2021 Sven Klundt Kastanienbusch Pinot Noir
– Delicious, and Very Interesting in a Unique Way
– Fantastic Out of the Gate
– Nose: Deep, Ripe, Pinot Noir Perfume
– Layered, Deep and Precise
– Cherries, Licorice, Spice, Minerals
– Smells Like Very Good 1er Cru Burgundy
– Stunning Clarity
– Terrific Aromatic Depth and Complexity
– Palate: Deep with Just Stunning Sweetness/ Teeming With Energy and So Fresh. Red Riesling Realized
– Tiny Mid Season Cherry Fruit Intensity
– Like Chambolle Meets Gevrey
– Gorgeous Burgundian Texture
– Will Age for 10-12 years/ Drinks Well Young
– Most Refined Young Klundt Pinot Yet
– A Wine of Incredible Elegance and Class
– Will Turn out Epic
– I Gave This a 9.5, Which Is Ridiculous for $29.99
Some Perspective on Pricing
– Rebholz’s “Im Sonnenschein” Would Cost Over $100 3 Tier
– Ziereisen and Enderle & Moll’s Top Wines Cost $50-$70 (Through Me)
– This Wine Is Only $29.99
From Good to Great
When I sit back and think about the hierarchy of wines that we sell (and do not) and try to figure out what makes certain winemakers solid, good, great and elite, I look at certain skillsets and try to map them to where the winemakers are on the spectrum.
Solid Please don’t look at this as daming with faint praise. You actually have to know how to make wine to be a solid producer. By solid, I mean an 85 point wine that you or I would wilingly drink, if not seek out. It has decent fruit. It has no horrific flaws. It could or not be somewhat interesting. Basically, the winemaker has to be competent in the vineyards and not mess things up in the cellar. Which is quite difficult, actually. Every harvest is different and you need to know what to do and what not to do. And you have to not mess everything up in the cellar. There are often certain adjustments that have to be made in each vintage as well.
Good Being good is harder still. The fruit quality must be good. That’s the hardest part. There should be no “flaws.” By flaws I mean any brett or heat or excessive acidity. That does not mean that the wine is perfect. So I might say, I’d prefer some more acidity or density and the wine could still be good.
Great Great is harder still. Here, you need to have fruit that is really almost perfect. Not even in the aggregate. It’s that every grape must be harvested at its moment of perfection. Anything that isn’t perfect must be discarded. You need that clarity of flavor. That precision. A certain amount of depth. And your cellar must be pretty much spot on.
Sven Klundt – from Good to Great
Sven’s rieslings have been great for quite some time. His pinots were solidly good in the first vintage. And good pinot noir for $29.99 is a fantastic value. Many people were quite happy drinking those wines on a Tuesday for $29.99.
But there was always this question of why they were not great? I mean, the terroir is great. Kastanienbusch is one of the great vineyards in Europe and produces Grand Cru Riesling (Rebholz). And we know that that area of the Pfalz can make great Pinot Noir. Rebholz’s Im Sonnenschein is fantastic, over $100 and just a stone’s throw away from Kastanienbusch.
Sven has been creeping from good to great since 2017.
– The wines have been getting more precise and elegant.
– They have a skoche more density.
At this point, we have a wine that is still $30 but drinks like $75. It’s from a Grand Cru site and would cost $50 minimum if Sven were in the VDP. Minimum.
The Wine
Today the 2021 Sven Klundt Pinot Noir Kastanienbusch can be had for $31.99 a bottle a 4-pack and $29.99 on a 12 bottle case. This is absolutely Sven’s best Pinot he has ever made. It has that extra level of refinement that wasn’t there in 18/17/16 and ups the purity and energy.
This is the most upfront/out of the bottle version of this wine ever.
The nose will blow you away instantly. It’s just a ridiculous silly perfume of Pinot. Stunning fruit on the nose. Just layered, deep and precise. Mid to late season cherries, licorice, spice, minerals. Wow! Smells like 1er Cru Burgundy. It’s just a pungent perfume. Stunning and so so sick. Stunning clarity to the nose. Just so aromatic. Even the most jaded wine drinker will rejoice at the aromatic depth and complexity here. Only Pinot can do this. Magic. Just magic. After air it gets so much better. Just bananas great. Deep red and black cherry and just perfect ripeness. But also mid season perfectly ripe cherries in there. Heavenly spices and unreal depth and refinement. That’s what makes this special. The refinement. This nose is a 9.6. Easy. So nimble and spicey. It’s so layered. Unreal black and red cherry. Just so special! Since 2014, he has improved so much with his Pinot. On Day 2 it just got better. Complex aromas and glorious spice. Gorgeous refined and defined cherry fruit. Haunting. This blows away the 18 and the 18 was epic but so different.
The palate is deep with just stunning sweetness and the most velvety ripe tannins and such almost 4 dimensional texture. Wow what a palate. This is so elegant, so juicy and so nimble. Amazing purity. Sven has taken the leap. This is so damn impressive. Red Riesling to the max! Such fine tannins that are sweet and ripe. Dazzling purity and freshness. Cuts like a knife. Such perfect balance. Reminds me of 2010 or 1999 red Burgs. Unreal freshness and just perfect clarity of fruit. Wow. Juicy and clean with amazingly vibrant, lush and tangy fruit. All mid to late season cherries. Wispy, ripe and sweet tannins with a lithe structure. Wow, so lush and suave on the palate with such freshness and purity. Rich but nimble and so focused. Stunning. Amazing mouthfeel and sweetness. Such sap and nerve. It’s so aristocratic. There is tiny mid season cherry fruit intensity that is off the charts. Like only the best cherries from the largest bowl of cherries you can imagine. The fruit is so polished and so refined yet also crackles and crunches. So elegant but also deep and structured. Clean and fresh and so so balanced. This is stupid great. On day 2, what a palate! The fruit is so so stunning, fresh, tangy and pure. Amazing depth, inner mouth aromas and texture. Amazing mid palate and the juiciest and ripest tannins ever. Yet they are so nimble. Stupid good. The structure is heavenly and subtle and this will age on the fruit and balance alone as the tannins are so ripe, defined and perfectly integrated with the fruit this will drink exceptionally well in its youth, then shut down for 3-4 years and then re-emerge like a runaway freight train.
Long energetic and very linear finish. On the pop and pour it’s insane and even better with air. Unreal texture. This is so good! After some air this becomes texturally insane. Creamy yet fresh. Profound. The energy is incredible here as is the mineral wash on the palate.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your first order if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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