In January of this year Lukas Hammelmann, that “wild and crazy Pfalz guy,” came to the U.S. for the first time. He came for the 2025 edition of Rieslingfeier, landing right in the belly of the beast: New York, New York.
At a fancy wine seminar hosted in the fancy private dining room of the Modern Lukas got up and, instead of saying a single thing about his own wines, just went on a passionate diatribe about how crazy this situation was: “I can’t believe I’m in New York – I’ve never been to America… New York is so wild, yesterday I was in the Pfalz, this is awesome!!!” and then he basically dropped the mic.
The girl sitting next to me – I didn’t know who she was and she didn’t know me – leaned over and said, “Who is this guy? I love him!”
That was, more or less, the reaction from just about everyone who met Lukas.
He is that rare combination of unbridled energy, innocence, honesty, confidence, courage, and will, mixed with a surprising level of deeper thought and scholarship – something like a puppy dog with a PhD.
Later in the year, as in last month, in August, Lukas got married.
And then, only a few days later, our new Hammelmann releases arrived.
I don’t know, somehow it all felt especially jubilant, even in these decidedly non-jubilant times.
Maybe all of this is irrelevant, these stories, but I just can’t bear anymore talking about the wines as if they don’t come from people – and as if the people don’t greatly inflect themselves upon the wines.
When it all works the way it should, the person and the wine are two sides of the same coin – or something like that.
Anyway, in preparation for freaking out about how good these wines are, feel free to review the literature out there. I’ve written quite a bit about Lukas Hammelmann – this is a reflection of me trying to come to terms with what these wines are.
You might remember our groundbreaking, introductory essay: “Zeiskam is only good for potatoes: The Lukas Hammelmann Story,” first published in October of 2022.
Maybe you prefer the September 2024 article, “Lukas Hammelmann and the Pfalz Counter-Narrative.”
His grower pages has also been updated and there are all sorts of cool new features – including an in-depth discussion of the Pfalz and a Google Earth vineyard tour. For real, go check all out all these new features.
SAY NO TO THE RELENTLESS DEMANDS OF OUR PERVERTED, LATE-STAGE CAPITALISM and go waste some time flying around the Pfalz (thanks to Google Earth) and indulging in my verbose poetry about why Lukas Hammelmann is so revelatory.
Because, YES – the 2023 and 2024 wines have arrived (see the bottom of the grower page – the section titled: “Vineyards and Winemaking” – for why the annual release is always at least two vintages) and they are just extraordinary.
More than that, the whole collection – especially the Rieslings – feels like a dramatic, almost tectonic, advancement.
I’m not meaning to sound hyperbolic, but something important has happened from the (very good) 23/22 collection to this year’s profound 24/23 collection.
It doesn’t feel like a big change, as if Lukas had to rearrange anything fundamental. Rather, it feels as if he has made a thousands micro-adjustments and this has made all the difference.
I have the sense it’s like carpentry – 1/8 or 1/12 of an inch doesn’t sound like a lot, but when your cuts don’t fit, you can see it, you can feel it – the slightest deviations make the most sophisticated design feel clumsy.
Whatever the fuck it is, nearly everyone on the team (myself included) has felt like these wines have made it to the next, and very rarified, level.
Even Lukas, like any other perfectionist, ruthlessly critical about himself and the wines, is satisfied with these wines and says, without pomp and circumstance: “They are the best wines I’ve ever made.”
What can I say: FIND THESE DRY RIESLINGS!
The basic, “soil-level” wines (there is a “Buntsandstein” and a “vom Löss” though, apologies, the Four Horsemen in Brooklyn has bought all the “vom Löss” and done a custom label with Lukas – so go there if you wanna try this wine) are serious and structured.
The village-level wines are dazzling – the fruit is so fine and incisive, and the wines are juicy and fun, yet have serious structures.
And the Grand Crus, well, I do not have a favorite – which is rare. They are all at a supernal level.
Finally, well, I suppose a special shout out should also go to the sparkling wines. These are the first real releases: There are two, a blanc de noirs and a rosé. Both are finely knit, compact and fine; surprisingly subtle and elegant.
And the two Chardonnays, well, smoke ’em if you got ’em. The 2023 Roter Berg Grand Cru is probably one of the best German Chardonnays I’ve ever had, right there on the very high level of Keller and Kissinger. The 2024 village-level “Aus den Dörfern” Z is bright and zesty, with great texture and zip.
Honestly, shit is so grotesque in the world, yet these wines are almost good enough to make you feel jubilant again. Check out the full lineup here!