"Demolition Hill" - Mosel Magic
2012 Immich-Batterieberg Batterieberg
Immich-Batterieberg can hang with the best dry wines of Germany.
The wines display a flawless balance and have agility, lift and delineation. Think of the Mosel by way of the Saar.
Gernot Kollmann has to be one of the most thoughtful, most intellectual winemakers in the Mosel. He has, with astounding rapidity, (re)established the historic estate of Immich-Batterieberg as one of the true elites in the Mosel.
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I can clearly remember the 2009s, Gernot's first vintage, and how blown away we all were by them.
Needless to say, we've been waiting for the 2012s to arrive. And the 2012 Immich-Batteriebergs don't disappoint - they're stunning.
Compared to Ellergrub, Batterieberg is shy in its youth and a touch stern. Batterieberg is always one of our favorite German dry wines, delivering a crystalline expression of minerality that is ultra-detailed and fine. It's razor-sharp yet still feels rounded and elegant.
"Batterieberg" roughly translates to "demolition hill," because, as Lars Carlberg describes, "each winter from 1841 to 1845, Carl August Immich used repeated and controlled demolitions with Sprengbatterien (a battery of demolition charges filled with gunpowder, as dynamite didn’t exist until around 1867) in order to shatter apart a slate crag and create an Alleinbesitz, or monopole, which he called Batterieberg."
The 2012 Batterieberg boasts the outrageous purity and presence of the vintage. The wine possesses a textural richness that's crystal clear with a pitch-perfect harmony.
The bad news is that Immich-Batterieberg was down 50% in 2012. As has been happening all too often, we're looking at great wines and small quantities.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits