World-Class Chardonnay from Germany!

Today we bring you a pair of rare, audaciously good Chardonnay from limestone-soiled vineyards in the Rheinhessen and Pfalz regions of Germany.

Gobsmackingly good, these small-production wines mirror the style of today’s finest Côte de Beaune bottlings, yet sell for roughly 66% less. Check them out down below, them grab ‘em with that Big Green Button while supplies last!

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2022 Kühling-Gillot "Réserve" Chardonnay
Rheinhessen, Germany
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Taking the reins of her family’s estate in 2006, Carolin Spannier-Gillot is the third sequential matriarch to oversee this property, perched on the steep slatey soils overseeing the Rhine River, 45 minutes southwest of Frankfurt.

Representing only 3% of the region's plantings, the wines crafted from her 20+ year old Chardonnay vines have stolen our heart. Footed into precious limestone, clay and loess soils around the Laubenheim district, they’re farmed by organic and biodynamic methods, hand-harvested and fermented and further aged in neutral tonneaux casks on the fine lees until May of the following year.

The results are stunning. In complete harmony, her 2022 Reserve Chardonnay has the character and charm of a much, much more expensive wine. Enjoy Chassagne-Montrachet? Well, slice 2/3rds off the price, and that’s the profile it delivers.

Hitting that perfect combination of ethereal and “oh @?%# that’s delicious!” this takes home an easy 93 points on our scale. Once we picked our jaws up off the floor, we noted sophisticated notes of ripe lemon, toasted hazelnut, gunsmoke, popcorn, yellow apple, tarragon, thyme, orange blossom and acacia on this lively, long and drop-dead gorgeous wine. Decant and serve with herb roasted chicken on lemon-garlic potatoes, and you might just want to have a second bottle chilling!

Looking online we found five listings nationwide. Our price beats them all. An impressive, expressive wine that overdelivers in a fantastic way!

Vin Chicago Price: 29.99

2020 Friedrich Becker "Schweigen" Chardonnay
Pfalz, Germany
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So, how do we follow up the Kühling-Gillot?

Once upon a time, Friedrich Becker Sr.’s contemporaries laughed at him for the audacity of growing Pinot Noir in the Pfalz. A few decades later, the wines have become world class, frequently capturing near-perfect scores.

The Becker family is back at the innovation. Much like the Willamette Valley, the Pfalz has quickly become a thinking wine lover’s destination for Chardonnay. Though Chardonnay barely makes a blip on the production radar, the limestone soils and climate are perfect for white wines that carry the baton of Burgundy’s eternal flame.

"Tradition is not the preservation of the ashes, but the passing on of the fire."
- Weingut Friedrich Becker

With six years under its belt from the ample 2020 growing season, this wine gives the impression it might age forever. Free to stretch its considerable self in your finest Burgundy stemware at just above cellar temperature, it is an outrageously refined yet ample Chardonnay.

Palate-staining lemon oil and layered minerals are enriched by complexities of poached pear tart, grilled tangerine, chalk, saffron, white chocolate, white peach, oats, flint and macadamia butter. Aged in barrique for 20 months with significant fine lees contact, its texture and tantalizing freshness are inspiring.

Reminding us of a Meursault, this amply textured, lengthy and amazingly refined white is 94+ points on the Vin Chicago index. Pair with scallops in vanilla butter sauce, nearly any white meat main course, or Délice de Bourgogne and Comté cheeses and the match will be heavenly.

Not much of this is made, and very little seems to leave Europe. This is a beautiful aged Chardonnay at a time machine price. Sadly, only a few cases are available.

Vin Chicago Price: 48.99