Emrich-Schönleber's Grosses Gewächs are laser-focused Rieslings.
There are few producers who can match their skill with dry Riesling.
They've focused on dry Riesling for some time. Eight or ten years ago, when many producers were still getting their footing with world-class dry Rieslings, Emrich-Schönleber was making devastatingly good wines and has continued to do so with amazing consistency.
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The hallmark of Schönleber's GGs is their cut and their ruthless, blazing minerality. They are ultra-clear, finessed and intense. The tightly coiled style really blossoms with a handful of years of bottle age. Because of this, we suggest you pick up at least a couple of each to watch them unfold in your cellar.
The 2013 Frühlingsplätzchen GG delivers a particularly incisive and supremely pure expression of citrus, slate and floral notes. The Frühlingsplätzchen is shocking in its energy, incredible length and focus.
The blue-slated Monzinger Halenberg is Schönleber's most famous site. It shows a bit more muscle than Frühlingsplätzchen while having a regal elegance. The 2013 is a textbook example of this great site.
Both of the GGs consolidate the best traits of the 2013 vintage. They are pulsating, nervous, sleekly mineral wines. They have the vintage's tension along with its high level of extract that beautifully complements the zippy acidity.
Emrich-Schönleber's 2013 Grosses Gewächs are world-class as they so often are. Their intensity, balance and mineral-drenched elegance are really impressive.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
John Gilman: "The 2013 Frühlingsplätzchen Grosses Gewächs was also not settled on for its final blend,but we tasted two components and then Frank put together an approximation of the final cuvée. Part one is a touch sweeter at 10.7 grams per liter of residual sugar and is really lovely on both the nose and palate, offering up a vibrant nose of lime, tangerine, a beautiful base of slate, gentle notes of petrol, wild yeasts and lemongrass. The second component is drier, and offers up lovely smokiness, plenty of lime zest, grapefruit, botanical overtones and a great base of slate and petrol. The overall blend should come in around 6.5 grams per liter of residual sugar and approximately at eight grams per liter of acidity, and offers up a lovely aromatic blend of grapefruit, petrol, gorgeous slate minerality, cress, tart orange and gentle smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very precise and mineral in personality, with excellent focus and great cut and grip on the youthful finish. This will be dynamite as well."
John Gilman: "We tasted three different constituent components of the 2013 Halenberg Grosses Gewächs this year in the cellars, as the final blend was not yet completed. Part one hails from the best section of the vineyard and has just a whisper of botrytis, as it offers up a smoky bouquet of lime zest, grapefruit, wild yeasts, slate and tart orange. This has only 2.5 grams per liter of residual sugar, but the acids are perfectly buffered by dry extract, and the wine is full, quite structured and racy. Part two is a bit higher in residual sugar, at 5.5 grams per liter, and offers up strikingly beautiful and pure fruit tones as it central pillar. This is the most seamless and longest of the three parts on the palate, with great purity and precision. Part three, which will only be partially used for the GG blend, has 15 grams per liter of residual sugar and is very vibrant, smoky and floral in personality, with great length and grip and gives an impression of being far drier than its 15 grams per liter, as the acids and extract simply devour the impression of residual sweetness on the palate. The approximate blend of the three that Frank Schönleber put together for us showed a wine of immense potential and should come in between points when it is finally blended, and should drink well from 2018-2050."