2013 Selbach-Oster, Pinot Blanc, Trocken (Dry) Mosel, Germany.
This was a huge and pleasant surprise, a beautiful and vibrant dry Pinot Blanc by Johannes Selbach, this wine really stands out for quality and value, I was highly impressed. Almost every year without fail, I attend the Terry Theise Imports Winter and Summer pre sale tastings in San Francisco, I’ve been coming since 2001 or there abouts and I always learn new things and experience some of the greatest joys of being part of the world of wine community, and it is always a great pleasure to taste with Johannes Selbach, he is a serious and generous winemaker that has a wealth of knowledge and talent to share, I am always grateful of his time and his patience, even when the German national side is playing in the World Cup and his is pouring wine and answering questions! This year, he showed his new Pinot Blanc, along with his fantastic lineup of 2012 and soon to be released 2013 Mosel Rieslings, and the Pinot Blanc is a smash hit, this is an excellent wine and great example of the varietal with vivid flavors, Mosel character and nice intensity, not usually found in this grape. The nose has honeyed lemon and green apple with a steely and stony edge leading to a medium palate of white peach, lemon/lime, tart apple and a hint of tropical fruit along with fresh acidity, bitter herbs and mineral tones adding vigor and lift. This crisp and well structured Pinot Blanc almost has the feel of Riesling, though it does have more roundness and is very generous, finishing brisk and lingering with a long spiced grapefruit and apple-skin aftertaste, drink from 2014 to 2018. This charming German Pinot Blanc comes off three plots in three Cru sites, and is well worth searching out, it should be arriving late summer or fall of 2014.
($22 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive
