Make no mistake, these two bottlings are single-vineyard, Grand Cru dry Rieslings from Emrich-Schönleber.
They are something like the Grosses Gewächs at roughly half the price.
If you've never heard of these two wines, there are likely two reasons.
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The first reason is that they are rare. Often the "Halgans" and "Frühtau" are the lowest-production dry bottlings from the estate.
They are also, however, misunderstood. For certain German wine producers, there can be only one "official" single-vineyard dry Riesling. Therefore, any other single-vineyard wine has to be bottled under a fantasy name, inevitably confusing things.
Thus we have the "Frühtau" from the Frühlingsplätzchen vineyard and the "Halgans," sourced from the Halenberg.
Emrich-Schönleber has long been celebrated as one of the greatest estates of Germany. In the cooler parts of the upper Nahe, they are for us, one of the three unrivaled masters of dry Riesling, along with Keller and Schäfer-Fröhlich.
With the vintage 2021, we have two seriously cut dry Rieslings. This vintage has serious density. They are compact, coiled up, and mineral-laden wines that sing no,w with a good decant and will age, easily, for a decade plus.
In a world with warmer and plusher vintages, 2021 is the rare return to the intensity and delicacy that has made German wines famous for the past few centuries.
Emrich-Schönleber's wines have never been that easy to find in the U.S. Fruhtau and Halgans are even rarer. We have only a small parcel to offer today. These will disappear quickly.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
