The Greatest Dry German Riesling of 2010?
2010 Schäfer-Fröhlich Felseneck GG
*Special Futures Pricing Good Until Monday Only*
I have never before experienced such gushing and unanimous praise for a single bottle of wine.
I think there is little doubt that Felseneck is one of the monuments of 2010, if it is not simply the top dry Riesling the vintage (for that measure, only time will tell).
The first I heard of the greatness of Tim Fröhlich's 2010 Grosses Gewächs (Grand Cru dry wines) came from none other than Klaus-Peter Keller, emailing with him earlier this year.
By March the rumblings of Tim's extraordinary dries had bubbled up from friends on the ground in Germany and the wine bulletin boards were already crackling with the rumors of these simply devastatingly beautiful wines.
Then Tim declared, quite factually and calmly, that these were the greatest dry Rieslings he had ever made. And this is saying something.
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Finally John Gilman's reviews came out in View from the Cellar and there was Tim's 2010 Felseneck GG vying with Keller's G-Max for top-dog status and Gilman frothing at the mouth writing things like, "What Tim Fröhlich has been able to do with his Grosses Gewächs bottlings in 2010 is absolutely stunning, and none is finer than the magical Felseneck."
Today, for *anyone* serious about the greatest dry wines in the world, trying one bottle is strongly, strongly recommended - it will make you rethink the possibilities of Riesling.For the Riesling dorks, for Burghounds and Champagne fanatics and Chablis crazies, go long. Gilman has this wine powering on until 2040 and while I have no idea about that, by all accounts this bottle will still be young in a decade.
As I've written, 2010 was an extreme vintage in Germany: Record ripeness levels matched to record acidities. The vintage is simply unprecedented and while there are plenty of misses, the top wines are simply extraordinary.
But these wines did not come easily; 2010 is most certainly a winemaker's vintage. It's worth really trying to understand the risks that top growers had to take to make profound wine. Tim for example, did not begin harvesting Riesling until the end of October and the Grosses Gewächs harvest did not end until November 23rd!
Is it even possible for us, for the consumer, to understand what a gamble this is? Honestly, I don't think so. Here is Tim, responsible for the reputation of his family's estate, the financials involved in running a business that supports him, a new baby (congrats Tim!), and his family, and he is risking a good majority of the entire year's work to make a great wine.
In 2010 this was more than just a tough-guy gamble for a bit more ripeness, a bit more depth or esoteric bragging rights - in 2010 it was critical in achieving top ripeness levels, in taming the acidities... in short, it was critical for balance.
Read Gilman's entire review below!
We have bought as much as we could in 2010, but things are complicated this year. Yields at Schäfer-Fröhlich were down by 35%, and the Euro has been strong, which means that pricing is up. That said, we are going out extra sharp this year because we want to get this bottle in as many hands as possible, knowing that if you try it once, well... you'll be back.
There is no other pricing in the U.S. and I can't imagine you'll ever see this wine again at any price.The 2010 Felseneck GG arrives in the fall but the special pricing ends Monday, or with a sell-out, whichever comes first. To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Have a great weekend!
Stephen Bitterolf
Wine Director
Crush Wine & Spirits
Bockenauer Felseneck Grosses Gewächs
John Gilman, View from the Cellar: "What Tim Fröhlich has been able to do with his Grosses Gewächs bottlings in 2010 is absolutely stunning, and none is finer than the magical Felseneck. The utterly brilliant bouquet offers up scents of grapefruit, orange, green apple, wild yeasts, slate, gentle notes of petrol and a topnote of lemongrass. On the palate the wine is deep, fullish and very intensely flavored, with the most refined filigree of all these great Grosses Gewächs bottlings. The wine has a superb core of fruit, flawless balance, ripe acids and a finish that just goes on and on and on. The filigree here is stunning, and in the fullness of time this is likely to vie with the very best two or three dry Rieslings as the greatest dry wine produced in Germany in 2010. 2016-2040+."