The 2015 Senior is, simply put, one of the greatest Florian Lauer has made in his 10-year career

The 2015 vintage in Germany is one of the most exciting of recent memory. I'm sure that this is going to meet with a really strong response. I should warn you straight out: the wine is already sold out at the estate. It's best to jump on this now.

The wine has become a legendary staff favorite; it's a bottle consumed by the case-load and cellared in quantity.

Even in "off years" Lauer's "Senior," sourced largely from ungrafted vines around 70+ years of age, is one of the greatest values in white wine, period. In a year like 2015, it's something to go deep on. This is a Saar icon, at $25.95 on bottles and $22.95 in 6-packs.

The magic of the 2015 vintage was two-fold. First, it was a hot, dry summer. The heat and sun fulfilled all desires for ripeness and fruit, while the dryness kept sugar (and therefore alcohol) levels a bit lower than you'd expect. Critical, however, was a shockingly cool (even cold) fall which preserved the acidity, giving the vintage an almost unheard of combination - pure, explosive fruit and depth with crackling acidity.

"I would be very, very surprised a quarter century down the road if the top 2015ers are not spoken of with the same reverence as vintages like 1961 in Bordeaux, 1978 in Burgundy or 1971 and 1975 in Germany," writes John Gilman. Every winemaker we've spoken with reaches back many decades for comparisons - 1971 and 1975 are popular choices as they all share a similar intensity, thrust and agility.

As with the top Senior vintages, the wine is profoundly mineral. It possesses a radiant and pristine cool fruit quality. It's also seriously intense, carrying a rigorous palate presence saturated in slate with bright citrus.

While Lauer's 2015 "Senior" has just arrived, its sell-out is already imminent. It's best to stock up now.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits

2015 Weingut Peter Lauer "Senior"