Every year I spend probably way too much time trying to summarize something that, essentially, is un-summarize-able. This year, I’m going to quit this fool’s errand and just include the chart, above.
(For fun, you can also (re)visit the “Lauer Immersion Experience” – our 21-minute overview of Lauer’s wines and sites. It focuses on the 2024 vintage, but the sites are the same for 2025.)
One of the most basic, and most essential, qualities of Mosel and Saar Riesling is its almost ludicrous (if not just ludicrous) level of specificity. The exacting detail possible here is the actual point of Riesling planted in this holy place.
To try and make it easier or marketable would be like asking Bach to use fewer melodies, or Frank Gehry to use fewer curves.
The craziest fact – at least with Lauer – is that the wines sell despite the fact that no one exactly knows what the hell all these wines really are. It’s life-affirming honestly – buying something because it’s beautiful, it’s delicious, even if the minutia and logic of it all feel cumbersome.
And so we present Lauer’s newest collection from the glorious 2025 vintage – you can read more about this vintage here. We’ve included notes on each wine below, though I’d say the entire collection is more direct, lighter and more linear than one might expect from what is a rather generous vintage. I guess this is the essential lightness of the Saar?
It’s wonderful.
A few notes: First, some wines are already in stock!!! So you could, hypothetically, order some wines for the shelves or list immediately. All of the pre-arrival wines should be here in late October or early November.
As per normal, NO ORDER IS GUARANTEED WITHOUT A CONFIRMATION EMAIL FROM US!
How about a deadline of Friday, September 18th? For our in-stock wines we just ask for a solid ship date and for the pre-arrival wines we just ask you to take your order as soon as you can or by the end of the month of arrival, whichever comes first. That all sound fair?
Email us at orders@vomboden.com.
the 2025er Lauer collection
September 18th deadline – wine should arrive in late October / early November – all orders subject to confirmation!
2025 LAUER WINE IN STOCK RIGHT NOW!
estate level
2025 Lauer Riesling No. 16 Trocken ~$27 (screwcap)
This is the dry equivalent of “Barrel X” – more or less it’s the same parcels, etc. While we all say we don’t like wines with any residual sugar (OK, no we all don’t say that but you know what I’m talking about), it’s curious then that “Barrel X” is one of our absolute most popular wines, while no one really understands the No. 16. The boys at Mosel Fine Wines write that the No. 16, “offers a beautiful nose made of fresh herbs, whipped cream, pear, white peach, a hint of prune, and delicate floral elements. The wine is nicely delineated and subtly tart of the juicy, creamy, and fruit-driven palate, and leaves a nice zesty feel in the engaging finish. This dry Riesling ticks all the boxes of what one expects from a nice dry Estate Riesling.” That’s about right though I’d add that for me that the wine presents the austere slate truth of the Saar in a slightly more “finessed” way. There is very little fruit here – I get more saline notes and an herbal floral quality than I do pear, white peach, or prune. But the rather slate- and smoke-riddled crispness of the wine is polished a bit by what I presume was a barrel or two in the mix that went through malolactic, so there’s some creaminess here – while still being absolutely dry and fresh. We don’t have that much available so grab as much as you can because because this is very good and also very not expensive.
2025 Lauer Riesling “Barrel X” Feinherb ~$28 (screwcap)
Lauer’s “Barrel X” sorta redefined what the Saar could be, after the sappy-sweet Rieslings of the 1990s and early 2000s. Residual sugar? Yes. A riveting acidity? Hell yes.
village level
2025 Lauer Ayler Village Level No. 25 Trocken ~$34 (screwcap)
No. 25 is Lauer’s highest-level dry village Riesling sourced from two sites (Scheidterberg and Rauberg) that circle around the backside of the village. It’s sorta like the No. 16, but a bit deeper. The Mosel Fine Wines boys liked the wine a lot, writing, “The 2025 Ayl N°25 is a bone-dry wine (with less than 4 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit picked on the Scheidterberg and Rauberg side hills. It offers a beautiful nose made of passion fruit, mirabelle, whipped cream, oregano, floral elements, and smoke from reduction. The wine is nicely playful and beautifully light-footed on the palate, where tartness adds focus to the experience. The finish is precise and elegant. This is a gorgeous “simple” (in the best sense of the word) dry Riesling to enjoy over the coming years.”
2025 Lauer Ayler Village Level No. 6 “Senior” Trocken ~$34
This for me is one of the *great* GREAT white wine deals in the world – within the German pantheon it is right there with Keller’s “von der Fels” and Emrich-Schönleber’s “Mineral” as truly Grand Cru wines that sell for 50% of what they probably should. The 2025 “Senior” is a light, extremely finessed wine – it’s sorta bonkers given the relative “oomph” of the vintage. Mosel Fine Wines liked it a lot as well, writing, “The 2025 “Senior” Ayl N°6 is a just off-dry wine (with 11 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit harvested from the original Kupp hill on a west-facing section towards Wawern. It offers a nice nose made of passion fruit, mirabelle, pear, apple, mint, oregano, and smoke. The wine is nicely playful and mouthwatering on the palate, where zesty acidity adds pep to the experience. This is a gorgeous expression of off-dry Riesling.” It doesn’t really taste off-dry to me, but I guess that’s the magic of Lauer. You could also call it a dry wine?
2025 Lauer Ayler Village Level No. 3 (gently off-dry) ~$38
Ahhh… No. 3 – think of it as “baby Stirn” – a glorious, angelic, soaring, off-dry Riesling (this has about 30 grams). Somehow we are almost out of what we have in stock and only a little is at the estate. So it goes. Mosel Fine Wines: “The 2025 Ayl N°3 is a fully off-dry wine (with 30 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit picked in the front, east-facing part of the original Kupp hill, in the upper section near Stirn. It offers a beautifully creamy nose of white peach, grapefruit, floral elements, and subtle slate. The wine is gorgeously playful on the palate, where tartness and zest add cut to the experience. The finish is mouthwatering and particularly hard to resist.”
2025 LAUER PRE-ARRIVAL – NOVEMBER!
village level
2025 Lauer Ayler Village Level No. 4 (off-dry) ~$34
No. 3 and No. 4 are very similar – No. 4 is oftentimes a bit richer-feeling than No. 3. Mosel Fine Wines writes, “The 2025 Ayl N°4 is an off-dry wine (with 22 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit picked in the Scheidterberg and Sonnenberg side hills. It offers a beautiful nose made of cream, white peach, apple, apricot blossom, and fine spices. The wine is nicely juicy and subtly tart on the palate and leaves a rather irresistibly mouthwatering feel of fruits and zest in the finish. The aftertaste is all about playful fruitiness.”
2025 Lauer Ayler Village Level No. 1 (gently off-dry) ~$38
This is more a dry or dry-tasting wine in 2025 than off-dry – it only has 8 grams RS. I love the bright citrus here. Zing! The scholars of Mosel Fine Wines write, “The 2025 Ayl N°1 is a just off-dry wine (with 8 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit harvested on the east-facing side of the main Ayler Kupp hill. It offers a beautiful nose made of pear, citrusy fruits, mint, whipped cream, oregano, and smoke. The wine is beautifully creamy and fruity at first on the palate before a ripe, yet engaging kick of acidity brings depth and structure to the nicely lingering finish. This is a beautiful off-dry Riesling to enjoy over the coming years.”
1er Cru
2025 Lauer Ayler 1G Trocken ~$48
We’ll release, as per normal, the GGs this winter, after they have a bit more rest in Lauer’s cellar. But for now, you can grab the “Premier Cru” dry IG. Sayeth the boys of Mosel Fine Wines, “The 2025 Ayl 1G is a bone-dry wine (with 1 g/l of residual sugar) wine made from fruit picked in the Lieu Dit Scheiderberg, a north-east facing sector legally in the Ayler Kupp vineyard but forming the heart of the Scheidterberg hill (this sector has been classified as “VDP.Erste Lage” by the VDP Mosel hence the 1G). It offers a beautiful even if still somewhat reduced nose made of fresh herbs, mirabelle, pear, a hint of apple, and smoke. The wine is nicely juicy and playful on the palate, where a floral side adds airiness to the superbly balanced experience. The finish is alluring, playful, and lingering.”
Grand Cru
2025 Lauer Grand Cru “Unterstenberg” ~$55
Over the 15+ years I’ve been closely following Florian’s wines, the Unterstenberg (sourced from the lower part of the Kupp mountain, “unter” the “berg”) has shed sugar, from a bit under 20, to then 15, and even lower. Once again, for 2025, this wine is legally dry at around 8 grams residual sugar. I love it in this dry / drier form, with the schmaltzy, glycerin depth of the mid-palate. The 2025 has a certain finesse to it, despite its depth and power.
2025 Lauer Grand Cru “Kern” ~$65
Wow this wine is a show-stopper! This is the Saar firing on all cylinders: “The 2025 “Kern” N°9 is a fully off-dry wine (with 35 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit picked in a complete cross section (bottom to top) of a prime south-west-facing old-vine parcel (called Kern) situated well into the side valley on the original Ayler Kupp hill.~$ It offers a juicy and subtly creamy feel of mirabelle, cream, white flowers, and fine spices, and minerals. The wine is delicately creamy and playful on the palate, where a touch of apricot blossom and melon adds weight to the experience. The finish is, in turn, airy, playful, and quite alluring. This could exceed our expectations, especially as it develops more cut with age.”
2025 Lauer Grand Cru “Stirn” ~$65
I’m not going to write much because this is awesome and rare. “The 2025 “Stirn” N°15 is a fully off-dry wine (with 35 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit picked in the prime south-west-facing, upper-front part of the original Ayler Kupp hill. It offers a creamy and fruit-driven nose of melon, pear, grapefruit, passion fruit, mint, ginger, and minerals. The wine is nicely zesty and subtly creamy on the palate and leaves a beautiful feel of creamy orchard fruits wrapped in minerals in the long and lingering finish. This is a gorgeous expression of off-dry Riesling.”
2025 Lauer Grand Cru “Neuenberg” ~$65
The “Neuenberg” also slimmed down again this year. Is it the greatest-ever Neuenberg? The boys of Mosel Fine Wines think it might be, writing, “The 2025 Neuenberg N°17 is a just off-dry wine (with 12 g/l of residual sugar) made from fruit picked in this prime Lieu-Dit forming the south-southwest facing, central part of the original Kupp hill (at the foot of the hill). It offers a superb nose of white peach, apple, a hint of underripe pineapple, whipped cream, and floral elements. The wine is superbly light-footed yet intense and balanced on the palate, where it delivers a gorgeous feel of fresh fruits and spices. The balance, precision, and finesse are truly remarkable. This is a terrific expression of Neuenberg in the making, possibly the finest to date!”
Prädikats
2025 Lauer Grand Cru Kupp Kabinett No. 8 ~$40
Another great, great Lauer Kupp Kabi; soaring citrus balanced by nine grams of acidity. Lauer has become, undoubtedly, one of the best craftsmen of Kabinett in Germany. His style is fierce and structured. “The 2025 Kupp Kabinett N°8 was made from fruit harvested at 79° Oechsle on the original Kupp hill and was fermented down to off-dry levels of residual sugar (34 g/l). It offers a still somewhat shy nose made of gooseberry, passion fruit, apple, pear, herbal elements, and smoke. The wine is delicate and nicely balanced on the palate but still proves a tad shy in the finish. However, the aftertaste is superbly elegant and makes us suspect that it could ultimately surprise us all, at maturity, once it has developed aromatically.”
2025 Lauer Grand Cru Schonfels Kabinett No. 111 ~$65
Here is the fifth-ever Kabinett from the Schonfels, this formidable site with hundred-year-old ungrafted vines. Pure mineral. Write the gentlemen of Mosel Fine Wines: “The 2025 Schonfels Kabinett N°111 was made from fruit harvested at 79° Oechsle in this steep, south east facing Lieu-Dit overseeing the Saar, and was fermented down to barely fruity-styled levels of residual sugar (36 g/l). It offers a beautifully creamy nose made of apple, white peach, gooseberry, a hint of pineapple, white flowers, whipped cream, and smoke. The wine is nicely juicy and precise on the palate, where a light creaminess is wrapped into succulent acidity. The finish is alluring, playful, and beautifully balanced. This is a great Kabinett in the making.” You’re damn right.
2025 Lauer Grand Cru Kupp Spätlese No. 7 ~$45
The epitome of delicacy in a Spätlese. It is in no way a dry wine, yet the tart and salty vibrations might make parts of your brain think it is? This is supremely focused and clear, with a slim form attenuated into something almost gossamer. Just outrageous. Again, dinner Spätlese – not for dessert. Mosel Fine Wines: “The 2025 Kupp Spätlese N°7 was made from fruit harvested at 86° Oechsle from vineyards on the original Kupp hill and was fermented down to sweet levels of residual sugar (68 g/l). It offers a shy nose of apple, pear, oregano, tea, apricot blossom, minerals, and smoke. The wine is still quite structured at this early stage on the palate but already reveals its beauty to come in the long finish, which is driven by citrusy and subtle orange peel elements. This is a beautiful Spätlese in the making, but one which will need time.”
2025 Lauer Grand Cru Kupp Auslese LGK 375ml Half-Bottles ~$78
We have almost none to offer, it’s great, but it’s also Auslese. Let’s see. What if I told you it was 96+ points!!! Huh? Mosel Fine Wines: “The 2025 Kupp Auslese LGK was made from fully botrytized fruit harvested at 120° Oechsle from vineyards on the original Kupp hill and was fermented down to noble-sweet levels of residual sugar (105 g/l). It offers a big and “BA”-styled nose of almond paste, coconut, dried fruits, nut, and honey, all wrapped in a whiff of volatile acidity. The wine is beautifully creamy and packed with almost oily dried fruits on the palate. The finish, in turn, reveals a kick of ripe zest and brings forward a juicy feel of apricot puree. While the balance is clearly on the sweet side now, this remarkable noble-sweet wine should prove superbly balanced at maturity, in 15 years or so! We would not be surprised if it were to exceed our (already high) expectations!”