2018 is the first vintage in a long, long, long time, where winemakers had basically the perfect fall. They could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
Which means, the vintage is going to offer the savvy taster a unique insight into what each grower thinks constitutes a “great” wine. 2018 was a ripe vintage, and you are going to find some hot, blowsy, heavy wines. But you are also going to find some absolutely shimmering, kaleidoscopic and rigorous wines.
Do NOT confuse 2018 with 2003; there are a lot of similarities, but 15 years separates the two vintages and a lot has changed.
For the winemakers that sought freshness and rigor, 2018 is among the most expressive, most forward and saturating vintages I can remember. At the right addresses, 2018 is a tour-de-force, undeniable vintage. At the top addresses, this is nothing short of a wow vintage.
There is no question what Florian Lauer was pursuing in 2018: clarity and cut. He’s not alone: 2018 is the first vintage I have heard the top estates (Lauer, along with Prüm, Keller, Julian Haart, Weiser-Künstler, Hofgut Falkenstein, etc.) talk openly about harvesting *earlier* than everyone else. It is the first time I have heard top estates talk about whole-cluster pressing and fractioning to preserve and amplify acidity.
The truth is the power of the 2018 vintage has lifted many of the wines at Lauer; giving them more amplitude and depth, yet not really increasing their size or scale. In fact, two wines that we have never brought in (Fass 3 and Fass 4) were so compelling, that we are adding them to the roster in 2018. They are just too damn good.
Appellation
2018 Lauer “Barrel X” Off Dry ~$23 per bottle retail
The vintage fireworks start here – a beautifully balanced, generous Barrel X with grippy acids. This wine is so good if you don’t drink it, it’ll probably drink itself. Barrel X is Lauer’s platonic ideal of what a delicately off-dry SAAR Riesling should be.
Village
2018 Lauer Fass 2 Extra Trocken ~$32 per bottle retail
German wine dork crack! Searing citrus and herbs, though in 2018 it flaunts the deepest and most citrus-driven mid-palate I’ve ever experienced. This is the friendliest Fass 2 ever – a joy to drink. As the name suggests – this is very dry!
2018 Lauer “Senior” ~$31 per bottle retail
One of the greatest values in German white wine, period. This is declassified grand-cru wine, sourced from a parcel of the Kupp with 70+ year old ungrafted vines. An iconic bottling, dry-tasting though not legally dry. It’s already half-sold-out, so. Yikes, good luck.
2018 Lauer Fass 4 Ayler Feinherb – FIRST TIME IN U.S! ~$31 per bottle retail
A village-level off dry, sourced from top parcels in the Scheidterberg and Rauberg; though the wine has about 37 grams residual sugar per liter, it has beautiful acidity and lift; it feels like a baby Kabinett. Incredibly light and dancing. Stunning.
2018 Lauer Fass 3 Ayler Feinherb – FIRST TIME IN U.S! ~$32 per bottle retail
For those of you who know (and therefore love) Lauer’s Stirn, here we have a wine sourced from the parcel directly next to it, an east-facing vineyard that shaped a wine of force and thrust, a mid-palate awash with stone-fruit but also dark and intriguing aromatics of caramelized orange peel.
Grand Cru
2018 Lauer Unterstenberg ~$41 per bottle retail
Consult the map above or click here for fun. “Unterstenberg” is the site is at the bottom of the Kupp. It has fine slate with more water retention and thus a bit more vigorous growth. This is the most sturdy and powerful of all the grand crus. As always, a profound mineral expression.
2018 Lauer Stirn ~$47 per bottle retail
Consult the map above or click here for fun. “Stirn,” meaning “forehead,” is the counterpoint to Unterstenberg. It is a site exactly 300 feet up, at the top of the Kupp. Everything changes up here – the site is blasted by the wind, very cold and with rocky soils. The vines struggle. The wine that is made here is tensile, soaring. It is high-toned with shavings of lime zest and a packed core of super-fine slate. Again, the wine is angelic and soaring, the most lithe and nervous of all of Lauer’s Grand Crus.
2018 Lauer Kern ~$46 per bottle retail
Consult the map above or click here for fun. “Kern” is named for the person who cleared this site in the early 20th century. You’ll note from the map that Kern extends from the top to the bottom of the vineyard, thus one has a wine that is very complete. It shows some of the power of the Unterstenberg with some of the tension of the Stirn.
2018 Lauer Neuenberg ~$58 per bottle retail
Consult the map above or click here for fun. “Neuenberg” is one of the cherry parcels of the Kupp, tucked further into the valley than Stirn and Unsterstenberg. The wine tends to be perhaps the most exotic of Lauer’s grand crus – there is a textural, glycerin quality to the wine that gives it incredible length. It is a monument to what Saar Riesling can be. Again, the 2018 version is exceptional.
Prädikats
2018 Lauer Kupp Kabinett Fass 8 ~$37 per bottle retail
The Prädikat wines are pre-selections from all over the Kupp. They flaunt Lauer’s style – shocking saturation and vivid fruit countered by a slate-inflected whiplash of acidity. The 2018 is a shocking, saturating, whiplash-of-a-wine; plush, super-fine fruit and silken mid-palate that is simply smacked into place by a mineral-driven acid, that is grippy and rigorous and makes this wine almost feel dry. Though the Kabinett is not Lauer’s main focus, other than this dude named Egon, there is no one doing it better. Seriously, next-level juice.
2018 Lauer Kupp Spätlese Fass 7 ~$43 per bottle retail
The Prädikat wines are pre-selections from all over the Kupp. They flaunt Lauer’s style – shocking saturation and vivid fruit countered by a slate-inflected whiplash of acidity. In 2018 the volume is just turned up. So good it’s freakish.