Slate-Imbued Refreshment
2013 Ulli Stein Rosé
Mosel's Rebel, Rosé Colored
This is a rosé with electric, slate-imbued acidity and beautiful purity.
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It all clocks in at a weightless, incredibly refreshing 11.2 percent alcohol. Writing this, I'm reminded why we've drank a case of this in the three weeks since it arrived. Needless to say, this is one of our absolute favorite rosés of the season.
With Stein we have a rosé that's hand-harvested from slate soils. Its minerality and cut reveals its origins very clearly. These are very serious terroirs to source a rosé from and it shows.
As is always the case with Stein, he's not shy about pulling out all the stops to produce something superlative. However, the true beauty of Stein's wines is their delicacy, fine-ness and how understated they are.
This goes a long way in explaining why Stein is one of our most beloved producers anywhere. They are some of the wines that we drink the most, that make us the happiest.
We're not alone. Ulli has a huge fan club in Germany, and Copenhagen's famous Noma restaurant has an extensive selection of Stein's wines on their list.
Stein's wines offer up a sneaky, haunting complexity that speaks in whispers. Once you attune your palate it's easy to become obsessed. The pile of empty Stein rosé bottles in our recyclables testifies to that. The 2013 Stein rosé delivers beautiful floral tinged reds fruit and subtle shavings of herbs and slate-y minerals.
Ulli has a rebellious streak. He's a scholarly and uncompromising fellow. He and his brother, Pete, refuse to send samples to Germany's top wine publication Gault Millau and have had a "falling out" with one of Germany's most prominent wine critics.
As the German wine scholar David Schildknecht has written: Dr. Ulrich Stein is infamous for such lost causes as the reclamation of abandoned, frighteningly steep sites; and battling the entrenched 1971 German Wine Law. It seems, though, that he is more a David than a Don Quixote, because he has won them all."
Ulli is not only an uncompromising sort, he's also an incredibly fun person to be around. This rosé reflects both of those traits. While there's still plenty of sun-soaked drinking left, this is something that you'll want for when the leaves start to change and beyond.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits