As we just wrote, Lauer’s rare GGs are among the most coveted dry Rieslings out there. And of Lauer’s GGs, the Schonfels is the rarest.
In fact, we have only a few cases to offer - a handful of bottles. Please give us your maximum order but note we will likely have to allocate.
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The Schonfels is one of the steepest and most formidable sites in the Saar. It is a veritable cliff face, lined with 100-year-old ungrafted vines. In fact, the site is so difficult to work, the yields so low, that Florian Lauer’s father stopped working the Schonfels decades ago.
When Florian took over the estate in 2005, he had only heard stories of the vineyard…had only tasted the wines it produced. But that was enough. He immediately started the brutal task of clearing the vineyards and bringing the vines back to life.
The first vintage he released was 2008 and it was immediately clear that this is one of the most mineral, most extreme, most structured wines of the Saar.
The old vines produce tiny grapes, thus the juice-to-skin ratio is quite low, giving the wines an extreme phenolic density. Add to that the fact that the site is literally blasted by the cold Saar wind, keeping acid levels high and botrytis levels essentially at 0. The Schonfels enjoys an extremely long growing time and the complexity this wine achieves flaunts this fact.
The Schonfels is an epic wine, in almost any vintage. In 2014, it is a tour-de-force dry Riesling.
The Schonfels is more structured than the Kupp and denser than the Saarfeilser. The old vines simply give this wine an unmatched depth. However, more than the other Lauer GGs this wine needs time. If you’d like to drink the Schonfels sooner rather than later, please decant it or open the bottle 24+ hours before you plan on drinking it. That’s right, 24 hours. Otherwise, bury it in the cellar for as long as you can stand.
We have only a few cases to offer. To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits