2020 Carl Loewen Riesling 1896- Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (2/9/2022)
Light and delicate. On entry supple and welcome. Gentle, like a warm hand softly caressing you. Slightly off-dry. Elegant, ethereal. Beautiful. Like a Lorraine Loots painting; soft, subtle, but filled with nuance and filigreed detail. Powdered slate and floral notes are then taken over by pear, stone fruit, exotic spices, amchur, shiso, kafir lime leaves, calamansi. A melodic and unfailingly resonant riesling. On first sip, I was scurrying to get more. Drinking beautifully now, but best staring in 3-5 years. AP 13 21
ABV: 12.5%
Closure: natural cork
Decant:1h
Stem: Grassl Liberte
Extra info: 11g/L of RS. from very old ungrafted vines in Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg planted in 1896; a plot Karl-Josef purchased from Schmitt-Wagner. Devonian slate with a band of red iron and volcanic red soil.
I regrettably missed that period in time. They still make a kabinett; though it’s from the vines further uphill. Not planted in 1896, but rather 1903, which is still quite something in terms of vine age.
Haven’t tasted either of those vintages, and very jealous you have some as I haven’t been able to source any, especially the 2015ers, but I imagine both should be drinking well. Pretty much all 2015ers I’ve been digging into have been in a great drinking window. The 2017er might show a bit of its vintage characteristics, showing some more power, but these vines are truly special.
Do they still make two of these, the feinherb (the expensive one) and the less expensive trocken, both called 1896? Makes me hesitant to buy it because I never know which it is. They should really stop doing this.
Yes, they do. The expensive one has a grey label, so that helps in disguising it somewhat. The cheaper one, from vines further uphill, has a white label and is labeled Alte Reben trocken. Still a confusing matter regardless.
Rodrigo, thanks for your excellent tasting notes. Loewen is right up there with Prum for me. Though more of a Kabinett/ Spatlese guy, (the Loewen Laurentiuslay Spatlese is excellent), I love the off-dry feinherb style of Loewen’s 1896. A standout.
FYI, here are my TNs from CT (Pinot_Geek) on the 2015 version of Loewen’s 1896 feinherb, 12.5% alc, red-brown label, tasted April 2020:
“Deft balance, full of flavor. Barest hint of sweetness, white peach, minerally-stony. Has a touch of the herbaceous and just the right amount of acid to pull it all together. Harmonious. Keeps me going back for another sip. Really like this.”
The 16’ version of the 1896 clocks in at 12% alcohol.
True. But it also means you can never find a deal on the feinherb, because whenever you think you have, it’s the trocken. And I am not convinced these are selling through at $100/btl.
I find some very interesting similarities between those two wines. I don’t know how much is vine age, site, and/or winemaking. It’s probably a combination of things, I guess. The Stein is no slouch, but the Loewen is better, at least in the several vintages of each I’ve had.
