We may never see a wine like this again from the hallowed Weiser-Künstler estate. It should not be missed.
This is the first and only time this tiny estate has ever produced a "Reserve" bottling at all, let alone from the famous Ellergrub vineyard, one of the greatest sites of the Mosel.
The resulting wine is perhaps the most mysterious and sublime dry Riesling Weiser-Künstler has ever crafted. The Reserve has an incredible depth and a cool, super-fine minerality, offering a captivating weave of density and etherealness.
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It is unlike any dry Mosel Riesling we have ever had. Trying to explain such a complicated and singular wine through comparisons will never adequately capture the full complexity and sheer individuality of this bottle. However, we feel compelled to use them for some frame of reference.
The Ellergrub Reserve spent roughly two years in an older barrel and the resulting gentle oxidation brings to mind Nikolaihof's "Vinothek" releases, and even a still version of Selosse's Champagnes. That gives you a sense of the incredible nuance and haunting subterranean minerality on display.
As might be expected, the 2018 Ellergrub "Reserve" is the product of an extraordinary circumstance: grapes remaining on the vine until the very end of harvest and in such perfect health that the estate decided to vinify the wine dry.
It's a wine that has angelic proportions with a seamlessly elegant texture that combine silkiness with a rigorous porcelain-like underlying structure. At over 13% alcohol and from the powerful 2018 vintage, the wine astonishingly feels agile and incisive.
Tasted blind, the wine is as finessed and airy as any great Weiser-Künstler. Perhaps it was the cool nights into late September when it was harvested that saved the vibrant acidity, perhaps it is just the mineral-dense ripeness one achieves only from certain vines.
All we know is this wine is magical... and that it just arrived, and that it is very limited. This is yet another reminder that Germany not only produces some of the greatest wines in the world but that it's currently one of the most exciting places in wine.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
