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| Lafarge, Jayer, Overnoy, Métras, Verset, Ferrando, Cappellano. What’s interesting about estates like this is that one rarely discusses them in terms of “perfection” or any absurd notions like the 100-point scale. These shallow metrics don’t work for estates like this. In fact, the very quality that makes these estates so unique is the uncompromising honesty of the wines, even if many times this also means the wines are less polished, more rustic, somehow more edgy and difficult. The currency of estates like this is not critical acclaim, but a more quiet and reverent acknowledgment of what these estates are, of what their wines are and, of course, a passionate following. I would posit that this is the rarefied company that an estate like Stein deserves. Not in the schlocky and salesy, “Stein-wines-should-cost-what-Verset-costs!” but in the deeper, more meaningful and spiritual sense. These are all estates that followed their own path with little regard for the whims of the market. In the Mosel, the fact is that there are very few old-school estates remaining that fashion such unapologetically honest wines, with their sharp-edged acidity and searing energy. It is time to give a proper voice and context to the periphery that an estate like Stein inhabits. When many of the winemakers of the Mosel were moving to flatter ground or new clones in the 1960s and 1970s, Stein doubled-down on the terraces of the Mosel and on old, ungrafted vines. As a result, the estate now owns nearly 10% of the ungrafted Riesling vines of the Mosel. This is an unprecedented and unmatched cultural treasure in the Mosel. When the avenue for critical success lay so clearly in making rarefied dessert wines for the collecting elite, Stein remained true to the dry, acid- and mineral-driven style of winemaking. It is the same story for estates like Lauer and Hofgut Falkenstein which in the new era of dry wines have been quickly celebrated and brought into the mainstream. Yet Stein remains something different, unique, and I believe and hope it will remain this way. Yet their 2019 collection is too fresh, too good to not try and expand the circle a bit. This is an epic, and honest, collection. As you’ve likely heard by now, 2019 is considered a great, great vintage. At the very top, I’m sure it is. Yet even in my limited tastings, I have come across a lot of wines that feel a bit heavy, weighed down by extract and ripeness. The Stein collection is a beautiful revelation in the freshness that can wire the top 2019ers, in the lift of mineral and sea salt and slate. For me, regardless of the acclaim of the vintage itself, this is a simply break-through vintage at Stein. Having tasted at this curious estate for nearly 15 years now, for me this is obviously and so apparently the greatest vintage they have made – at least at this young showing. The wines always have a rustic, vibrant acidity – that soul and personality is still there. Yet, what takes this collection to the next level for me personally, is the clarity, the transparency and vividness of the fruit. Everything, every detail of the wines, is in high-definition. For me, these are among the top wines I’ve had from the Mosel in 2019, period, and that includes the old school legends will Willi Schaefer and Prüm, along with the new young guns like Julian Haart, Weiser-Künstler, AJ Adam, Hofgut Falkenstein, etc. There are only three wines, but both Kabinetts soar and are unflinching examples of the restraint. The Himmelreich Kabinett Feinherb is a masterpiece, plain and simple. The Palmberg Kabinett Trocken is perhaps the most ruthless wine in the group, the “lesser” quality level that will need perhaps the most time. Finally, the Palmberg Spätlese Trocken is about as grand and deep as a Mosel Riesling maybe should ever be. It has power and grandiosity, without losing the lift and the tension that made the Mosel what it is. Seriously, do not miss these: email us at orders@vomboden.com to order. * You’ll note that the prices have gone up 20-30%. We still believe these wines are steals for what they are but there are two factors at work here and they deserve an explanation. First, the estate had planned to raise prices (with our encouragement and support) for many years. The timing was just never right; there was always some external pressure. In the most significant ways, we were to blame. That is the easier way of saying, I was to blame. I became addicted and spoiled by the low prices and the edge it gave me, the edge it gave German wines in the marketplace. It was all for a good cause, with good intentions… but we all know what they say about good intentions. In any event, this just isn’t sustainable and it isn’t fair to Ulli and Piet and Philip and the people that do the hard work in the vineyards. It isn’t fair to these amazing wines and to the deep culture here. That’s point one and I want to own it. The second point is easier in its absurdity: the tariffs, plain and simple. All this to note that the estate is getting the better prices they deserve and we are taking a very thin margin. When the tariffs are abolished our margin will return, that’s the hope. Thank you for all the support and if you don’t buy them, well, I’ll have the world’s largest collection of Stein wein and all in all, that sounds ok to me. the 2019er Stein collection wines will arrive mid-October; all orders subject to confirmation 2019 Stein Himmelreich Kabinett Feinherb – ~$38 Consider this Stein’s “1er Cru” vineyard; though it’s a 1er Cru vineyard with 70 to 80+ year-old ungrafted vines and a serious terroir of mostly blue slate. This is the “other” Himmelreich and similar to its more famous sibling in Graach, the wines from this site always show a slimmer profile, a pronounced mineral fine-ness and lift. With only about 15 grams RS (just beyond dry), this is a wildly restrained and chiseled, old-school “Feinherb.” I can’t say enough about this wine; for me it is nearly perfect. 2019 Stein Palmberg Kabinett Trocken – ~$41 The Palmberg is Stein’s “Grand Cru” and a vineyard to measure against any other vineyard in the Mosel, period. It is an awesome site, an ancient wall of vines filled with ungrafted plantings that are 90+ years old. The Palmberg is cut on one side by a stream, so the vineyard angles away from the Mosel. In former times this was likely a liability, the cool wind pouring down the valley and the distance from the river keeping optimum ripeness in all but the top vintages just beyond grasp. This is no longer an issue and these cooler vineyards, especially when they have old vines, are a massive asset. This wine is ruthless, cut, mineral, fresh and phenolic. It is quite simply one of my favorite wines of this vintage and it will age, easily, for 10-20+ years. Keep in mind, contrary to how we normally think of the “quality” levels (Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, etc.), this is perhaps the wine of the collection that needs time – it is still quite angular and jarring – brilliant mind you, but piercing right now. 2019 Stein Palmberg Spätlese Trocken – ~$53 This is Stein’s equivalent of a “GG” and it should be considered as such; it is the top dry bottling. It’s also worth noting here that Stein could make an “Auslese Trocken.” This would be 1) easy and 2) would be of a higher “quality” level and therefore, at least in the absurd realm of German wine pricing, validate a higher price. Stein, however, chooses NOT to do this. I don’t believe I have ever had an “Auslese Trocken” from Stein. Ulli wants to focus on raciness and lift; an “Auslese Trocken” is, for him, anathema to the very delicacy he seeks, even if he could earn more money by producing such a bottling. As we say with Stein: “never for money, always for love.” |
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