MCF Rare Wine 

Dry, Mature and Not Expensive

 

I'm not a Riesling expert, by any means.

 

I know the great producers, from the legendary ones to the small, geeky houses, and I think I have a pretty good handle on the vineyards and other general factoids, but I'd by no means consider myself a go-to guy for the finer points of all that info. 

 

What I do know, though, is that a) I love to drink it and b) I know a good Riesling when I taste it... 

 

(I mean, I guess that, if you've been a reader of this newsletter for a while, you'd know that I care about how a wine tastes and how it fits into a given meal/situation a lot more than I care about the factoids/anecdotes behind said wine...nothing wrong with them, but to me it's about the experience above all...)

 

...and I've loved the wines of Ulli Stein, one of German wine's great characters, for a long time. 

 

One of the first newsletters I ever sent, back when I was actually posting them on a blog, and using video too, was about Stein...with his old importer, Dan Melia of the Mosel Wine Merchant, no less. 

 

Dan has since hung up his wine rep bag, but I still hear from him every now and again...and I still love Stein's 'Blauschiefer Trocken', the first Stein I ever stocked. 

 

So, the other day, when Collin, my rep for Stein's now importer Vom Boden, stopped in with a bottle of the Blauschiefer 2013 (for this vintage, referred to in the English 'Blue Slate'), my eyes kinda lit up. 

 

2013 was one of those highly acid-driven vintages, similar to, say, 2010 so, at the time of release, this wine was a total screamer.  When it came time for the 2014 to arrive, they decided to hold back the final 50-odd cases and let it sort itself out. 

 

Well, it sorted itself out...

 

...and if you're someone who's always wondered what happens to a 'trocken' Riesling as it ages, here's your chance to find out...and for not a whole lotta dough. 

 

The, frankly, searing acidity has softened considerably and given way to a wonderfully textured, mineral, highly-aromatic example of, well, an aged trocken and, at $25/btl, it's the same price you'd pay for the young 'current release' 2018.  (With the tariff pricing, that is...)

 

Here's the umpteenth example of what I'm always yammering about - a wine that doesn't cost a lot of money, but will sit quietly in your cellar and get better over the course of five-plus years...

 

...except this time, you don't have to wait five-plus years. 

 

You get to enjoy the floral, mineral, herbaceous, electric personality now...so go get yourself some fresh fish, or roast pork, or cheese, or Wurstels or whatever...

 

...and get some. 

 

You may order by emailing info@mcf-rarewine.com or calling 212.255.8870.

 

Matt Franco

MCF Rare Wine, Ltd

249 West 13th Street NYC 10011

212.255.8870