2023 Weingut Schloss Lieser – Thomas Haag, Riesling Auslese, Juffer Sonnenuhr, Mosel, Germany.
The luscious and opulently sweet, but with tons of energy and mineral expressive, this 2023 Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese is wonderfully balanced and not in the least bit cloying with a sublime palate of apricot, green apple, pineapple and candied citrus, along with classic slate spicy/smoky notes, crystalized ginger, wet flint and an impactful rich mouth feel. This is classic Mosel sweet Riesling that is perfect for hot and spicy Asian cuisine, it is less a dessert wine that might it be perceived, with this level of residual sugar, and its complexity and depth make it more flexible than you’d think. I was thrilled with Schloss Leiser’s current set of wines, and while I loved the dry Rieslings here, their set of Prädikatswein offerings, including the Kabinett, Spatlese and this gorgeous Auslese, are stunning efforts, all of which I highly recommend, especially from the famous Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr vineyard. The Haag family, famous for generations of Mosel wines really got Schloss Leiser on track in 2002 when they purchased the exceptional old parcels at this Brauneburger Juffer Grand Cru site, with Thomas Haag really bringing these wines to the attention of the wine world. In the cellar, the fermentations at Schloss Leiser are always spontaneous, with Thomas saying that is how he likes their Mosel Rieslings and he feels employing native yeast fermentations are an important part of house style. As I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews Schloss Lieser almost always use stainless steel exclusively in their Riesling wines, which shows off the terroir and adds to the crystalline purity you find in these wines, especially true here with this outstanding Auslese. There’s so much to love about this 2023 Schloss Lieser Auslese, it flies in the same league as J. J. Prüm, Willi Schaefer, Selbach-Oster, Egon Müller, Dr. Loosen and others in the Mosel elite, making brilliant sweet age worthy versions of Riesling, all coming from outstanding terroirs.
Fast becoming one of the top go to estates in the Mosel, Schloss Lieser is putting out some fantastic and elegant Rieslings, which I was very excited to taste this Summer in San Francisco with the estate’s newest generation winemaker Lara Haag, who helps her father Thomas Haag, of the famous Fritz Haag family, in the cellar. The historic Schloss Lieser is known locally as one of the most striking buildings in the Middle Mosel and is beautiful Neo-Renaissance castle that was built in 1875, but it was known for its wine until recent times under the leadership of Thomas Haag, who’s father Wilhelm Haag is an important figure in German wine and the owner of Weingut Fritz Haag. Thomas decided to stay and lead Schloss Lieser instead of take our his father’s estate, which is run by the also very talented winemaker Oliver Haag, Thomas’ brother. Thomas became the director of the estate in 1992 and has slowly revamped this special small estate with some prime Grosse Lagen vineyard parcels, including the Lieser Niederberg Helden and the well known Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr (Sundial), as seen here, which provides some elite old vine Riesling grapes. The Haag family, with the new generation of Lara and Niklas, both of which studied at Geisenheim University in the Rheingau, the top wine-making school in Germany, have a hand in making the wines now and they have added other top quality vineyards to the portfolio, such as Graacher Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Bernkastler Doktor and Graacher Domprobst. The Schloss Lieser Rieslings see no skin maceration fermentation(s) that are always spontaneous and the grapes a a cool, gentle pressing as to not allow for bitter phenolics and the must is allowed to take as long as needed to finish, sometimes about 6-10 weeks. Then the wine ages on the lees for 4 or so months, after which it racked to tank to further mature and is only bottled when it tastes ready to do so. The extra care and effort here, as Lara Haag put it to me earlier this Summer, really pays off and these Schloss Lieser wines I tasted are exceptional and very rewarding Rieslings to keep an eye out for!
($60 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive