Rieslings for Advanced Learners
2008 Weingut Peter Lauer Fass 9 "Kern"
THE Germany Discovery, Part II: Crush Exclusive!
The cut-from-stone, unapologetically mineral, bracing and bright Rieslings of Florian Lauer in Germany's Saar were our greatest German discovery of 2009.
Today, we present the final tranche of his glorious 2008ers.
We first presented Weingut Peter Lauer to the United States in early fall 2009, and our email began verily: "WE DECLARE, WITHOUT HESITATION, THAT WEINGUT LAUER IS THE MOST EXCITING GERMAN FIND IN MANY YEARS."
Today we present the final tranche of Lauer's shivering 2008s, direct from the estate, exclusive for Crush - thank you Florian!
The 2008 "Kern" (named after a sub-parcel within the Ayler Kupp with ~80-year-old vines) provides for one of the most impressive displays of sweetness and acidity we've come across in a long time.
This is tension, and in the Saar, in the 2008 Kern, it is simply epic. No bottling expresses this push-pull better, which might explain why Lauer's Kern is almost always rated one of the top Feinherb (off dry) Rieslings in all of Germany. To get specific (for you Teutonic number-crunchers) the 2008 Kern keeps a gushing 40 grams of sugar in check through the frightening disciplinary actions of a sharp 8.4 grams of acidity.
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The 2008 Kern is a high-tension wire of a Riesling, pulled taut from grapefruit, peach and green apple all the way to slate, salt and crushed mineral - it was also one of the most popular bottles at a recent tasting we held at the store with Florian Lauer (see picture, right).
This is Riesling in its brightest, most transparent form.
This is Riesling with finesse and filigree; Riesling as an uncompromising treatise in mineral. Lauer's wines are INTENSE, yet compact with detail and precision.
We believe this is a "must try" wine for all German wine fans, yet, given the super-complex mineral expression of the 2008 Kern, we can't fathom a Chablis fan who wouldn't be thrilled by the purity of this Riesling.
Those of you who are scared by the "sweet" reputation of German Riesling, the 2008 Lauer Kern will show you how tense a wine with a little residual sugar can be! This is a wine that would, were it not for the high-voltage, ice-cave acidity, taste quite sweet. Keep in mind a wine with 40 grams of sugar would usually show a sweetness akin to a normal Spätlese. Yet this is a wine with a serious zing, and while there is sweetness through the mid-palate, it is kept brisk, fresh... the razor's edge of ripe pear and green apple.
What Florian Lauer looks for is balance - not residual sugar or, for that matter, the lack of residual sugar. Natural yeasts are used in the cellar and fermentations are allowed to run their courses with little intervention. The residual sugar is simply one voice in a rather large chorus.
Reading some old articles by David Schildknecht, I found a quote that perfectly captures the heart of the matter: "The soul of Riesling cannot be measured in grams sugar per liter."
Schildknecht is, in fact, the original Lauer fanatic. It's obvious enough that these wines are close to his heart. He has written: "It would be no exaggeration to say that I cut my teeth on Riesling from Peter and Julia Lauer's Ayler Kupp." Indeed, before Schildknecht became Robert Parker's go-to guy for Germany and Austria, he worked in a retail wine store and Lauer was one of the few estates he imported himself, for his own stock of course, but also for a few private customers.
We are happy to be carrying on where David left off - to once again have these stunning Saar Rieslings in the U.S. market. To our sensibilities, Weingut Lauer is one of the most important additions to this market in a long time and the 2008 Kern, to be direct, should simply not be missed.
This is the one-and-only parcel, a meager few cases for the entire U.S. To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463. All orders, alas, subject to confirmation.
Stephen Bitterolf
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyers
Crush Wine & Spirits
2008 Ayler Kupp Fass 9 "Kern"
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Special Bottle Price: $42.95
No compare ats available -
these are the only bottles available in the world!
Special Four-Pack Price: $159.80 ($39.95/btl)
Lauer is in stock!
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