Lauer Grand Cru "Neuenberg" No.17 2022 (white)

Lauer Grand Cru "Neuenberg" No.17 2022

Riesling

Mosel, Germany

“ Lauer’s Neuenberg is one of the most curious, most complex wines he makes. As always with Lauer, the terroir is to blame.

As with the “Unterstenberg,” the “Neuenberg” this year comes in close to dry and is one of the more curious wines Florian makes. It is sourced from a cherry parcel in the Grand Cru Kupp, one that sees the cool morning sun as well as the warmer afternoon sun and, situated as it is at the bottom of the slope, it can often have a bit of mist or fog lingering about. Sometimes there is just a touch of early botrytis that Florian will keep in the wine, adding to it a certain exotic textural component, glycerin polished down to its mineral core. It is a profound testament to what Lauer can do, what Riesling can do. It is also always one of the rarest wines.

Thus we have in Neuenberg one of Florian’s most dazzling wines. It is luxurious and textural and glycerin-rich and layered. It is the Saar’s response to the generosity and exoticism of a wine like Meursault Genevrieres. A good decant or a few years in the cellar can do a lot bring out the depth of this wine.

The 2022er Neuenberg No. 17, as it is referred to in the central part of the label, is a barely off-dry wine (with 12 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit picked in this prime Lieu-Dit forming the south-southwest facing, central part of the original Kupp hill (at the foot of the hill). It offers a very aromatic and rich nose of William’s pear, smoke, anise, thyme, violet, lime tree, and cherry. The wine is both juicy but also directly zesty and spicy, with a touch of tartness and earthy spices. There is good presence and structure and the finish proves intense and broad. It is a great barely off-dry Riesling, which needs a few years to reveal its facets. It even has some upside potential with time. “ -Vom Boden