In the almost 20 years since we first tasted this bottling, Stein has gone from a complete unknown to one of the most important German winemakers.
While one could argue that the reference-point wines for Stein are his Kabinetts, to some extent the tremendous reevaluation of Stein in the last decade is due to the quality of this wine, his rather rarer Palmberg Spätlese Trocken.
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This is, after all, perhaps the most intense, most expressive, most saturating, and deepest dry Riesling he makes.
This has rightly become a legendary, cult wine - yet one that for the moment is still more or less affordable, and is still more or less available.
At only $45.95 on the four-pack purchase, do not miss this chance. As Stein's importer wrote recently regarding Stein's wines: "Buy as much as you can afford. There will be a day when the money will mean nothing and the wines will mean everything."
The Palmberg is Stein's Grand Cru site, a formidable terraced vineyard with ungrafted vines nearing 100 years old. It is a cool site; the Spätlese Trocken cannot be made every year. (There is no Spätlese Trocken for 2024; it was simply too cold.)
Stein's 2023 Palmberg Spätlese Trocken is a masterpiece. In ways, it has the exuberance of the vintage, the mouthwatering citrus and stone fruit, the glaze of green spices and floral aromatics. Yet what sets it apart is its rigor, its structure - the sternness. The Palmberg Spätlese Trocken rips across the palate with nearly 9 grams of acidity providing a simply shocking amount of lift.
Ulli, and his father Heinrich before him, have spent the last 50+ years tending this vineyard, rebuilding its terraced walls, and caring for the vineyard's old, ungrafted vines.
At any price, wines as balanced, composed, and soulful as this are rare.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
