2017 is an incredible year for Lauer's Grosses Gewächs.

As Florian Lauer said himself, 2017 is for him the "mineral vintage."

All in all, ripeness levels were roughly the same as in 2016, yet acidity is up a little. At Lauer, with the GGs, it is a thrilling, rigorous vintage.

Lauer makes three Grand Cru "GGs," each with its own voice and personality. For years, the chiseled and ruthless Schonfels was for me the pinnacle of what Lauer, of what the Saar, could do with dry Riesling. In 2016 (when it was my wine of the year), and for many years before, I have considered Lauer's Schonfels one of the greatest dry Rieslings of Germany.

In 2017, the Kupp GG gives Schonfels a run for its money. It is hard to say exactly what it is, but there is an extra dimension to Lauer's Kupp this year, a citrus-mineral driven brightness that is ultra-fine, silky even, while also being searing and saturating. It is the textural perfection, the integrated "wholeness" of the Kupp.

Florian's family had produced wine from the Schonfels, but working the backbreakingly steep and low yielding site didn't make sense for Florian's father. Having tasted bottles from the ungrafted, old vines, Florian knows how profound wine from Schonfels can be. Shortly after taking over the estate in 2005, Lauer set out to rejuvenate the site and ever since its first release, Schonfels is one of the most complicated and mineral wines of the Saar.

In 2017, Schonfels is especially coiled and intense. It's very compact and dense. The wine is mineral-laden and animated by currents of ripe citrus and complex herbal shadings.

This is one of the best GG collections that I've tasted from Lauer. The Kupp and Schonfels are dazzling. They seemed like a perfect set of wines to celebrate Rieslingfeier weekend. You've heard it before: 2017 is not a generous vintage. Quantities here are very limited.

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

Joe Salamone

Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits