Weingut Carl Loewen Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Alte Reben Qba trocken, Mosel, Germany

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The Loewen 2010 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling trocken Alte Reben is site-typically redolent of orange and lemon zest along with alkaline and wet stone notes that follow on a relatively glassy, firm palate for an on the whole austere impression. Piquant and adamantly mineral in finish, this is formidably forceful and persistent but short on charm. I would want to revisit it, but would tentatively plan on consumption over the next several years. “Nobody knew what to do” in the fall of 2010, maintains Karl-Josef Loewen, “because nobody had every witnessed anything like such a vintage.” He took all but a few of his musts down by one and a half grams of acid using calcium carbonate, which still left them plenty high. “I suspect that if you analyze my wines this year – just as with many classic Mosel Rieslings of a bygone era – you’ll find that some harbor a bit of lactic acid; but I did nothing to encourage malo and none of my wines experienced any profound malo-lactic transformation. What’s more, given the low acidity we are expecting in 2011, I would not want to be one of those growers who invited malo-lactic bacteria to have the run of my cellar. But this much is certain,” he adds: “if you had green, under-ripe aromas in the must this year, then you were never going to get rid of them by any means.” Loewen tends to welcome botrytis, and I can’t help wondering whether that has proven the Achilles heel for some of his drier 2010s, for which berries are generally crushed (this year at times foot-trodden) and given up to 12 hours of skin contact before pressing, techniques that, he acknowledges, should generally presuppose essentially healthy fruit.Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Loewen’s 2009 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling trocken Alte Reben – strictly from his ungrafted vines in that site, and weighing-in at 12.5% alcohol – delivers one of the most saline, smoky, stony generally piquant renditions of its great site that I can recall at any address. Pit fruits with their pits and citrus fruits with their rinds compliment that theme of piquancy on a polished, waxy palate, leading to a long, slightly austere finish. I would plan on enjoying this over the coming 6-8 years, although it might well enjoy a successful return- or extended engagement thereafter. Karl-Josef Loewen’s general approach – to as he puts it “make little wine from many bunches, rather than little wine from few bunches” – fits the relatively generous 2009 vintage well in principle, provided however – as he is quick to point out – one let the fruit hang long enough. “The temptation is strong – and it’s common on the Mosel – to treat (read: charcoal-fine) the botrytized musts,” notes Loewen, “be we didn’t do anything this year, and I really think that was the wisest decision I have ever made.” (Incidentally, the trio of upper-Pradikat wines of this collection for which suggested retail prices are not noted will, according to importer Terry Theise, be made available in the U.S. for any merchants whose fancy they take.)Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Orange and lime zest in the nose of Loewen’s 2008 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling trocken Alte Reben – along with apricot and yellow plum – manifest themselves on a firmly-textured palate as almost sizzling pungency. This is an undeniably austere rendition of its great site, seemingly saturated with fine slate, but one whose palpable density; ample supply of primary juiciness even amid bittersweet pungency; enticing salinity; lift and finishing torque make for startling stimulation. I would feel free to follow this over at least the next 6 years. Karl-Josef Loewen associates the measurably high dry extracts of his 2008s with their ability to buffer high acids but also to convey mineral characteristics. He was pleased to point out that not one of his dry wines reached 12% alcohol this vintage, and only partly on account of that vintage itself. Especially with his oldest vines, pruning for multiple short canes and de-leafing at critical junctures are among the techniques being employed to diminish the accretion of sugar and maximize flavor. Small berries and clusters are also critical, says Loewen, who does not believe in green harvesting. “The trick,” he opines, “is to make little wine from many bunches, rather than little wine from few bunches.”Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Loewen’s 2007 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling trocken Alte Reben boasted virtually the same must weight this year as in most others, so consistent is the behavior of this parcel of ancient vines. Orange blossom, lemon zest, white pepper, and kumquat make for a memorably pungent nose. Palpable dense on the palate and suffused with strikingly savory salinity and crushed stone, this is at once so pungently zesty and firmly mineral, that its finish leans toward severity a fascinating to follow this in the bottle, but I shall refrain from prognostication. Meanwhile, it has a dramatic intensity today that is well worth experiencing, but demands food-pairing with care. Karl-Josef Loewen finds similarities in character between 2007 and 2002, which he illustrated with a now spectacular Thornicher Ritsch Spatlese, a wine I already admired in its youth, but about whose combination of botrytis and slight severity of acids I at that stage expressed slight concern. Still, I was not entirely convinced by the analogy, or by certain of Loewen’s 2007s. Few German growers I know are as sanguine about botrytis in general as he, and it certainly touched most of his wines in 2007, at times awkwardly.Importer:Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel (516) 677-9300