2023 Riesling Leiwener Laurentiuslay Spätlese

Christopher Loewen presented a beautifully contoured collection in 2023, the fill of fruit and the vivacious freshness of the year suiting the more generous house style. The wines are dryer than last year, pithier and more precise. Loewen comments that the moist spring set 2023 off to a good start, but dry stress again revealed a marked difference between old and new vines. “We believe in de-leafing even before flowering to encourage millerandage, fully aware of the concurrent danger of sunburn and phenolics that this entails,” he explains. In the end, this was a lucky move, as the vines weathered the moisture well. Loewen describes two waves of botrytis. The August rains brought the first rot that, for many, almost immediately turned to sour rot in the “tropical” heat. Loewen counts old vines and rigorous de-leafing among his blessings. His team cut off all botrytized fruit in early September to avoid further contamination. The grapes were then ready for a second wave of botrytis later in the month, which dried out beautifully. Harvest started on September 17, went “full throttle,” and finished within ten days.