I just love that line: “The most beautiful flavors thrive in the shade.”In a way, it feels like the essence of the Saar? Where the Mosel offers sun and ripeness, the Saar offers wind and a bracing structure.
In 2024, the cold Saar also offered something else: terrible frosts.
Lauer lost in the end somewhere around 40-50% of his crop, yet the wines he shaped are an absolute triumph.
The vintage presents the old-school Saar at its absolute finest, a vintage that without a doubt reminds me of 2008 or maybe 2012, at least at chez Lauer.
The vintage also played perfectly into Lauer’s complex dry-tasting and feinherb styles, with wines that can often have residual sugar, but rarely much. Or, even if they do have “much,” you can barely perceive this. It’s wild.
This is among the lightest collection from Lauer I can remember; the wines are truly ethereal, gossamer, expansive yet airy and clear. Year after year, tasting Lauer, I think to myself: There are just no other German wines that quite taste like these.
That, in essence, is the magic.
This is a “wow” collection from Lauer.
If you’re looking to really understand the complex array of Lauer’s vineyards, and therefore his wines, check out our Google Earth tour here.
A note one pricing: All pricing is estimated retail pricing. Exact pricing may differ significantly due to market and transportation costs.
ESTATE LEVEL
2024 Lauer Riesling No. 16 (dry) – $25
This is basically the dry version of “Barrel X” – easily the best-ever edition of this wine. Ziiiippppyyyy!
MFW: “The 2024er Riesling No.16 is a fully bone-dry wine (with less than 1 g/l of residual sugar) made from younger vines in vineyards from Ayl, Saarburg, Wiltingen, and Wawern. It shows a nice and attractive nose made of minty herbs, aniseed, yellow peach, mint, freshly cut herbs, green apple, and greengage. The wine proves very light and nicely zesty on the spicy and refreshing palate. This is drinking very well and a good Saar wine.”
VILLAGE LEVEL
2024 Lauer Riesling Ayler No. 25 (dry) – $30-35
Wildly floral and minty, with great delineation – just a perfect dry Saar Riesling and deceptively complex.
MFW: “The No. 25 Ayl, as it is referred to on the front label, is a bone-dry wine (with less than 1 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit harvested on the Scheidterberg and Rauberg side hills. It offers a refined and elegant nose of white flowers, aniseed, green tea, citrus, almond, blueberry, and candied grapefruit. The wine is pure and light on the herbal and minty palate. The sensation of zest is on the rounder side and brings a good smoothness. This is an elegant and delicate expression of dry Riesling.”
More body and density than, for example, the Senior – a touch more off-dry though pretty strict in 2024.
MFW: “The No. 3 Ayl, as it is referred to on the front label, is an off-dry wine (with 16 g/l of residual sugar) made from younger vines in the front, east-facing part of the original Kupp hill, in the upper section near Stirn. The first nose is still marked by residues from its spontaneous fermentation, but it quickly reveals a nicely fresh and zesty nose of greengage, candied lemon, lime, spearmint, smoke, and spices. The wine starts off the focused and zesty side, with tension and extract. The finish proves light and slightly smoother, with elegant floral notes. It already tastes more dryish than fully off dry and gives pure pleasure in its lightness.”
The Scheidterberg, this surprisingly awesome site just behind the village of Saar, in full flex. This is a baby GG.
MFW: “The Ayl 1G, as it is referred to on the consumer label, was made from fruit picked on 40-year old vines in the Scheidterberg. It offers a quite precise and delicately smoky nose with very fine spices, dried herbs, juniper, white flowers, herbal tea, and aniseed. The wine is superb light and even quite airy on the palate, yet there is great complexity at play. It becomes slightly broader and more intense as it unfolds and leaves a very long, smoky finish. There is also a light smoother feel, yet the finish is bone-dry.”
The U-berg goes dry again in 2024; hello climate change. Still, I can’t help but find the dry version of this wine just wildly compelling. Again, maybe best-ever U-berg for me.
MFW: “The 2024 Unterstenberg No. 12, as it is referred to in the central part of the label, is a dry wine (with 5 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit harvested in the similarly named prime Lieu-Dit forming the south-southwest facing, front part of the original Kupp hill (at the foot of the hill). This cask sample proves still very smoky and marked by residues from its spontaneous fermentation and reveals quite herbal and darker aromatics including plum, licorice, black tea, herbs, licorice, and smoke. The wine proves slightly fruitier on the palate, with a rounder and smoother texture. The finish is beautifully creamy and long. This is impressive in a richer and smoother style.”
Lauer Riesling No. 9 Kern 2024 (off-dry) – $60-$65
Named after the 19th century businessman who bought and cleared the land, these 70-year-old, ungrafted vines offer, consistently, one of Lauer’s most compelling off-dry wines – something like the “Stirn” yet with a bit more body and density. Silly-good in 2024.
MFW: “The 2024 Kern No. 9, as it is referred to in the central part of the label, is a fully off-dry wine (with 30 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit harvested in a complete cross section (bottom to top) of a prime south-west-facing old-vine parcel (called Kern) situated well into the side valley on the original Ayler Kupp hill. It offers a beautifully complex and very attractive nose mixing fresh and minty elements with riper notes of yellow and almost tropical fruits, including passion fruit, tangerine, and mango, all wrapped in smoky scents from its spontaneous fermentation. The wine proves focused and zesty on the palate and proves even light-weighted yet intense and layered. The finish is even taut and quite spicy. This is really superb.”
2024 Lauer Riesling No. 17 Neuenberg 2024 (dry) – $60-$65
Bone dry in 2024 which is wild – this wine is a gut-punch, in the best possible way. The best Neuenberg ever? For me, maybe.
MFW: “The 2024 Neuenberg No. 17, as it is referred to in the central part of the label, is a bone-dry wine (with 2 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit harvested in this prime Lieu-Dit forming the south-southwest facing, central part of the original Kupp hill (at the foot of the hill). This cask sample still shows a quite primary yet very attractive and complex nose of smoke, candied grapefruit, violet, minty herbs, smoke, and bergamot. The wine is very precise and focused on the delicately complex and layered palate. It is even taut, very long, and smoky. This is a very impressive dry Riesling in the making.”
PRÄDIKATS
Lauer Riesling Kupp Kabinett No. 8 2024 – $40
Lauer, in the end, makes the driest-tasting Kabinetts around, period. Among the lightest and most petite of Kupp Kabinetts in a long while – damn.
MFW: “The 2024 Kupp Kabinett No. 8, as it is referred to in the central part of the label, was made from fruit harvested on the original Kupp hill and was fermented down to fully off-dry levels of residual sugar (31 g/l). It initially proves still quite reductive, but quickly shows great complexity and freshness of spearmint, lime, white peach, spices, freshly cut herbs, herbal tea, and wet stone. The wine proves light-weighted and very pure on the palate and leaves an off-dry rather than fully fruity, long finish. This is a great drinking Kabinett.”
Lauer Riesling Kupp Spätlese No. 7 2024 – $55
The same culture, the same fashion and vogue, that has given us treasures like ultra-processed food, congress, social media, and paddle ball is also pushing against wines like Spätlese. Honestly, fuck fashion and vogue. Spätlese as an act of social rebellion? Yes. This is so damn crisp it’ll shut the haters up – just under seventy grams of beautiful, beautiful fructose (that’s less than many Kabinett) and damn near 10 grams of acid to make your palate reverberate.
MFW: “The 2024 Kupp Spätlese No. 7, as it is referred to in the central part of the label, was made from fruit harvested from vineyards on the original Kupp hill and was fermented down to sweet levels of residual sugar (67 g/l). This cask sample delivers a beautifully aromatic, ripe, and precise nose of tangerine, mango, yellow peach, pineapple, orange zest, and smoke, all wrapped into bakery notes. The wine has great concentration and presence on the palate, not unlike that of a richer Auslese. It has great length and intensity in the very long, rich, yet well balanced finish. It has a great kick of acidity in the very long after-taste.”