Sorry for the long delay since our last post; we’ve been remiss.

In early March, Matthias Knebel, Florian Lauer, and I traveled to NYC to visit clients and pour wines with our colleague Dan. I stayed the next week, as well, because Clemens Busch joined Dan and me for another round of tastings and visits. It was a great trip going around the different neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and I followed this with a week in Central Texas.

After my three-plus-week stay in the States, a friend and I drove on Easter to the Middle Mosel and visited Später-Veit and Günther Steinmetz. We tasted some of the newly bottled 2009s. I was impressed by the quality at both estates. (By the way, see link for an excellent write-up on Günther Steinmetz by Uwe Kristen.)

Along with his splendid Brauneberger, Mülheimer, and Kestener wines, Stefan Steinmetz made for the first time bottlings (all adorned with the new retro label) from his recently acquired 1.2-hectare parcel of 50-year-old Riesling vines in Wintricher Geierslay, a stony south-facing site tucked in a side valley. I loved his 2009 Riesling Spätlese “sur lie” from this vineyard, and it’s my “Wine of the Week.” This wild-yeast-fermented Riesling—sponti aromas on the nose—has about 12 g/l residual sugar (RS), so technically not “dry.” But it has real character to go along with wonderful acidity, grip, and balance. As with almost all of Steinmetz’s wines, it was vinified sur lie (on lees), though in steel rather than in Fuder. His 2009 feinherb (ca. 22 g/l RS) from this site might even be better. These are reminiscent of Florian Lauer’s Ayler Kupp Riesling in style and substance.

Heinz Welter at Später-Veit made arguably his best collection of Riesling. In particular, I loved his ’09 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese “Jupp,” from a well-situated plot of vines named after his uncle. This has amazing finesse and breed and measures up against the great wines of his friend and neighbor Theo Haart. All of Heinz’s wines, except for his liter, were fermented this vintage with wild yeasts. He made some slight changes in the vinification and the style has become more linear, less opulent than in past vintages. I also liked his 2009 Piesporter Grafenberg Kabinett feinherb (from red slate), 2009 Piesporter Domherr Kabinett trocken (perhaps a step up from the ’08), and 2009 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Spätlese trocken (worthy of GG status, if non-VDP members could do so and supposedly some have asked for permission).

Harvesters at Schonfels on the Saar. Photograph from Florian Lauer.

Florian Lauer of Weingut Peter Lauer had some additional 2009 harvest facts that I’ve translated below:

• Must weights mostly between 90° and under 100° Oechsle.
• Acidities pleasantly stable at higher ripeness levels (9.5 to 11.0 g/l); we don’t need to acidify, as in other wine regions (e.g., the Pfalz).
• Grapes very healthy; little botrytis, when then clean and dry.
• Ripe, dried raisins and berries, ideal for BA and TBA.
• Young vines inferior because of a lack of water in September.
• Old vines very good—since longer roots, enough water.
• Oct. 20 frost of minus 4.5 °C froze the leaves in less well-situated vineyards.
• “Saarfeilser” one of the only sites on the Saar that had green leaves, hence great ripeness.
• Early frost could result in a lack of reserves in the coming vintage, because vines assimilate nutrients from the leaves. Already one day after the frost, there were no more leaves on the vines this year.
• We’re not producing any Eiswein! I don’t like Eiswein and prefer a fine BA instead.

After pointing out Weingut Peter Lauer’s harvest report to the wine critic David Schildknecht, he kindly translated the text himself and let me post it on our blog:

FLORIAN & PETER LAUER (WEINGUT PETER LAUER, AYL) WRITE: [and you can see their photos and the original, version of this report here]

The Saar Brings in a Fantastic 2009 Harvest

Since mid-September, our Riesling grapes in the steep slate slopes have been ripening under absolutely ideal conditions. The weather during the late months of ripening (September and October) was a critical determinant of the health, concentration, and aromas of the grapes, which are being harvested now in October, and into November.

The berries are very tiny and the clusters loose—thanks to our having divided them in summer. (This consists of cutting the individual bunch in the middle, precisely at the spot where otherwise unfavorable early botrytis appears and leads to unripe rot.)

The dry first half of October gave us top cuvées of quality comparable to the 1999s or 2005s. In the upper levels [of ripeness] this vintage leaves no wish unfulfilled: From Spät- and Auslese through BA and TBA (Trockenbeerenauslese with well over 200 degrees Oechsle) with terrific interplay [of flavors] and endless nervosité [Spannung—never have found an English word to convey this, literally meaning tension] between fruit and mineral-crystalline Saar acidty, everything is present that makes up [great] Riesling.

The dry September made it difficult for our newly-planted and young vines, and led to premature ripeness. By contrast, our many parcels with old vines—with their long, deep roots—were ideally suited for the dry autumn. Here, one tastes in the fresh must the energy and expressivity of the vintage [:] tension [English in original].

On Sunday, Tobias, who shot the photos for our catalogs, and I visited Weingut Peter Lauer in Ayl, where we met with Florian Lauer. I was able to re-taste the 2008s, but this time after bottling. Back in April, I had tasted on two separate occasions Fuder and tank samples.

One of my favorites is the 2008 Ayler Kupp Riesling “Senior” Faß 6, a filigreed dry-tasting Saar Riesling from diverse plots with a good portion of 80- to 90-year-old vines, partly ungrafted, in the most westerly sector of the “original” Ayler Kupp hillside (more later about the Kupp). This was the style of Saar Riesling that his grandfather enjoyed to drink, hence the name “Senior.” The 2008 vintage of this bottling has 13.1 grams per liter residual sugar and 8.0 grams per liter acidity. Although technically halbtrocken (or, feinherb), it comes across dry on the palate because of the acidity. In fact, Florian designates this wine as “trocken” rather than feinherb.

Kupp is a short form of Kuppe, which in German means hilltop. The “original” Kupp is the steep vineyard north of the village. Similar to Scharzhofberg and other prime Saar vineyards in villages such as Ockfen, Wawern or Oberemmel, the vines grow primarily on south- to southwest-facing slate slopes in side valleys.

As with so many other vineyards on the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, the Ayler Kupp had former specific site names (listed below from east to west):

• Kupp. The original rounded end of the hill, above the village of Biebelhausen. (Formerly, the east-facing hillside was called Biebelhausener Berg, later Biebelhausener Kupp, which was next to the south-facing Ayler Kupp.)
• Stirn. At the top of the knoll, west of Kupp, below the tree-line cover; south facing.
• Untersten Berg. At the foot of the hill, below Stirn; south facing.
• Neuberg (or Neuenberg). The large middle section of the hillside; south-southwest facing.
• Herrenberg. A monopole site of the Bischöfliche Weingüter within Neuberg.
• Kern. A cross-section of the slope between Neuberg and Neuanlage; southwest facing. (The former owner, named Kern, was an industrialist from Saarlouis.)
• Neuanlage. The tail end of the slope; southwest facing. (Cleared of trees and planted with vines ca. 1900.)

The Prussian tax map of 1832, highlights in dark red the middle section known as Neuberg, which for the purposes of taxation was the essential area, since the Catholic Church in Trier and the rich Graff family of Ayl had their holdings here.

This map doesn’t show today’s entire hillside, however. For example, the pink area, west of the Kern section, was removed of trees and planted at the turn of the century and was unofficially called “Neuanlage” (or, “new planting”) to differentiate it from Neuberg. The old vines from “Senior” come from many different parcels within Neuanlage. Both sites, Kern and Neuanlage, have a more southwesterly exposure and benefit from the late afternoon sun combined by the cooling winds, especially after sunset, that rush up this area of the slope owing to the humid, marshy fields below.

“Neuberg” means “new hill.” Even though this section is listed on the old maps, dating back to the nineteenth century, it was at one point in time indeed “new” and also cleared of woods and planted with vines as was Neuanlage later on. The “Kupp” was the oldest site. (On the Saar, this vineyard name is commonplace, such as the unappreciated Saarburger Kupp in addition to Wiltinger Kupp and Braune Kupp.)

Up until the Golden Twenties, the hillside was simply divided into Neuberg (or, later named Neuenberg) and Kupp. (See below old postcard sent on June 13, 1916 below.)

From 1933 to 1973, Ayler Neuenberg and Neuanlage (the wooded area of the slope behind Neuenberg) were merged with Ayler Kupp.

Since 1973 the official Ayler Kupp vineyard incorporates now a number of spread-out sites beyond this particular hillside. These include the following vineyards: Ayler Scheidterberg, Rauberg, and Schonfels as well as Biebelhausener Sonnenberg and Saarfeils.

The weather had been perfect over the last few weeks: cool, dry, and sunny; now the forecast is for rain. Stefan Steinmetz of Weingut Günther Steinmetz told me that there is good ripeness in his various plots around Brauneberg in the Middle Mosel and the main Riesling harvest should commence towards late October depending, of course, on the weather conditions. He has botrytis, too. Gray mold, however, is affecting a number of his Pinot Noir bunches.

Florian Lauer of Weingut Peter Lauer wrote me that his Riesling grapes look fine in his parcels around Ayl on the Saar, but he wishes it were warmer and drier this week. His harvest will begin around mid-October.

Florian Lauer, who studied oenology in Montpellier, is the fifth-generation hands-on owner/winemaker of this 6.5-hectare (16.1 acre) Saar domaine. In addition to his studies in the south of France, he learned from his father Peter’s experience and skills. Florian tends to the vines and raises the wines himself, and he follows his father and grandfather’s procedure of bottling the wines according to individual Faß (barrel) numbers. Today, Florian perpetuates this tradition of keeping the cask numbers on the label, but often blending among the barrels to achieve a specific style.

Since the family owns a hotel-restaurant, most of their production is sold locally and rarely exported. In fact, their wines are sold out every year. In the past, the well-respected wine writer David Schildknecht imported Lauer Saar Riesling for his retail clientele.

Many of the famous Saar estates produce their Riesling with higher amounts of residual sugar from blocked fermentations; Florian focuses on dry-tasting wines. He prefers to ferment with wild yeasts on the fine lees for a longer upbringing in the traditional old oak casks (Fuders).

The majority of their holdings are in the grand cru single-vineyard Ayler Kupp, a steep south- to southwest-facing site with predominantly gray slate. As with many other famous sites, including the renowned Scharzhofberg, its boundaries have expanded beyond the core area. Before 1973, the original Kupp hillside had site-specific names that the Lauers still use today on their labels: “Unterstenbersch” (patois for Untersten  Berg, or “at the foot of the hill”), “Stirn” (a site directly above), and “Kern” (a parcel that includes a cross-section of the hillside further to the west). The Lauers have additional plots in surrounding vineyards, among them the steep Schonfels and Saarfeilser, the latter a top site with an alluvial soil consisting of large round stones and slate.

The wine style at Lauer reflects the Saar: bright acidity with good minerality.

Yesterday evening, I returned from a two-day tour of the Saar and came away impressed with the overall quality and dynamism in the region. In spite of different styles and philosophies, Saar Riesling has a unique character, namely bracing acidity that gives the wines balance, bite, and long-aging potential.

Among the more established estates, Egon Müller and Geltz-Zilliken had excellent collections in the so-called “classic” style, namely from stopped fermentations resulting in higher residual sugar. Müller feels it’s a Kabinett vintage and after tasting through his 2007s, he asked us to join him in his study and kindly poured us a half-bottle of his 1997 Scharzhofberger Kabinett, which tasted like a fresh (Hunsrück) hill-country stream. Many years ago, I had the fortune once to taste a 1971 Kabinett, my birth year, with his late father. Zilliken proudly poured us a 2003 TBA after going through samples of his 2007 collection, mostly from Saarburger Rausch. Afterward he showed us the construction being done at the moment for new tasting and vat rooms. As with so many estates in the Mosel-Saar, his daughter will be taking over. We also went down into his deep underground cellar, formerly an air-raid shelter during the Second World War.

Before Zilliken, we tasted at Dr. Wagner, an old-family estate in Saarburg whose daughter will also take over duties in a few years. (I missed David Schildknecht’s early appointment at Dr. Siemens.) The style here is conservative both in the dry and sweet categories with aging only in old barrels.  The last trip on the second day was a visit to Hofgut Falkenstein, a low-key domaine run by Erich Weber making very traditional dry-fermented Riesling and an excellent Pinot Noir under 12% alcohol. (Moritz Gogrewe in Oberemmel also made a lovely unfiltered Pinot with low alcohol.)

Although I was invited to their recent annual vintage presentations and failed to go, we tasted on Friday both at von Othegraven and Van Volxem with their respective wine-makers. Both visits had very good wines in their line-ups. Andreas Barth of Lubentiushof (a winegrower in our MWM portfolio) took over wine-making from Stefan Kraml (now at Maximin Grünhaus) in the 2004 vintage at von Othegraven, which has vines in the core section of the famous Kanzemer Altenberg. Roman Niewodniczanski, who was out of town during our visit, has been a driving force since his first vintage in 2000 by helping to put the Saar back on the map. His estate has grown from ca. less than 12 to over 40 hectares, all in top sites. The style in 2007 here is for more opulent dry-tasting wines, but less sharp in acidity than a typical dry Saar Riesling such as Dr. Wagner or Hofgut Falkenstein.

Manfred Loch of Weinhof Herrenberg, an organic winegrower in Schoden, had a top collection of dry-tasting wines from his sites in the Schodener Herrenberg and Wiltinger Schlangengraben. The style here is special, more reductive with pronounced Saar acidity, which the crown caps accentuate. At Schloss Saarstein, we tasted good racy, mineral wines from the Eberts’ monopole site.

Admittedly, I’m biased when it comes to Weingut Peter Lauer, and I was pleased from top to bottom with Florian Lauer’s collection of 2007s.  I told him that these are the style of wines that MWM wants to represent; that is traditional barrel-aged, dry-tasting Saar Riesling. In particular, his top feinherb wines stood out from the Ayler Kupp:  “Stirn” and “Kern” in addition to the single-vineyard Saarfeilser. I liked his “trocken-labeled” wines too, namely from the Kupp place-name “Unterstenbersch”  and the old-vine cuvée called “Senior,” as well as the even drier entry-level wines.

Besides von Kesslestatt and St. Urbanhof’s holdings on the Saar, I missed tasting two significant collections on my tour: von Hövel and Dr. Siemens. The latter supposedly making very good wines in only their second vintage since purchasing the former Bert Simon estate in Serrig.

In the Ruwer Valley, I was able to taste at Maximin Grünhaus, Karlsmühle, von Beulwitz, and Karthäuserhof. The wines at Maximin Grünhaus/von Schubert are back and consistent from dry to sweet.  I also felt that von Beulwitz had a very fine Kaseler Nies’chen Riesling Spätlese Alte Reben, once again, in addition to a GG from the same site. Christoph Tyrell’s Karthäuserhof had a fine collection as well. Peter Geiben at Karlsmühle had some good wines, and like so many winegrowers provided us with insight about the history of the domaine, style of wine-making, and sites, often showing us old photos, books, and maps. I feel this last week was instructive in so many ways.

Florian Lauer, who studied oenology in Montpellier, is the fifth-generation hands-on owner/winemaker of this 6.5-hectare (16.1-acre) Saar domaine. Besides his studies in the south of France, he also learned from the experience and skills of his father, Peter. Florian tends to the vines and raises the wines himself. His father and grandfather before him made the wines bottled according to individual Faß (barrel) numbers. Today, Florian continues on with this tradition of keeping the barrel numbers on the label, albeit blending among the barrels to achieve the style he wants for the specific number in question.

Since the family owns a hotel-restaurant, most of their production is sold locally. In fact, their wines are sold out every year. The Lauers have little export. In the past, the well-respected wine writer David Schildknecht imported Florian’s father’s wines for his retail clientele in Washington D.C. and later in Kentucky.

Many of the famous Saar estates prefer their Riesling with higher amounts of residual sugar from blocked fermentations; Florian’s focus is on dry-tasting and off-dry wines. He likes to ferment with wild yeasts on the fine lees for a longer upbringing in the traditional old oak barrels, called Fuder.

The majority of their holdings are in the single-vineyard Ayler Kupp, a steep south- to southwest-facing site with predominantly gray slate. As with many other famous sites, including the renowned Scharzhofberg, its boundaries were expanded beyond the core area. In the case of Kupp, it was well beyond the original site. Before 1973, the Kupp hillside had former place names that the Lauers still use today on their labels: “Unterstenbersch” (patois for “at the foot of the hill”), “Stirn” (a site higher up), and “Kern” (a parcel further to the west). The Lauers have additional plots in the original Kupp as well as in surrounding sites that Florian could legally label as “Ayler Kupp,” among them the top Schonfels and Saarfeilser.

The wine style at Lauer reflects the Saar: brisk acidity and minerality combined with finesse and low alcohol, even for the drier wines.