INSIDER'S PICK: 2021 SELBACH-OSTER QbA RIESLING MOSEL 'INCLINE' $18.99 2020 SELBACH-OSTER PINOT BLANC DRY MOSEL $25.99

This pair of new arrivals deserve their own double feature today. First of all, the quality is excellent of course, as you would expect from one of the benchmark producers of the Mosel. Secondly, it is inspired by the recent wine exploits of the eldest son of the owners, Pierson, as he has been growing and developing his own passion for the wine world. Followers on our Instagram site will have seen his photos and recollections over the Summer from a German/Austrian mega-tasting he attended, as well as several subsequent winery visits in Germany from his own trip abroad. Meeting Selbach family members at the tasting and then getting to visit them on a more personal level at their home winery is the sort of experience we all aspire to have. It inspires us, and more importantly it cements the importance of family, identity, and a sense of time and place that makes great wine so much more than just a beverage. His notes and pictures are wonderful (more to come); I've known him almost his whole life, and it's sobering to know he is about the same age now as I was when I first took the writing duties for the store. He'll be ghostwriting these emails before we know it without skipping a beat.
Anyway, back to the wines. The Incline series are a value built blend of several sites, all of which are vineyards that get featured in their own wines, so the origins are of great quality. They have both this and a Dry labeled bottling; we like this one better, essentially a 'feinherb' or 'halbtrocken' without actually saying so, just enough fruit to knock down the tartness and give some body to the lovely white fruits on the palate. The Pinot Blanc is an excellent deviation from the usual Rieslings in the Mosel, dry and clean with a full fresh palate that contends with our favorite versions of the grape coming from Alsace or the Alto Adige in Italy. Just a great 1-2 punch of wines you may not always gravitate towards as your first choice, we hope they inspire you as much as they did us.

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