August 1, 2013: News | Wines of the Month
2012 is all about Kabinett and Spätlese in the Mosel? This truly remarkable wine defies this rule and sets new standards for dry-tasting Riesling.
The Mosel vintage 2012 is a must-buy vintage for lovers of classic juicy Kabinett and Spätlese. And yet, this month, we do decided to highlight a dry wine. The Mosel vintage 2012 has produced some good dry wines but, on the whole, the vintage 2011 is a superior vintage for these wines in the Mosel.
Yet, one Estate broke this rule: Weingut Carl Loewen. It produced a simply stunning collection of dry and dry-tasting Riesling.
The jewel in the crown of this Estate's portfolio has to be its remarkable Riesling "1896" (NB: this wine should not to be confused with the Estate's Longuicher Maximiner Herrenherg Trocken 1896). As you will read in the tasting note here below, this wine has been made from vines planted at the end of the 19th century using winemaking methods from essentially the same period. This is Mosel wine as it used to be a century ago! Besides the nostalgia, this is above all a terrific wine which sets new standards for dry-tasting Riesling.
The superb collection of 2012er Riesling by Carl Loewen
were reviewed in the Mosel Fine Wines Issue No 22 (Jul 2013).
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2012er
Carl Loewen
Riesling "1896"
12 13
93
This wine is a project done by Christopher Loewen, the son of Karl-Josef, who is still completing his studies in Geisenheim. The grapes for this wine were harvested from very old vines planted in the Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg vineyard (planted back in 1896 and hence the denomination). The wine has the particularity of being made in the ancient way, i.e. by threading grapes by foot in the vineyard, some maceration, pressing using an old basket press and fermentation in cask. Well, this seems to have paid off because this looks like a massive success in the making! The wine offers a great and opulent nose of fresh yellow and white peach, flowers and some minerals. It is nice and spicy on the palate, and the finish is long and fresh. The aromatic presence makes it a great wine to enjoy now but this has quite some development potential in the coming years. It is that impressive! Now-2017
© 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.
