, “And it shows that you don’t need old vines to give great Riesling.”  I show you the ’13 basically for-the-record, as it won’t be released until 2015, not to mention any sensible person would jump on the grandiose 2012.  I’m starting to sense that Lyra is a music that’s begun to write itself. Willi’s early goal was to show the utmost rapture of fruit, as an alpha to the omega of the Alte Reben and its darker gravitas. But for the last three vintages, Lyra has become almost overwhelmingly beautiful. It isn’t just fruit any more, and what began as a rapture has changed to a kind of apotheosis of fruit toward a gleaming and complicated divinity. The wine remains ecstatic, but these things are never earned easily. ’13 is graceful and massive, dense and weightless, a whirligig of complexity in which a hundred elements glide in an esoteric dance, moving quickly, stepping lightly; it has the focus and the beatific glow of Alzinger (and his wines!), somehow both serene and hyperactively intricate.But ’12 is something else again. It smells like the pears in the Garden Of Eden, or like a cool cream in which yellow rose-petals and vanilla bean have been steeped. Has there ever been a greater Lyra? Cool and infinite; a tight nucleus of mineral and Saturn-rings of fruits, flowers and herbs. It isn’t overwhelming power—though power it has. It’s an almost devastating beauty.”

Zöbinger Heiligenstein Riesling Alte Reben 2012 ($89.95) $69 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“First offering. And an utter contrast to Lyra. This is all herbs and stones and hay, all in an ever-shifting mosaic; exceptionally pure, Gregorian, woodsy, even spicy and minty; it’s Riesling asserting every one of its flavors that aren’t flowers or fruits. I don’t know what’s on the far side of this, nor do I insist it’s as sensually pleasurable as the Lyra, but I’m sure they only make complete sense as a unit, each fitting over the other’s shadow like a palimpsest. A short note to my somm friends. I know your wine programs are agents of hospitality first and foremost. They’re not dissertations into the Very-Meaning-Of-Wine-Itself. Yet I also know that these two wines form a whole that’s enormously greater than the sum of its parts, and that some of what prompts you to buy are cerebral or conceptual concerns. If you drink these two Rieslings together, a door is flung open and your knowledge of wine is catapulted forward as if you’d been shot from a trebuchet.”

Schloss Gobelsburg (Kamptal)
Gobelsburger Riesling 2013 ($19.95) $16.60 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Greeny and grainy and slinky and juicy and herbal and dry.”

Hirsch (Kamptal)
Grüner Veltliner Lamm 2011 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“The ‘11 is back-lit by its extreme youth, but there’s a shimmery brilliance that’s really compelling; it’s back-palate now, but silvery rather than meaty withal it’s as massive as Lamm always is; it’s salty not stocky, like a slice of cucumber between two arugula leaves with a few grains of selgris. Again singular in the context of 2011.”

Alzinger (Wachau)
Riesling Dürnsteiner Federspiel 2013 ($39.95) $29 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“A soft-voiced murmur draws you into its cool green poetry; every sweet green leaf, like mid-winter spinach when it’s frost-bitten and the leaves are incredibly sweet; grows more expressive and determined as it sits in the glass; an exegesis of chlorophyll.  If you’re evaluating or “scoring” this wine, humor me a second. Pour it, taste it and score it, and leave the rest in the glass. Ten minutes later taste it and score it again. If you’re a 100-pointer I guarantee you’ll have five points more with that second sip.”

Riesling Liebenberg Smaragd 2013 ($59.95) $47 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“This is the best vintage ever bottled of this wine. Above the radish spring-onion aromas there’s a foam of buttermilk and quince; look, this is a dry Riesling Ideal, not to mention a paradigm of pure fascination; white tea, chalk, water chestnut, soursop, in a digital mille-feuille of mineral.”

Riesling Hollerin Smaragd 2013 ($59.95) $47 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Elderflower, malt, peach, talc; an insanely and wrenchingly beautiful palate with everything, green leaves and herbs, balsam, stone-fruits and that mineral meringue; perfectly poised and blissfully synchronized in a wordless gliding dance, euphoric and quivering. Best vintage ever of this wine, an articulate divinity both glowing and thoughtful.”

Riesling Höhereck Smaragd 2013 (59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Leafy again, bouquet-garni and a kind of sweet smoke. Indeed this gives everything a person can ask from wine. Nor do the few mingy grams of RS hurt in any way. Energetic now, a bundle of passionate intricacy. Hollerin is divine; this is erotic, pulsing, addictive.”

Riesling Loibenberg Smaragd 2013 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“It’s a profligacy of plusses. But this wine is terroir on peyote! Lost for words. Grandiose, profound, solid, massive yet transparent, silky. Tons of fruit yet not “fruity.” This is Greatness—a monument. A tender loving monument.”

Nikolaihof (Wachau)
Grüner Veltliner “Hefeabzug” 2013  ($29.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“CORE-LIST WINE. It means sur lie. It’s exotic this year, but has the spicy flowery euphoria of ’13 and its usual semolinasweet lees; less starchy than usual but vastly more floral, as if a potion of wisteria were dissolved in it. Very long wintergreeny finish.”

Grüner Veltliner Im Weingebirge Federspiel 2013  ($39.95) $29 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Well this is a miracle-wine. Sparrowy energy; perfumed so pungently it’s like smelling your irises and lilacs from inside the house; a delicate minerality, but this wreaks an utter havoc of charm and deliciousness, all with that delicate woodsy breath of the cellar. Numinously gentle, unforgettable wine.”

Gruner Veltliner Im Weingebirge Smaragd 2012 ($69.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Spices and tobacco; an old dialect not only of GV but of wine; a kind of melting exhalation of relaxing, nothing to prove, no point to make, just delicately forceful; at the edge of oxidation, but feels mysterious, not decadent. Banish the noise!”

Riesling Vom Stein Federspiel 2013 ($39.95) $33 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Smells like cookie dough! Also notably woodsy, and then the Riesling spice and brightness kicks in; verbena, shiso, bay leaf and an echo-note of marrowy cask. Has complete repose but isn’t at all slack, and the finish peals and clings.”

Riesling Vom Stein Federspiel 2006 ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Bottled in 2014. Pure quiet profundity here, in a markedly smoky form. Very dry, adamantly leathery, charred, nettle-y; firm and austere. But not meager nor remotely punishing – just not a “nice guy.” I see it with a sorrel soup or something in an herb sauce with pea shoots, cressy micro-greens, yet there’s also this lovely smell of old leather.”

Riesling Vom Stein Smaragd 2011 ($79.95) $66 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“This is gorgeous. Fresh fruit but a cloistery silence around it. Hay and straw, the fresh profile only hinting at its murmury depths; a wine of the brightest morning, with decades ahead of it.”

“Steinriesler” 1998  ($84.95) $69 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
““Riesler” is an archaic term for Riesling. Saahs wanted to see how a wine might age in cask without sulfur if it were an ordinary and not a grand wine to begin with. The first example was a glorious 1999, offered two years ago. So what do they do for an encore? Offer something even older. This is a masterpiece of time, nature and instinct. Less “humble” than that ’99 was, and more insanely, dauntingly complex. I could detail its three paragraphs worth of nuance if I had 40 minutes to study it. Let’s just say, a perfect positive oxidation, a whole encyclopedia of wild flowers and herbs, a mélange of every possible salt, and the gentlest note of allspice and pink peppercorn. I don’t care what it costs—don’t miss it.”
Stephen Tanzer 92 points “Rich bouquet of brioche, acacia blossom, pine resin, sweet hawthorn and lime zest. On the palate, this riesling’s subtler elements are drowned in its supple, yeasty character, but its caramel fruit sweetness is leavened by understated acidity. Finishes long, with flavors of wet stone, anise and baked apple. Very unusual, but in its own way astonishing.”

Riesling “Baumpresse” 2006  ($139.95) $115 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Expensive, yes, but it’s a bottle of history, the reintroduction of the world’s largest still-functioning wooden press. The wine, in fact Im Weingebirge Smaragd, is out of this world. A swollen extravagantly ripe Riesling, ripe in age and in body; massively juicy and vinous and stocky.”

Riesling Steiner Hund ‘Reserve’ 2010 ($89.95) $69 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise
“Among all the Rieslings I know, this one has the most esoteric mélange of herbs and minerals, like if you took a Geigercounter to the soil programmed to register complex terroir, the damn machine would blow apart in your hands. The ’10 is curious and cunning. It has the oxidative note these have recently had, along with the firm smoky adamance of ’10, and that chartreuse-y herbal thing and the arcane vineyard-geology thing, and ’10’s mulish length, getting almost fiercely spicy with five minutes in the glass.”

Nikolaihof Riesling Vinothek 1997 ($219.95) $179 pre-arrival special