Finding Leitz wines

Markus_S · October 16, 2018, 1:18am

So where exactly is “around here” and “our market”? I have no basis to determine if what you are saying is correct or a fallacy.

David_Bu3ker · October 16, 2018, 1:24am

Is anything Nathan ever says correct?

Fred_Bower · October 16, 2018, 2:32am

I just bought a case of the Donnhoff Estate Riesling for house Riesling consumption at $19.99 per. Probably purchased it from within 25 miles of wherever Nathan considers ground zero. Whether founded in fact or not, Nathan’s information is shrouded in a troll’s inflammatory veil.

fred

Ethan_Abraham · October 16, 2018, 10:58am

Wine library in nj has sent out offers on leitz. Also, while their distributor in NYC might be bad, it exists, so your favorite wine store can likely call then up to order if you ask (nicely, presumably).

Howard_Cooper · October 16, 2018, 12:08pm

And, Reinhold Haart. Don’t sleep on his wines, they can be as good as any in the Mosel. Any portfolio with Prum, Schafer-Frohlich, Schloss Lieser, Zilliken, Gunderloch (although I have not had their wines since Fritz Hasselbach died) and Haart is awfully good. Particularly, in the Mosel and Saar. This is like a who’s who of these regions.

What really is missing that he used to have compared with these producers?

David_Bu3ker · October 16, 2018, 12:23pm

The bigger issue I have run into is that they never answer inquiries when you try to order the wines.

Markus_S · October 16, 2018, 12:33pm

So. according to the original poster, it truly is Leitz out?

SOvery · October 16, 2018, 1:47pm

Leitz wines are sold by the Waitrose supermarket chain here in the UK, which must provide a decent volume of sales.

jbray23 · October 16, 2018, 5:01pm

It’s funny because Leitz moved away from Theise for just this reason.

Johannes was disappointed in The Theise model as he had way more wine to sell and Therry would only bring in what was pre ordered and none was kept Stateside for reorders. So Leitz went out and did their own thing.

Building that business back is tough and will take some time but the wines are as delicious as ever.

Disclaimer, I sell the portfolio in the state of Washington.

Nathan_Smyth · October 17, 2018, 4:05am

Who had a solid case of Donnhoff in stock?

I haven’t seen 12 identical bottles of Donnhoff around here since the 2002 & 2003 gray market shipments.

bob_parsons_alberta · October 17, 2018, 10:24am

I can understand the lack of availability but here in N AB we have a great selection of Leitz wines up here in Edmonton.

David_Bu3ker · October 17, 2018, 11:30am

It’s all reserved for a restaurant in Dallas.

(that’s a very old reference…)

Markus_S · October 17, 2018, 11:35am

Yeah, well “around here” I’ve seen TONS of Donnhoff. So much for facts.

Kirk.Grant · October 17, 2018, 11:49am

There is some 2002 Lietz on winebid this week…

Fred_Bower · October 17, 2018, 2:29pm

Chapel Hill Wine Company is my guy. His mail claim was:

The distributor received only 14 cases for the entire state. We managed to grab 7 of them.

I bought Leitz from him in years past too, but think that it was before the importer change.

fred

Alan_Rath · October 17, 2018, 4:48pm

I see cases of the simple “Riesling” screwcap bottling every year in a small local shop. They get decent amounts of a number of the other wines as well, including GG. It’s not that hard to find Donnhoff.

Robert_Dentice · October 17, 2018, 5:16pm

The reason for this is varied a few ideas that come to mind: i.) the last few vintages have been extremely small, ii.) based on conversations with German winemakers there are other big markets competing for their wines (you would be surprised what German winemakers say when I ask for the ranking of their biggest export markets, the U.S. is almost never number 1) and iii) lastly there are a lot new producers who sell better than old stalwarts who just seem to disappear because they can sell all of their wine in Germany.

Lars_Carlberg · October 18, 2018, 3:23pm

They may be small, but on the other hand, vom Boden is not exactly a behemoth, and yet I’m able to reliably find their producers at major NY retailers and on wine-searcher, including Falkenstein, Weiser-Kunstler, Vollenweider, Lauer, to name a few. And I can reliably find most wines from their entire lineup. With Leitz, I might stumble onto Dragonstone QbA or a odd bottle or two, but it’s a sad day when it’s easier to find Leitz’s alcohol free wine than any of their single vineyard stuff.

Vom Boden enjoys a unique position in the NY market, because buyers looking to have a German selection that is remotely au courant can just about buy exclusively from Stephen’s book. Apart from Falkenstein (which isn’t with VBoden here in NY), you can choose from among those you list, as well from J.B. Becker, Enderle & Moll, Brand Bros., J. Haart. Plus, he has some solid domestic producers in the book, which gives buyers one more reason to work with the guy. As far as wine professionals go, his reputation is unimpeachable. To be fair, I buy from Stephen and consider him a friend.

In New York, the importer for Hofgut Falkenstein is MFW Wine Co. We have different regional importer-distributors in the States. That’s why our pricing is so attractive. (The others include Farm Wine Imports, Ideal Wine, Robert Houde Wines, Williams Corner Wine, PDX Wines, and Piedmont Wine Imports.)

Robert_Dentice · October 18, 2018, 3:58pm

They may be small, but on the other hand, vom Boden is not exactly a behemoth, and yet I’m able to reliably find their producers at major NY retailers and on wine-searcher, including Falkenstein, Weiser-Kunstler, Vollenweider, Lauer, to name a few. And I can reliably find most wines from their entire lineup. With Leitz, I might stumble onto Dragonstone QbA or a odd bottle or two, but it’s a sad day when it’s easier to find Leitz’s alcohol free wine than any of their single vineyard stuff.

Vom Boden enjoys a unique position in the NY market, because buyers looking to have a German selection that is remotely au courant can just about buy exclusively from Stephen’s book. Apart from Falkenstein (which isn’t with VBoden here in NY), you can choose from among those you list, as well from J.B. Becker, Enderle & Moll, Brand Bros., J. Haart. Plus, he has some solid domestic producers in the book, which gives buyers one more reason to work with the guy. As far as wine professionals go, his reputation is unimpeachable. To be fair, I buy from Stephen and consider him a friend.

In New York, the importer for Hofgut Falkenstein is MFW Wine Co. We have different regional importer-distributors in the States. That’s why our pricing is so attractive. (The others include Farm Wine Imports, Ideal Wine, Robert Houde Wines, Williams Corner Wine, PDX Wines, and Piedmont Wine Imports.)

Lars - You would die if you knew my Hofgut Falkenstein buying strategy! And now because of the shipping problems in the U.S. I have cases stranded all over the U.S.! Of course it is all worth it because I love the wines so much!!!

Lars_Carlberg · October 18, 2018, 4:03pm

Sorry to hear that, Robert. But being based in NYC gives you an excellent selection of Hofgut Falkenstein. The smaller markets usually select only a few wines.