Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  12/7/2010 (link)

  (6-pack Schloss Schonborn AUSLESE Riesling ( 6-pack)) 1990 Dear Friends, When a cache of this significance is pulled from the original cellar, it’s exciting even for me. Original bottles with this level of provenance do not come along very often so take note... Holiday Special? Let’s call this a Holiday Extravaganza... Several years ago I pilfered the cellars at Schloss-Schonborn (Rheingau) and walked away with one of the largest original library stashes of German Riesling I’ve come across. The prices were unbelievably low for the age of the wines and most of the bottles have received exemplary praise for their freshness, complexity and delicacy aligned with power (with a few duds here and there but not many). A number of favorites emerged from that original parcel but none more so than the 1990 examples that were fought over by one of the widest ranges of the Email List I can remember (for some reason, nearly every corner of our customer base appreciates aged Riesling – even those that normally steer away from the Old World). Most of the previous 1990 stash was Spatlese (the winery would only part with a tiny amount of 1990 Nussbrunnen Auslese back then but none of the other wines), that is, until this morning... After prodding them for the last 2-3 years to release a second trifle of older wine from their catacombs, today’s offer is the result...but there’s a catch (as always). They have no idea how many bottles of each wine they have left (think Transylvania castle with a cobwebbed underground maze and you will understand) – what they do know is that Auslese from 1990 is just about gone. The only way they could come up with an allocation (and to keep their sanity in the process) was to do it randomly - see details below. Here’s the deal: This is original library stock from Schloss-Schonborn that was bottled, placed on its side and never moved in 20 years. You will not find better provenance – period. The winery will gather all of their library wine from 1990 (Auslese) and package random 6-packs from their available stock. They have 1990 bottles strewn about in different areas of the catacomb (buried by more recent vintages), so this is easier said than done. To gain the widest perspective on the vintage, I asked for 1 bottle each of 6 different wines to be included in the 6-pack, but they won’t commit to that due to limited availability on most of them. They clarified “random”, to mean “not so random that you receive 6 of the same wine or even 3 of the same wine” – so, you will receive a good assortment from different vineyards. They’ve agreed to include their most prized examples as part of the assortment (they consider all of the vineyards to be prized but a few of them are quite rare - all have been sampled and tasted by the winery owners and yours truly in August 2010). I do not know what will be in your 6-pack – this is sort of like the Garage Sale cases from last summer – they are going to make all of the 6-packs of near equal worth and/or rarity/prestige – in other words, this is a lot of work for them as it requires each pack to be individually thought about and organized. A sample of the vineyards to be included 1990 Erbacher Macrobrunn Riesling Auslese (500ml) - this is one of the rarest wines they have – only available in 500ml’s – I believe 20 or 30 bottles will be spread out among the 6-packs. This is like finding the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket in your box. My TN said “...like rolling clouds over the palate...”. Individual bottles are well over . 1990 Winkler Hasensprung Riesling Auslese (750ml) - also incredibly rare – very few bottles ever made it out of Germany. 50 bottles to spread around. Not sure of individual bottle price, but around ? 1990 Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Auslese (750ml) - this goes without saying. 1990 Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Auslese (750ml) - I tasted this over the summer and couldn’t believe how young it was. Open this for someone that turns their nose up at Riesling and you will have a new admirer. for individual bottles. 1990 Hocheimer Holle Riesling Auslese (750ml) - power, mint, juniper – this is a wow example that lingers long after the last sip – could be the best of the bunch but only 40-50 bottles to spread around the 6-packs. Also should be if offered individually. 1990 Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen Riesling Auslese (750ml) - they have some of this left and will throw them into the mix – I doubt anyone will be disappointed to have another bottle of this in their cellar as it’s been requested since the original offer. Price is approximately $30-35 individually ($30-35 for 1990 Auslese? Insane). 1990 Hocheimer Kirchenstuck Riesling Auslese (750ml) - light gold, petrol, resin, touch of lemon and rolling texture on the tongue, perfectly aged and very long on the back end. It’s almost a joke that they still have wine like this available in original condition. As noted above, the quantities are completely different on each so most of the 6-packs will end up with 2 bottles of one vineyard or even 2 bottles of 2 vineyards, etc. The best part? The price. If you calculate the individual bottle cost of the 6-pack, the tariff is almost crazy for 1990 Auslese – the 2009s are more expensive than this? Noting that the Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen is the least expensive of the bunch (around with today’s exchange rate) it makes this a very special treat - if you are price checking, none are Spatlese, all are the more expensive Auslese. I urge you to check community TN’s as well. With that... This parcel has perfect provenance directly from the cellar at Schloss-Schonborn. EXTREMELY LIMITED FIRST COME FIRST SERVED at this price up to 1 x 6-pack/person until we run out (you can request a 2nd 6-pack but we won’t know availability until all of the initial requests are counted). 1990 Schloss-Schonborn Riesling Auslese 6-Pack - To order: niki@garagistewine.com This parcel is set to depart from the Rheingau – it will arrive in late January/early February (please check OARS for local pick up after March 1st). It will ship during the Spring shipping season. 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 Germ4790 Click here to view the status of your orders in O.A.R.S.