These are the only Grand Crus you will see this year.
In April of 2024, Lauer (and much of the Saar) was hit by terrible frosts. Most producers estimate the year's losses at around 60% of the harvest.
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While this frost did not affect the quantities of the 2023ers, it is affecting their release schedule. As the estate is expecting drastic shortages for the 2024 vintage, Lauer is holding back some of the 2023ers for release next year.
This means, at least for this year, these are the only two 2023 "Grand Cru" releases you will see.
Put simply, these wines are among the highlights of the vintage. The coolness of the Saar shines through in Lauer's two top wines.
In fact, in 2023 both of Lauer's two Grand Crus have a certain savory restraint, a lightness and energy to them that in many ways defies the vintage.
The Unterstenberg, sourced from the bottom of the great Grand Cru Kupp, has something of the razor's edge in 2023. It recalls the cut of the angular 2022; it is thrilling in its compactness and linear thrust.
The Neuenberg, sourced from a parcel of the Kupp further west, is normally the most baroque of Lauer's Grand Crus (and also normally slightly off-dry). Yet in keeping with the thrust of the vintage, in 2023 the wine is simply a laser. This is far and away the most classically Saar Neuenberg Lauer has ever made, with a mineral-laden mid-palate and just shocking length.
The 2023 Neuenberg plays the edge of sweetness as it never has before. At only 11 grams of residual sugar, the wine can taste dry or slightly off-dry, depending on your perspective. This is a spell-binding wine and a Neuenberg for the history books.
We've written this before, but if Lauer is one of the greats of his generation, the pricing on most of his wines remains more than reasonable. The reason? We don't know, though one key factor is perhaps at play: The complexity of his collection. These are serious "barriers of entry" for the general wine drinker, perhaps keeping the demand lower and the pricing more moderate?
For the moment this is to our great advantage - don't miss.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
