2016 Weingut Carl Loewen, Riesling Trocken, Ritsch, Grosses Gewachs, Mosel Germany.
Christopher Loewen is on a roll, his 2015 and 2016 wines are spectacular and he and the Loewen winery just got named Winery (Winemaker) of the Year in Germany by Stuart Pigott, one of the world’s most renown Riesling reviewers! One wine in particular has gained world attention, his 1896 Feinherb from Germany’s oldest Riesling vines, but another wine that really moved me at a preview tasting earlier this was Christopher’s exciting Kitsch GG from another historic vineyard that they got recently and have made a stunning dry wine that looks set to be an under the radar classic! The Thornich Ritsch Grosses Gewachs “Grand Cru” is on Grey Slate and is on the 2nd steepest vineyard in all of Europe and it’s terroir and intensity shows clearly in this 2016, it’s a brilliant and mineral driven Riesling with brisk detail and vibrant flavors, wow, I really love this wine’s electric energy and briny/steely character. This is a GG that will gain monumentally with age, Loewen, who farms organic now and is remarkably gifted in the cellar, has crafted a beautiful wine of finesse and dimension that will thrill edgy Chablis fans and acid freaks a like, it blitzes the palate with tangy citrus and white flowers as well as white peach, unripe tart apple and white cherry fruits along with sweet and sour herbs, rosewater, wet stone, leaning on salty shale and lingering tangerine/lime. This wine is loaded with dry extract and shows vivid form gaining density with air adding some lemony tones and melon layers, this is X factor wine of legendary class, this will be a Riesling that will reward the patient, drink from 2022 to 2032. It’s been an eye opening and fantastic few years from Loewen and the future looks even more promising, a huge congrats to Christopher and team, his latest set of wines are fabulous, don’t miss his basic estate bottlings and Kabinett offerings, they are incredible values.
($52 Est.) 93-95 Points, grapelive
