This is one of the wines that made Lauer's importer reevaluate the entire vintage.
Lauer's Unterstenberg is one of his most famous Grand Cru bottlings.
It is a wine that usually shares a certain signature with the near-mythical "Senior" bottling, which is to say it has an ultra-fine balance that keeps it on the razor's edge, between dry and just off-dry.
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In 2022, for the first time ever, the wine fermented perfectly dry. It is a revelation.
This is the lightest, most angular and herbal, most soil-driven Unterstenberg we can remember. The 2022 Unterstenberg is exceedingly sleek and bouncy, with sheened layers of citrus, ginger, and minerals washing over the palate. It is outrageously floral.
At only $39.95 on the 4-pack, this is a Grand Cru steal not to be missed. If the pricing on German wines is beginning to rise, there remain a few outrageous deals - yet few more absurd than this.
The Unterstenberg - especially in the featherweight 2022 vintage - is a remarkable example of Lauer's (and the Saar's) signature: intensity and lightness, simultaneously.
While Lauer has undoubtedly become one of the greats of his generation, the pricing on most of his wines remains more than reasonable. The reason? We honestly don't know, though one key factor is perhaps at play: The complexity of his labeling system. One year the Unterstenberg is off-dry, the next year (this year!), it is dry. The "barriers of entry" for the general wine drinker, perhaps keep 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
Mosel Fine Wines: "The 2022er Unterstenberg No. 12, as it is referred to in the central part of the label, is a dry wine (with 8 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit picked in the similarly-named prime Lieu-Dit forming the south-southwest facing, front part of the original Kupp hill (at the foot of the hill). It has a beautifully complex and smoky nose of candied lime, grapefruit zest, smoky bacon, ginger, almond, yuzu, and white flowers. The wine is superbly playful and refined on the palate, where some light creamy and juicy elements make for an appealing touch. The finish is beautifully spicy and herbal and already fully dry."
Special 4-pack pricing for a limited time. Use Code: Unterstenberg-22