Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  1/20/2011 (link)

  (Sybille Kuntz SCHARTZ Riesling () Mosel - Sybille Kuntz #2 Dear Friends, Since we debuted the 2009’s from Mosel standout Sybille Kuntz, the winery has garnered quite a bit of attention and we’ve begun to field order requests from as far away as Singapore. Riesling enthusiasts on the Email List have been badgering me for older/other wines from this address so here you go (the original offer is below as a reminder on the winery). I will be brief in my descriptions but (from an impact perspective) Sybille Kuntz is just about as exciting as white wine gets and all of the examples below are worth your exploration - all are also very difficult to find in the US. Sybille Kuntz is playing in a field of very few and the wines have a certain mystery to them (figuratively and literally) as they are rarely if ever seen (or tasted). As a general rule, Kuntz captures some of the most intense, extract rich glycerols I’ve ever placed in my mouth - they are like spheres circling among themselves at the speed of light – almost creating their own extract universe as they go. All of the examples below are well above the Kabinett and Gold-Quadrat levels...these are the crème-de-la-crème of the winery and they represent a cross between Marcel Deiss and FX Pichler’s Unendlich. They morph and expand with air and after 12-24 hours of oxygen contact the finish is so long (on the entire portfolio) that it’s almost like a new category of Riesling: 2003 Sybille Kuntz Dreistern Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel (Mosel) - This is not the regular Dreistern Riesling – this is a special GK bottling of their best vats, only produced once (in 2003) - the material has been subsequently used for the Schartz bottling thereafter. A mindboggling level of extractive symmetry from one of the highest must-weight vintages in 100 years. Do not be put off by the “2003” on the label - 2003 played right into the hands of Kuntz and they were eagerly licking their chops as the wine was raised. A certain masterpiece but don’t expect Donnhoff – this is closer to an off-dry version of Schoenenbourg grown in the Mosel...for $70 less. (120-130 Oechsle vinified between Kabinett and Spatlese even though it is technically Auslese or even Beerenauslese in weight) - an experience that all of us should partake in. 2006 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Auslese Helden (Mosel) - Read the 2003 paragraph above and add “massive botrytized fruit is crammed into the long-neck bottle”. Another wine that could last for 25-30 years. (120 Oechsle, vinified closer to Spatlese) 2007 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Scharz Schiefergestein (Mosel) - As it evolves, the entire 2007 vintage continues to gain in notoriety all over the Mosel and the Schartz has developed a cult-like following (so I will leave it at that). While not better than the 2003 or 2006, the 2007 vintage shows the most transparency (in a sledgehammer/masculine way) and less RS. This gives the driest impression of all the wines, with a finish that lasts for what seems to be 3-4 minutes in length. Another stunning example that will be at its best in 6-10 years. 2005 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Auslese n°8 (375ml )(Lieser Niederberg-Helden/Mosel) - A modern and crystalline take on Beerenauslese masquerading as Auslese from a seriously structured vintage that is among the finest for high Oechsle wines in the Mosel since 1976. A wine that should last for a half century, only a few cases were exported (130 Oechsle vinified as high RS Auslese - a dessert level wine for the very long haul). 2009 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Scharz Schiefergestein (Mosel) - Ok, I was going to offer this separately as it deserves its own missive but it’s almost sold out at the winery so today is the day. 2009 was a magic year for Kuntz and this wine is an early contender for my wine of the year...and it’s only January. You can check community TN’s but the level of enthusiasm by Jancis and others is pretty shocking and, for once, the wine lives up to its billing. Be sure to decant or give it at least 4-6 hours of air but what a ride. A new standard for the Mosel? You know what, I'm not going to pose that as a question – this is a new standard for the Mosel and it takes the FX Pichler meets Deiss meets Steinmetz matrix to a new level...even on day 3 or 4. While it would be tempting to focus on the 2009 Scharz alone, I would advise against it. You are better served experiencing the progression of the winery from 2003 - 2009 to put the vintages into proper perspective. There’s nothing like tasting a unified series of wine together (or within a few days of one another) to further your trek toward vinous understanding and today’s offer gives you the perfect chance to do so. I also recommend you stash a few bottles away to see what nature has in store for us after 10-15 years in a cold cellar. Please give us your maximum number up to 12/each wine and we will allocate accordingly – for ease of packing, please try to order in combinations of 3, 6, 12, 24, etc as the long-neck bottles require shipping together (you can mix and match as you see fit but please try to stay within the 3, 6, 12, etc formula – thank you) To order: niki@garagistewine.com This parcel is set to depart from the cellar at Sybille Kuntz next week – it will arrive in early March and will ship during the spring shipping season (please check OARS for local pick up after March 15th). Thank You - - Jon Rimmerman *********************************** (Original offer for background information on Sybille Kuntz) 2009 Dear Friends, You need to try these. Ok, no one needs to try anything but you get the point and I would be remiss if I didn’t prod you to pour as much of this tongue-twisting parcel across your palate as possible. Immortal? That’s a big word and one I do not take lightly so let’s just say 2009 was one of the finest dry Riesling vintages of the last 30 in Germany and you will understand the drama and excitement... Where other white wine regions struggled in 2009, it played right into the hands of the Mosel. The wines have depth and a natural extractive that is simply awe-inspiring. What makes the vintage even more amazing is that the grandiose material could have produced flabby, blurry wines – not so here. The material is buffered by a textured liquid minerality and highly citric backbone that makes your spine tingle. Hyperbole? I don’t think so. Which brings us to Sybille Kuntz – an unknown face of illumination that outlines just how important the new Germany has become (when I refer to the “new” Germany, I mean the artisan/untapped/BIO Germany and/or that of Mosel Wine Merchant, although they have nothing to do with this producer.) In a similar vein to last night’s Nathalie Falmet Champagne, Sybille Kuntz is about to make a raucous noise on the world stage and 2009 is the perfect platform to shout from. Based in the golden zone of the Mosel (Lieser) and unlike the traditional German producers you are more familiar with (Terry Theise portfolio, etc), Sybille Kuntz specializes in dry Riesling – shrill and bone dry in many cases, unctuous and sappy in others. This is not your father’s Mosel-Saar-Ruwer where the higher the pradikat, the more successful the wine, this is the Mosel of fresh faces - those that see the true potential of great terroir in dry expression. With a style reminiscent of Nikolaihof mixed with Huet Le Mont, the wine of Sybille Kuntz has a particular shimmer while it coats and slathers the memory and the palate. Never heavy or obtuse, this is cylindrical and natural wine cut from the slate and fruit of her steep hillside and that’s exactly what she wishes for in every bottle. Her wish is our command. ONE PARCEL ONLY of the electric 2009’s directly from the winery cellar with perfect provenance: 2009 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Kabinett trocken (Mosel) - SOLD OUT (compare at $18-23+) If you enjoy stone, cut, fruit and terroir and enjoy a bottle of dry, site-infused, un-oaked white wine several times per week, Sybille's Kabinett trocken is one of the top bargain-buys of the year. I shed a tear when my two bottles were gone - that’s all I will say. In addition, hardly any is exported so you will not find this on every street corner in the US. 2009 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Spatlese Gold-Quadrat trocken (Lieser Niederberg-Helden) - SOLD OUT (compare at $25-30+) The new gold standard (sorry, couldn’t resist), this is a “wow” effort from their top old-vine holdings in Lieser Niederberg-Helden. Previous vintages have been very good to excellent but this is 2009 (an incredible trocken year) and her portion of LNH is picked with the best trocken in mind. From vines up to 80 years of age, the Gold-Quadrat is a labor of love and its power, precision and glycerol-rich length cover all the bases from front to middle to a finish that never seems to end. I was tempted to place this in my top five wines of the year but quantities are too small (I may do so anyway, but I still have a few weeks to think about it). Jancis Robinson- “I would strongly urge any doubters of dry German Riesling to treat themselves to a bottle of Sybille Kuntz's' old vine Gold-Quadrat”. Enough said. (I would also argue that this wine is a poster child for the depth, nuance and character that organic and BIO farming could have on a stodgy region very slow to change – JR) *********************************** Out of state orders will be held for free under ideal storage conditions (56 degrees/70%humidity) until shipping is possible. Locals may pick up at their leisure. For current local pick up and arrival/ship information, please see your OARS link below (at the bottom of this offer) - don’t know how to access your OARS? Simply click the link and see your account. You can also paste the link into your browser. If you are having trouble with your link or your account, please contact: support@garagistewine.com NO SALES TO RETAILERS OR WHOLESALERS Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Germ9901 Germ9902 Germ9903 Germ9904 Germ9905 Click here to view the status of your orders in O.A.R.S.