Mosel Masterpiece
2013 Schloss Lieser
Niederberg Helden Grosses Gewächs
"It is certainly one of the two or three finest dry Rieslings of the vintage on the Mosel." -Joel Payne, Vinous Media
You've no doubt heard that things in 2013 were brutal for the Mosel in terms of yields. For Thomas Haag and his Niederberg Helden vineyard, they were even worse. Production was down by two-thirds.
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We have precious little of Haag's Niederberg Helden GG this year. And that's really painful. The wine is outrageously good.
Over the past couple of decades Thomas Haag has proven himself to be one of the Mosel's top talents. His dry Rieslings are some of the regions best.
The 2013 Niederberg Helden GG consolidates so many of the qualities that have propelled him to the top and caused John Gilman to call Schloss Lieser "very clearly one of the greatest estates in Germany today."
The signature at Lieser is a dynamic interplay of mineral, fruit and acid. Lieser's wines show as intense and sleek, yet are rivetingly balanced with a ruthlessly detailed, slate-y cut. When you reach the GG level, the rigor of the mineral core, the integration and balance and ultra-fine length are insanely impressive.
The Niederberg Helden is the great site of the village of Lieser - Thomas Haag has made it his life's work to bring this village, this vineyard, back to the fame it had enjoyed at the beginning of the 20th Century. Niederberg Helden produces bigger, richer expressions of Riesling than some of the more famous sites of the Middle Mosel. This makes it especially well-suited for making dry wines. The slightly rounder structure provides a cushion against the Mosel's steely acidity.
In 2013, the Niederberg Helden GG really shines. The richness of the site accentuated by the painfully low yields, married perfectly with the zingy acidity of the vintage. You get a bold sense of Thomas Haag's winemaking process. The richness and driving acidity seem to meld seamlessly into each other delivering a glossy expression of citrus, flowers, mineral and stone fruits.
Every time we offer Schloss Lieser's Grosses Gewächs they always sell out. We can never get our hands on that much, and the small, devoted group of Lieser fans snaps them up. I'm guessing that it will be worse this year given the quality and that word is out on just how good the Niederberg Helden GG is.
To order, reply to offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyers
Crush Wine & Spirits