After having loved, truly loved, the Moselle for well over twenty years, I taste through this 2022 Ludes collection and it hits me once again, just how exceptional, how utterly unique, how irreproducible the Moselle is.
I wrote this silly little book – maybe you’ve heard about it or bought it? – and in the process of sitting down in a calm, clean, well-lighted place to write an essay on the Moselle, I had to try and come to terms with, to explain the strange, most-often unspoken rawness of the Moselle – its foreignness, even to the domestic German audience.
In a way, I believe the Moselle is one of the final wine cultures of western Europe that remains largely unchanged by the vogue and fashion of our new, modern world of wine, in which one should be able to easily visit, run into beautiful friends in bespoke restaurants, have single-origin pour-overs while listening to vinyl and reclining in mid-century modern furniture.
The Moselle is so profoundly not cool that it stands alone. Which is the coolest thing possible.
Now, I’m being a bit sassy. I have no problem with much of this new world. In truth, I have some beautiful friends and I like the new casual consciousness that has swept through restaurants from New York to Paris to Copenhagen. I have a record player and some cheap mid-century modern furniture knock-offs. Don’t even get me started on single-origin coffee. In truth, if I’m brutally honest with myself, there are few clichés of the last twenty years that I haven’t indulged in. I’m either fantastically a part of the Zeitgeist or a total wanker – most likely a bit of both.
Yet it is exactly the ubiquity of this modern hipness that makes the gritty rawness of the Moselle feel so unique, so different… so authentic.
The wines, gloriously (and appropriately) mirror this singular rawness. The wines are low in alcohol and sharp, almost dangerous, in their acidic bite. They are unapologetically crystalline and shimmering. Not only are the wines rarely cloudy, they are often filtered (gasp! shrieks!). Their labels showcase the unending language of familial crests, utterly unhip in any conceivable way. Even the bottles are slim and awkwardly tall. They don’t fit in your fridge easily. They are not in the least bit Burgundy-shaped.
Yet these wines, at their best, are among the most delicate, angelic wines on earth – these are wines that have somehow been able to reduce this most complex world into something so essential and primal, even basic, simple. Like water, made from wine.
Here are these miracle-wines, sourced from vineyards equally improbable, with ancient vines scattered in cliff-vineyards that demand profound human labor… and yet most of them – even the greatest of these wines – can be had for very little.
Fifty bucks will buy you 750ml of a fucking miracle. Grand Cru in any conceivable articulation of that idea.
They are right here, right in front of us, yet most of us walk right on by without noticing.
The whole scenario reminds me of a stunt the graffiti artist Banksy pulled off in 2013, selling original pieces on the street in New York’s Central Park. The signed pieces, just sitting there on a nondescript table, worth a commercial value of around $30,000 each, were sold to anyone who walked by for only $60.
The thing is, most people just walked right by. If the art had any value, it’d be in a museum or in one of those white-box galleries in Chelsea, right?
Hopefully you see where I’m going with this.
The Ludes 2022ers are, without question, among the greatest wines of the vintage here in the Moselle. They are available (if not widely) and can be purchased for not a whole lot of money. Feel free to read the Mosel Fine Wines quote above again.
While Mosel Fine Wines seems to suggest that at chez Ludes the 2022ers top the 2021ers, I’m not 100% sure of that. Though I’m not 100% sure it’s not right either. Regardless, for a second straight year the young Julian Ludes has turned out one of the most uncompromising and angular, ruthlessly old-school Moselle Riesling collections I, for one, have ever tasted.
Nine unique wines and every single one is a Kabinett, which brings me to the second theme in this wine-offer-turned-ranting-diatribe: The Moselle is the craziest place in the wine world. There is no other region with a degree of terroir-specificity that even comes close.
People will wax poetically about the nuance of terroir and the complexity of Burgundy’s various terroirs. All fair.
Then we come to the Moselle and reach a level of terroir-specificity that is, frankly, on the edge of total insanity. Growers will discuss with one another, with straight faces, the 15 different bottlings they made from their five-hectare plot in the same single vineyard. Florian Lauer, in one of the most ridiculous examples of this micro-winemaking I’ve ever seen, made three unique wines from a single 2,500-square-meter vineyard.
He looked at me almost sheepishly, as if he had no choice. I don’t think he felt he had a choice. Thus the glorious insanity of it all.
Ludes, not far off, made nine wines from about four hectares. Every single wine is a Kabinett. Every single one is absolutely singular, achieving the most inconceivable balances – sleek, fully attenuated, pointed-toe postures that would make even the most flexible gymnast blush.
Nobel laureates in chemistry scratch their heads, wondering how in the flying hell there exist wines with such tension, the acids and pHs being understood only by angels.
A dry wine with 15 grams of residual sugar? Yup. The young Julien Ludes looks at me with a straight face and says simply, “Why not? This is the Moselle.”
Indeed it is.
In a way, if we succeed in truly conveying what this place is, what these wines are… maybe we would be guilty of destroying the perfectness of this culture, right now, as it exists today. Raw, brutal in ways, glorious, beautiful and perfect, gritty and soulful. So, we are content with trying just enough, to skip easy one-liners and punchy sales gimmicks and to rather indulge in loving, awe-struck essays, such as this.
If you have read this far, there is something in you that wants something more essential, and it’s as good a guess as any that you’ll find something meaningful in these wines.
What an incredibly lucky moment, that these wines are here for us to celebrate, to buy without too much stress and, importantly, to open and drink with our loved ones, without too much stress.
To read more about the history of this badass, old-school estate, click here.
If you are interested in purchasing any of these wines, email us at orders@vomboden.com and we can put you in touch with someone who can help.
2022 Hermann Ludes Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling “im Schneidersberg” Kabinett -T-
“The 2022er Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Spätlese -t- “Im Schneidersberg” was made from fruit harvested at 78° Oechsle on 80-85 year-old vines in this prime Lieu-Dit and was fermented down to off-dry levels of residual sugar (15 g/l). The nose is captivating from the start, with hints of bacon smoke, residual spontaneous fermentation, and lots of fine spices. Then come aromas of vineyard peach, dried white flowers, gunflint, lime, grapefruit, and gooseberry. The wine comes over as straightforward and lean on the palate, with dynamism provided by some salivating acidity. The finish is taut, long, and tart, and clearly still austere. It will need a few years to soften. This lively, airy, and racy dry wine is remarkable, and will appeal to fans of this style.” -Mosel Fine Wines, Issue 63, August 2022
2022 Hermann Ludes Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling “Gackes Unten” Kabinett Feinherb
“The 2022er Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Kabinett Feinherb “Gackes Unten” was made from fruit harvested at 81° Oechsle on largely un-grafted old vines in the middle front part of the vineyard part of the vineyard and was fermented down to off-dry levels of residual sugar (22 g/l). The nose is initially very closed, with only residues from its spontaneous fermentation, giving a very smoky and herbaceous aspect. It takes a few minutes in the glass for it to show its complexity, with notes of cassis, wild strawberry, candied grapefruit, fine spices, aniseed herbs, and fresh herbs. The wine has superb balance on the palate, with finesse but also intensity and grip. The finish is very long, chiseled, and refreshing. What a gloriously light yet deep expression of dry-tasting Kabinett!” -Mosel Fine Wines, Issue 63, August 2022
2022 Hermann Ludes Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling “Gackes Oben” Kabinett Feinherb
“The 2022er Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Kabinett Feinherb “Gackes Oben” was made from fruit harvested at 77° Oechsle on 70-75-year-old vines in the upper front part of the vineyard and was fermented down to off-dry levels of residual sugar (17 g/l). The nose immediately captures one’s attention as it offers plenty of refreshing and airy elements of anise, minty herbs, spearmint, candied citrusy elements, orange blossom, and aniseed, all wrapped in a blanket of fine slatey smoke. The wine is vibrant on the palate as plenty of spicy and zesty flavors, which give it a superbly dynamic and focused edge. The finish is chiseled, focused, and superbly long. The aftertaste is marked by smoke, lime, and ginger-driven spices, and above all shows huge energy. This is a splendid dry-tasting and racy wine, made for lovers of straightforward and sharp Riesling. It only needs a few years to round off its edges.” -Mosel Fine Wines, Issue 63, August 2022
2022 Hermann Ludes Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling “Terrassen” Kabinett
“The 2022er Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Kabinett “Terrassen” was made from fruit harvested at 80° Oechsle in the terraced part on 75-80-year-old vines in the central part of the vineyard and was fermented down to barely fruity-styled levels of residual sugar (40 g/l). The first nose is still a little reduced, with herbaceous and smoky notes, mostly coming from its spontaneous fermentation. After a few minutes in the glass, it develops splendid complexity, with fine notes of bergamot, lemon, yellow flowers, vineyard peach, menthol, fresh herbs, and fine spices. The wine is airy and finely fruity on the palate, with sappy yellow peach adding creaminess and juiciness. The finish is remarkably light, yet intense and very long. This is a remarkable Kabinett from the 2022 vintage.” -Mosel Fine Wines, Issue 63, August 2022