Knebel and Immich-Batterieberg - More Great 2012s

4/1/14 -

The affable, soft-spoken Matthias Knebel has been making the wines at his family's estate since 2009. They've been a constant presence in the German section here at Chambers Street since well before then, albeit mostly in the form of the entry-level dry Riesling and the multi-site blend, Riesling Von den Terrassen. As we've mentioned several times, 2012 is a terrific vintage up and down the Mosel and this is without a doubt Matthias' best vintage yet. We hope you're as excited as we are about what this thoughtful, passionate young winemaker is doing in Winningen's famously steep, terraced vineyards; we can confidently say that Knebel is entering the ranks of Germany's greatest producers of dry and off-dry Rieslings.  He works his magic in sites like Röttgen, Brückstück and, at the top of the heap, Uhlen, the most dramatic and storied slope in this section of the Mosel, the last set of vines before the Mosel finishes its curvy route from France to the Rhine. Like many of the best "dry" Mosel wines, Matthias lets the wines ferment naturally and doesn't push them to achieve legal dryness. The miniscule amount of sugar remaining in the wines keeps them in balance and helps them retain fruit and complexity without becoming austere, all while tasting dry. This vinous "sweet spot" is even more compellingly delicious due to the thrilling nervosity of the acid-driven 2012 vintage, and all lovers of both Mosel and dry German wine need to take a look at what Matthias is doing. He's now chosen to end the use of all herbicides in the vineyard and is out in the vines every day, working these unbelievably steep terraces; the wines are grossly underpriced for both their quality and the amount of work that goes into producing them, but that's in the consumer's favor for now. Buy as much as you can from Knebel now as his star is on the rise and prices will surely follow.

Prior to Matthias taking over, Knebel's wines were made by one Gernot Kollmann, who we now know and love as "Our Man in Enkirch." Gernot put Van Volxem on the vinous map back in the early 2000s and is now best known for heading the most talked-about estate on the Mosel, the revitalized Immich-Batterieberg. After the exquisitely chiseled 2009s, the electric 2010s and the baroque 2011s, Gernot is back with the eagerly-anticipated 2012s from Immich, and as in previous years, this looks to be one of our most successful German offers of the year. Gernot is a brilliant winemaker, an exceptional cook and I've come to teasingly call him the "Social Director of the Mosel Valley," as he's friendly with just about everyone there and excels at bringing together winemakers from all over the area and helping to forge a sense of community. He may be the most important figure in the future of the Mosel and his wines continue to thrill lovers of Riesling, not just here in New York but, increasingly, all over the world. The 2012s are more compact than any of the three previous vintages, marked by finely detailed nuance, textures unlike any others you'll find in Riesling and surreal depth and persistence. The crop was down 50% from 2011 and yields are a paltry 22 ha/hl, so there's not much to go around; we encourage you to buy as much as you can and bury them deep as the wines will unfold beautifully over the next decade. As at Knebel, the wines are either dry or in "sweetness limbo," where they can't legally be called Trocken, but they still taste dry due to their vibrant acid. Brief notes regarding the individual sites and wines can be found below, and we expect everything to arrive in early May. -jfr