Stirn is Lauer's most dramatic bottling.

Its tension and soaring mineral expression makes it utterly thrilling and the archetypal example of the Saar.

Florian Lauer is perhaps the most versatile winemaker in the Saar; he alone seems able to take this hallowed ground for Riesling, and shape it into something profound, dry or off-dry.

The Stirn, however, stands alone, literally and figuratively. It is sourced from a small parcel at the very top of Lauer's mountainous vineyard - and the wine flaunts, year after year, an unforgettable, almost indescribable, sense of balance.

The 2017 Stirn expresses something about the Saar almost no other wine from this place does: an explosive tension, layers and layers of mineral and fruit, and a fine plushness. All of this is matched to an architecture that is sharply defined, and an almost magical impression of weightlessness.

This wine has everything: flavor and intensity, and also a featherweight finesse. This is what makes it, year after year, one of our favorite wines from Lauer.

The Stirn vineyard is a wind-whipped, exposed vineyard with little soil. The grapes struggle to ripen. Although the wine is off-dry, Stirn flaunts a bracing character with high-toned citrus and a stony, saline minerality that gives the impression of almost a dry wine.

The old-vine density of the wine, along with its amazing sense of inherent balance, promises the wine a long life. The 2017 vintage is another superb example of a cooler-climate vintage in the Saar, offering the wine a tremendous amount of energy—a lift and fineness that is unique in the world of wine.

Lauer's Stirn is in stock now; it likely won't be for long.

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

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits