the 2019er Lauer collection

The amazing photograph above is a good snapshot of the sexy life of the importer dealing with pandemic life: no travel, no big dinners, no vineyard walks at dawn.

Instead, we have solitary evenings tasting wine, jotting down notes on the computer. So it goes. (And yes, it could be worse.)

There’s been a lot of buzz about 2019; there’s been a lot of buzz about Lauer’s collection.

John Gilman, a serious taster I respect, writes of Lauer’s 2019ers that they are “amongst the very finest wines I have ever tasted from this superb Ayl estate.”

Yup, they are very, very good. You’ve read the quotes: “…2019 looks to be one of the finest vintages ever in the Mosel…”  and “…one of the best vintages of the last 20 years.” The quotes are from Mosel Fine Wines and Klaus Peter Keller, respectively.

For 2019, Lauer’s collection is simply explosive. Tasting through Lauer’s 2019ers I was startled, once again, by how singular Florian’s style is. The wines have texture and (apparent) weight, yet, somehow the second they make contact with your palate they evaporate, they explode – like a drop of cold water hitting a sizzling pan. The wines seem to expand to fill whatever space they can, incisive and saturating, voluptuous in ways, yet also weightless.

It doesn’t make sense; but there it is. That’s the magic. Do not miss these wines.

Some business notes: You’ve heard yields are down for 2019. Worse, this offer comes way too late. The turbulence from the pandemic has left us scrambling, all the time. We never know whether to run left, or run right, the result being that we’re behind on everything. My gut is you understand this only too well.

Part of me, of course, wanted Lauer to sort of headline the show: to play on the main stage at the perfect moment. In many ways, this email is the culmination of our 2019 German wine program. 

Yet, it’s a bit too late.

A few wines we normally work with are totally sold out, others have just a fraction of what we’d normally get. So there we are. I apologize. We’ll be better next year.

But, get what you can get, because these are very, very good.

Without further ado. Please let us know what you like and we’ll do our best.

For more information or to order, please email us at orders@vomboden.com.

the 2019er Lauer collection
wines will arrive later November; all orders subject to confirmation

village level
2019 Lauer “Senior” Fass 6  ~ $32 per bottle
The following single line, penned by John Gilman reviewing Lauer’s 2019 collection, makes the whole damn subscription worth it. He writes about the 2019 “Senior”: “This is a ‘village wine’ the way Jean-François Coche used to make them!” As I’ve said 100 times, this is, year-after-year, one of the best values in white wine; profound depth, complexity, finesse, structure. It is an icon of “natural” balance and it deserves its reputation. We bought everything left at the estate (about 40 cases) so this is your last chance.

2019 Lauer “Ayler” Village Level Fass 4 Feinherb ~ $33 per bottle
This wine is SMOKING-good! In yet more revelations of climate change, the “1er Cru” Scheidterberg and Sonnenberg hills that curl around the village of Ayl are beginning to turn out wines of real depth and complexity, yet they also still flaunt a bit of their even-more-cool-climate thing. This is only the second vintage of this wine I’ve brought in, but here we are. The 2019er comes in at a lean 34.2 grams residual sugar (a Feinherb) with damn near 10 grams of acid to keep absolutely energized. “A fine girdle of acidity” writes Gilman amusingly. He finishes, on point: “This is simply an outstanding ‘entry level’ bottling from Florian in 2019.”

2019 Lauer “Extra Dry” Fass 2 ~ $35 per bottle
The Fass 2 “Extra Dry” is always a wine-dork favorite – it is little more than rocks, salt and acid. Whatever fruit it does show veers towards lemon pith and lime zest. Honestly, even in the most gentle of years, this wine needs time and in 2019 it’s a monster. It will reward those who like definition and that looking-glass-into-the-soil thing; it will also reward those who can open the bottle 24+ hours before drinking it, double-decant, and/or put it in the cellar for a decade.

Grand Cru
2019 Lauer Grand Cru “Unterstenberg” ~ $45 per bottle
Damn, I didn’t get to taste it this year (thanks a lot for not sending a bottle Florian!), but the lower score from Mosel Fine Wines(MFW) and the fact that the review emphasizes the “tartness,” “assertive finish” and an “aftertaste gorgeously lifted by some bitter-lemon elements” makes me think this is my kind of wine. Over the twelve 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. It’s been hovering at about about 12 grams and with 2019, hit a low of 9 grams – meaning that this is likely the driest-ever Unterstenberg and I bet the schmalzy, glycerin depth of the mid-palate is just perfect with the emphasized cut and lift. MFWfinishes its review: “This superb and delicately off-dry tasting wine is hugely promising but will need a few years to integrate its tartness and develop its finesse.” Ha! For real: try and not drink.

2019 Lauer Grand Cru “Kern” ~ $52 per bottle
“Kern” is named after the 19th century industrialist that cleared this more-western part of the Kupp; it is a small parcel that spans the entire top-to-bottom reach of the Kupp. Thus, for me, the wine always has something of the lift and rigor of “Stirn” and something of the depth of wines like “Neuenberg” and “Unterstenberg.” The vines are old here, well over 70-years-old, so the wine has some stuffing. It has about 39 grams of residual sugar so is def. in that off-dry style, yet, with Lauer, it’s always about the balance. I like Gilman’s take: “This too has electric acidity perfectly complemented by its level of residual sweetness. It is a touch more broad-shouldered than the Stirn (due to its generous serving of afternoon sunshine), perhaps a touch sweeter, but every bit as refined and light on its feet. Fine, fine juice.”

2019 Lauer Grand Cru “Stirn” ~ $52 per bottle
For me, always one of Lauers most angelic, soaring wines. Sourced from the top of the Kupp mountain, the vines here are battered by the wind and there is little soil and little water; it is a struggle up here. The wine, however, shows just a soaring tension, an amazing linearity. For 2019, the wine has just under 40 grams residual sugar and nearly 10 grams acid. I love this damn wine. Writes Gilman: “The wine has a great core, superb mineral undertow and fine focus and grip on the long, complex and electric finish. I love this wine’s personality this year and am so happy Florian did not try to ferment it up a bit higher in octane to dry it out a bit more, as its balance is absolute perfection.”

2019 Lauer Grand Cru “Neuenberg” ~ $59 per bottle
As with the “Unterstenberg,” the “Neuenberg” this year comes in quite dry (11 grams residual sugar). I didn’t get to taste it but again the MFW vocabulary (“tart aftertaste”) makes me think this is right in my wheelhouse. Silly limited for 2019, but here’s the MFW review: “It offers a superb nose made of grapefruit zest, minerals, white peach, floral elements, pear, melon, and smoke. The wine is gorgeously playful and yet hugely intense on the palate, and leaves a superbly focused and persistent feel of herbs, fine minerals, lemony fruits, and elderflower in the long and engaging finish. A touch of sweetness still needs to melt away in the overall rather tart aftertaste. This gorgeous off-dry wine is a huge success in the making, and has even quite some upside potential if it develops even more finesse with aging.” 

Prädikats
2019 Lauer Kupp Auslese Fass 10 (12 x 375ml) ~ $45 per 375ml
This is kick-ass, old-school Auslese. Or rather, let me rephrase: It’s an Auslese from this new world of ripeness with the qualities of an old-school Auslese, meaning it has brightness and flashes citrus – the damn wine is racy. It has cut. That said, it’s also a baby and while the fireworks are seriously impressive now, in 10-20 years this wine will simply school some of the most famous names in Germany. Will you have a bottle for that moment, I guess, is the question?