While the 2025 edition of the world's greatest Riesling festival, Rieslingfeier, had no shortage of star power, the surprise revelation was the newcomer Lukas Hammelmann.
At the Rieslingfeier grand tasting held a couple Saturdays ago, there was no shortage of exclamations over Hammelmann's wines.
Yet even more telling is the online scavenging that happened for whatever Hammelmann bottlings one could find. Our own meager stocks were gone by the next day at noon, and so we scooped up everything remaining with the importer.
Today, we offer out what truly is a "last chance" at Hammelmann's Grand Cru bottlings (Rieslings and Pinot Noir) and, for those looking for an introduction, the sharpest pricing you will find on his estate and village-level bottling.
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With bottles starting at $26.95, there is truly no one who shouldn't try at least one.
Lukas himself has a contagious smile. He talks in abrupt, declarative sentences. "This is the Hammelmann style," he will say, referring to himself in the third person. It's true, few have a style that is as distinctive as Hammelmann's: one part mineral, one part soaring verve, one part lime zest and sea salt, and one part structure.
Located in Germany's southern Pfalz, the wines feel something like the Rieslings of Schäfer-Fröhlich, though they are even more kaleidoscopic—their language is wilder and more expansive.
The "vom Loess" is perhaps the most serious "basic" dry Riesling we have ever had: stone and airy mineral, broad washes of citrus, flowers, and herbs. There is a Weiser-Künstler type of rigor and balance here.
The "Zimkaes" is Lukas' village-level bottling; it is deeper, more powerful, and more complicated than "vom Loess" though the basic style is very similar. This is a staff favorite.
And then, three Grand Cru Rieslings. The Klostergarten is Hammelmann's most complete, the Grand Cru bottling of Zeiskam, his hometown. The Schlossberg and Schlossberg-Terrassen are sourced from old vines closer to and up within the Haardt mountains. These are epic bottlings, truly new editions to the most elite rosters of dry German Riesling.
Finally, for you Pinot Noir lovers, the Roter Berg Grand Cru Pinot is textural and suave, with satiny rounded curves where the Rieslings only have sharp angles. The promise here is undeniable.
Quantities of all of these wines are absurdly small; the quality is absurdly high.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
| Wine | Size | Status | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Lukas Hammelmann Pinot Noir Roter Berg | 750 ml | Out of Stock | $69.95 | |
| 2023 Lukas Hammelmann Riesling vom Loess Trocken | 750 ml | In Stock | $26.95 |
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