May 4, 2017 | News | Issue Highlights | Mature Riesling | Auctions
Our extensive 2007 retrospective yielded many highlights, especially at Auslese GK level, including this stunning noble-sweet Riesling by Heymann-Löwenstein.
Mature Riesling is one of the great pleasures of the wine world. This is why, every year, we dedicate the Spring Issue of Mosel Fine Wines to this topic in a bid to have our readers try it for themselves.
In the just released Mosel Fine Wines Issue No 34 (Apr 2017), we reviewed over 250 wines from the 2007 vintage. At the top, 2007 delivered some stunningly pure and juicy fruity wines which completely transcend the ripe reputation of the vintage.
The sweet spot is clearly at "Auslese GK" level. Few wines underlined this as well as the 2007er Heymann-Löwenstein Winninger Uhlen R Riesling Auslese GK (Auction).
Most Riesling lovers have heard of the Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein in Winningen. Over the years, Reinhard Löwenstein has established his Estate as one of the finer sources for dry or off-dry Mosel Riesling.
Its dry Riesling regularly make it into the vintage highlights (as it did in 2015) and its 1998er Winninger Uhlen Trocken is simply one of the finest mature dry Riesling we have ever tasted from the Mosel.
Few wine lovers know however that Heymann-Löwenstein is also one of the finest producers of sweet Riesling in the Mosel. Almost every year, when the conditions are favorable, the Estate produces small quantities of noble-sweet wines from painstaking berry selections.
Why are its sweet wines not better known? We suspect a combination of scarcity (there is usually not much produced, often not much more than a few hundred liters) and the shadow cast by the (understandable) enthusiasm for the Estate’s dry Riesling. But the quality of these noble-sweet wines can be simply remarkable.
In 2007, the Estate used the good weather conditions to produce a whole series of sweet wines, among which an Auslese lange GK harvested at over 130° Oechsle (i.e. technically BA level) in the Rothlay sector of the Winninger Uhlen.
Given the quality of this bottling, the Estate sold it via the Auction in Trier in 2008 (see here for more information on the annual Trier Wine Auctions).
This wine already impressed us deeply upon release (see the Grosser Ring / VDP Mosel Auction Report 2008). Our retrospective confirmed the incredible finesse and beauty of this wine, firmly establishing it as one of the finest Auslese of the vintage and a stunning wine in its own right.
The full 2007 retrospective with more Riesling by Heymann-Löwenstein
appeared in the Mosel Fine Wines Issue No 34 (Apr 2017).
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2007er
Heymann-Löwenstein
Winninger Uhlen R Riesling Auslese lange GK Auction
08 08
97
This little jewel of a wine delivers a stunningly airy nose of yellow peach, pineapple, orange zest, whipped cream and essence of almond. The tactile finesse and depth on the palate are simply staggering, as the wine seems to glide effortlessly into a finish made of freshness and purity. The inner balance and utter completeness is what makes this wine so fascinating. What a beautiful dessert wine! Now-2037
© Text by Mosel Fine Wines "The Independent Review of Mosel Riesling ... and beyond!"
Disclaimer: Mosel Fine Wines is an independent publication and has no commercial relationship with any Estate, association or organization featured in this article.
