March 2010—NYC Visit
We are very glad to have a handful of our winemakers in town in early March. Both Florian Lauer (Weingut Peter Lauer) and Matthias Knebel (Weingut Reinhard & Beate Knebel) will be in New York next week, and they will be pouring their wines three times (!) in that short stretch:
- Wednesday, March 3, at Uva Wines (199 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn) from 6:00-8:00 p.m.
- Thursday, March 4, at Crush Wine & Spirits (153 E. 57th St.) from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, March 6, at Chambers Street Wines (148 Chambers St.) from 4:00-7:00 p.m.
And then the following week we will welcome the great Clemens Busch to town, who will also pour at Chambers Street Wines on Wednesday, March 10 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. and at Crush on Thursday, March 11 from 5:30-7:30 p.m
So: there are five chances to meet and taste and talk with a few of the people responsible for some of the greatest wines emerging from Germany, indeed some of the finest expressions of Riesling in the world. We hope to see you at least once over the two weeks, and please don’t be bashful about showing your face more often than that. The wines merit repeat visits. (And so do the people behind them.)
September 2009—New Arrivals
We are delighted that our first batch of 2008s has reached the East Coast and that the wines are ready to sample, ship, purchase, and drink. As we’ve said before, we’re thrilled with the vintage, and we’re delighted to be working directly, and more efficiently, in the New York market. Restaurant and retail buyers can now contact us for information and orders, and MWM fans outside the trade can expect to find the wines appearing on lists and shelves in the coming days and weeks. (If your local joint doesn’t have our stuff, let us know!) Triage, our good friends and distributor in Oregon and Washington, is soon to receive their first batch of wines from Clemens Busch and a 2008 Estate Riesling from Stefan Steinmetz made especially for them. Keep an eye peeled, Pacific Northwesterners.
We are deeply and profoundly biased, so there’s not a single new selection that we fail to be keen on, but some first-time-in-NYC highlights bear mentioning:
- the glorious, elegant, beautifully articulated Saar wines of Florian Lauer.
- Stefan Steinmetz’s Liter!
- a dry Kabinett, with under 10% alcohol, from Ulli Stein.
- Knebel’s Estate Riesling, usually snapped up domestically, now a MWM Stateside exclusive.
- our only two freshly-imported 2007s: Clemens Busch’s Grosses Gewächs and Falkenlay, the latter one of his terroir-designated bottlings.
- especially delicate, detailed, lovely bottles from Später-Veit, possibly their best effort to date.
We look forward to tasting and talking with you very soon.
June 2009—Mosel Tour
We spent several weeks of the spring touring Mosel vineyards and tasting a good number of 2008s, some freshly bottled and others from barrel. Without the (in many cases appropriate) hype and enormous expectation of its predecessor, 2008 is emerging as a wonderful change of pace—a fresh, lively, eminently drinkable vintage whose overall style seems to fit the mood and needs of our times.
Highlights included:
- three (!) trips to Weingut Günther Steinmetz to taste through Stefan’s 2008s. The wines seemed to get better every day, and Stefan thinks they’re his best yet.
- a meeting of the minds: Ulli Stein, Stefan Steinmetz, and Clemens Busch all gathered at the latter’s house in Pünderich, tasting and talking our way through the vintage. (Clemens had only a few 2008s but did have a freshly bottled 2005 Fahrlay, recently finished with its thirty-month fermentation.)
- drinking from tank, a few days before bottling, in the cellar at Knebel, the wines’ clarity and lift particularly welcome after a rickety monorail ride to the top of Uhlen.
- grilled lamb with Heinz at Später-Veit: who says Pinot Noir from the Mosel lacks guts and verve?
- Ulli Stein in top scientist mode in the evening, leading us through his 2008s from top to bottom, and then in top farmer mode the next morning, showing us with the excitement of an intern the vineyards that he’s been working for decades.
- the stunning 2008 collection from Florian Lauer on the Saar. Get ready.
March 2009—New Release
We have put the finishing touch on our MWM 2009 catalog. It includes revised and updated texts, an expanded glossary, and new photos from Tobias Hannemann. Dan Melia translated an essay from wine author Joachim Krieger, who inspired us to delve into the Mosel's history, soils, and so much more.
On March 24 Polaner Selections will host their ninth annual Portfolio Tasting at Gotham Hall in NYC. Ulli Stein and Matthias Knebel will join us for this event.
From March 27 to April 4, Dan will visit Triage Wines and pour our selections in Seattle, Portland, and Eugene.
December 2008—Triage Wines
Triage Wines is our new distributor in the Pacific Northwest. Their first shipment should arrive sometime early next year. Among the growers in their portfolio are Knebel, Stein, Steinmetz, Später-Veit, and Lauer. We are very excited about the partnership.
November 2008—Harvest Report
The 2008 harvest is winding down. Some growers will finish this week. The autumn was variable with intermittent showers interrupting dry, sunny periods. The consensus is a vintage with very good acidity giving typical, racy Mosel wines. Many of the best sites will show their class if the grower was vigilant and patient in the vineyard.
October 2008—NYC Visit
From October 18-26, I'll be in NYC with Polaner Selections to pour samples at shops such as Chambers Street Wines and Crush Wine & Spirits.
September 2008—Paris Tasting
On Monday, September 22, we will have our second annual Paris tasting at Mark Williamson's Macéo. Growers include Knebel, Lubentiushof, Stein, and Busch. The focus will be on the Lower Mosel this time around. A tasting sheet will follow.
Invitation
June 2008—Polaner Selections
Polaner Selections has a new batch of Mosel Riesling on the way, including offerings from Knebel and Busch.
The wines, mostly 2007 vintage, will reach the shores of New York around early July.
Among the highlights are a couple of specially selected entry-level wines from Stein as well as a new bottling from Steinmetz: Mülheimer Sonnenlay feinherb.
Moreover, a treasure trove of older wines from Steinmetz will arrive that were spontaneously fermented and aged in old barrels.
Except for these back vintages from Steinmetz, fact sheets of Polaner's selections can be looked up under the rubric: "Wines."
May 2008—New Domaine
We are pleased to announce the addition of Weingut Peter Lauer to our portfolio. The domaine has been known among the cognoscenti for making dry-tasting Saar Riesling over the years.
As with Stefan Steinmetz in Brauneberg, Florian Lauer has taken over from his father and makes wines in the traditional manner;
that is fermenting with native yeasts on the fine lees in old barrels.
April 2008—Polaner Selections Spring Portfolio Tasting
On Tuesday, April 15 we will attend in NYC Polaner Selections Spring Portfolio Tasting at Gotham Hall. On the following day, we will pour samples at Crush thanks to their wine buyer Stephen Bitterolf. On Thursday, we move south from Midtown to Tribeca to join Lyle Fass from Chambers Street Wines. Please see their websites for more details...