"...these new wines will tell you everything that is essential." -David Schildknecht
2009 Immich-Batterieberg Riesling
A Mosel Legend, Reborn...
Turns out those Prussians really knew what they were talking about.
Today we witness the rebirth of one of the Mosel's great estates, the recognition (or is it re-recognition?) of some absolutely Grand Cru terroir.
This is gonna be a long email, but please stick with us here - it will be worth it.
Our story involves dynamite, some of the most exciting new Riesling to enter the scene in a long time, ungrafted vines, quartzite-rich slate, a famous canonball-bedecked label (complete with putti) and inspired comments from David Schildknecht.
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Schildknecht at one point actually imported the wines of Immich and though the estate declined after its 1989 sale (more on this below), 2009 marks the rebirth under the inspired guidance of winemaker Gernot Kollmann.
Do not miss these wines; I consider them required drinking for German wine lovers... for white wine lovers.
Few estates in the Mosel have been able to produce such a high-tension collection (especially in the ripe 2009 vintage) - wines that are ruthlessly mineral yet texturally rich, dry-tasting Rieslings that are both blanketing and feel crystal clear and pure on the palate. Full notes on the wines below.
I visited the estate in April of this year and was very, very impressed. Schildknecht visited at the end of the summer and soon thereafter wrote me, excited by the wines and frankly, asking to purchase a few bottles.
Yes indeed, it turns out those Prussians knew what they were talking about in 1897 when they put together their tax map, essentially rating the sites of the Mosel. The entire stretch of vineyards that today make up the Immich-Batterieberg estate were marked as the absolute best (and taxed accordingly).
The Immich family has been associated with this land back to the early 15th century, though if there is a hero to this story it is Carl August Immich, who between 1841 and 1845 blasted the **** out of a sheer wall of solid slate, thus creating the famous monopole of the estate, the Batterieberg which translates to "demolition hill."
(The wine, as you might imagine, presents an inspiring--if brutal--expression of mineral!)
Alas, the Immich family sold the estate in 1989 and it withered away... until Gernot Kollman and some friends purchased the estate. This release marks the rebirth of this estate and 2009 is a stunning vintage with which to continue the deep, deep history here.
As Schildknecht wrote me, even "if you're entirely ignorant of history or local terroir (as, apparently, are even many self-styled experts) these new wines will tell you everything that is essential."
Absolutely correct.
The CAI (named in honor of Carl Ausgust Immich) is technically a Kabinett, yet it screeches across the palate, tense, fresh. It is decidedly dry tasting, only the extract and richness offering it a sense of sweetness and ripeness. This wine will be in stock early next week.
The "Grand Cru" wines on offer today, the Batterieberg and Ellergrub, are simply top German dry wines, at the level of any being made in Germany. They will arrive later this year.
Complete notes on all the wines below. To order, email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits
Riesling CAI
Absolutely stunning wine for the money - right up there with Schloss Lieser's razor-sharp wines... Buy now because I am going to raise the price on this in a week or so. There is so much tension and freshness in the wine, ripe stone fruits made white-light-bright by an incredible minerality, beautiful, artful acidity. Really, really stunning juice at a crazy price.
Riesling Batterieberg
Monumental; this is so incredibly mineral and dense,one of the absolute rockiest (?) wines of the vintage. Like I said, monumental. Painfully, beautifully, gloriously slatey - as if someone had blown apart a slate-boulder and planted vines there... oh wait a minute, that's exactly what happened. This wine is brutally closed right now - I had it in my fridge for three days and it only offered the slightest glimpse of its immense depth. Decant this wine if you drink it this winter; better yet, bury it in the cellar for 5-10+. It will be PROFOUND.
Riesling Ellergrub
I barrel tasted this wine when I visited the estate in April, and I was impressed, but it was in an infantile, closed-up state and hard to decipher. I'll be honest in saying that I'm buying this wine totally on the glowing, super-enthusiastic recommendation of Schildknecht, who tasted the wine and then emailed me to buy some. Always a good sign. I'm excited to revisit it.
CAI will be in stock next week; other wines are pre-arrival
NET | No further discount