Florian Fauth’s wines have always been good. They should be: Florian has amazing terroir and he’s the brother-in-law of Klaus Peter Keller, the Rheinhessen’s reigning king.
Yet for the last few years, for me at least, the basic estate wines at Seehof have been the stars. They are just so clear, so balanced, so pristine… and so damn affordable. For the dough, I dunno anyone doing it better.
Now, it’s not that the higher-end wines under-performed, it’s just that they didn’t over-perform at the absurd level that the basics did. In some of the warmer vintages, they sometimes felt a bit weighty.
With the 2016 vintage, though, let me not mince words: Florian nailed it. Everything clicked.
This is the first time I’m importing many of these wines, for no other reason than we could not NOT bring them in. They are just too good and Florian deserves the recognition.
Not only is 2016 his greatest vintage, I think Florian’s top 2016ers hold their own among the titans of the Rheinhessen, period. Keep this in mind while you look at the pricing below. And yes, the pricing will go up. Florian’s reputation is going to grow, the wines are going to get the recognition they deserve. It never happens exactly as you expect, but with wines like this, it will happen.
We picked what we thought were the absolute standouts. The dry Rieslings are the hammers, with definition, with cut and poise. That said, don’t miss the Morstein Kabinett or the crazy Scheurebe Auslese, which somehow has all the exoticism of Scheu without being heavy or sticky or dumb.
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t emphasize once more how bonkers-good his terroir is: these are simply some of the greatest sites to be found in this part of the world. Morstein, along with Keller’s Abtserde, is THE grand cru of the Southern Rheinhessen. It is irrefutably hallowed ground – just hearing its name drives Riesling geeks wild. Steingrube is less well-known, but that will change. Steingrube borders both Abtserde and Morstein and shares the same favorable exposition.
Take a looky below and let us know what you’d like. Morstein Kabinett is in stock now, the others should arrive in September or October. If you have any questions let us know.
Please remember we don’t sell directly, but we will help put you in touch with someone who can get you the wines!
Stephen
How does this work? We are not a retailer, we are an importer. As such, depending on who and where you are, we can only arrange for sales by putting you in touch with someone who can sell these wines to you. If you’re just a passionate wine collector, we’ll put you in touch with a retailer near you who does, or who could, carry these wines. If you’re an interested retailer, we’ll put you in touch with one of our distributors. If you’re a vom Boden distributor, we have some of these wines and you should buy them. Come to think of it, why haven’t you bought them already? For real.
2016 Seehof Riesling Morstein Kabinett – about $17-19 retail
IN STOCK! No maceration, direct press – ultra-clean and sharp as a razor. Has that limestone core, that signature Morstein thang, yet it’s high-voltage. And it’s just silly, silly inexpensive.
2016 Seehof Weissburgunder Morstein “R” – about $28-30 retail
Raised in 300L Stockinger cask and a larger demi-muid. From 20+ year-old vines and dripping with saturating intensity and grip – all while remaining airy and balanced. Best Weissburgunder Morstein R Florian’s ever made.
2016 Seehof Riesling Steingrube Dry – about $30-35 retail
Steingrube has less clay than Morstein but limestone is the common thread here in Westhofen. Steingrube is stonier, nutrient-poor soil and citrus is the dominant flavor. Texturally, this wine is super-super fine. It’s always so clear, so cut – so pristine. This might be his best wine – or maybe it just shows itself sooner while the Morstein broods away? Not sure, both are killer really.
2016 Seehof Riesling Morstein Alte Reben Dry – about $35-42 retail
Raised in stainless steel and large old wooden stückfass. Dark and brooding on the palate with an explosion of intense limestone minerality on the finish. Will make old bones.
2016 Seehof Scheurebe Auslese – about $30-32 retail
Scheurebe in all its exuberant glory – unabashedly sweet but holy hell, what a fun wine to drink. think strawberry peach lemonade with unmistakable limestone undercurrent.