LauerRiesling Fass 13 Feils GG 2023 (750ml)

Feils is the vineyard name of one of the three Grand Cru dry wines that Florian Lauer produces – the other two are Kupp and Schonfels. Note in German these are called “Grosses Gewächs,” translating to “great growth.” You should be able to find on the labels the letters “GG,” denoting the fact they are “Grand Cru” and dry.

Feils is a unique site for the Saar in a number of ways. First, you’ll note looking at the map (to the left, in the gallery) that Feils is a site that rests right up against the Saar River. Unlike the Mosel, where most of the great sites (at least historically speaking) cling to the river and benefit from the temperature control the river provides, in the Saar, most of the sites run perpendicular to the river. Which is to say, they are not so affected by the warmth the river generates. The Feils (along with sites like Wiltinger Gottesfuss, etc) is unique in its rather direct relationship with the river. Second, because the river pushes up against and flows around the vineyard, the site has a good amount of alluvial soil, especially toward the bottom. Yes, there is slate here, but it is not the only soil type.

Feils is a warm site; it is also sneakily steep. Convex like a spoon, the vineyard begins mildly as you walk through it heading down to the river. However, as one reaches center-slope the incline becomes quite severe. In the pictures in the gallery, you can see the roundness and dip of the site – especially in the second picture. The lowest third of the vineyard is extremely steep.

The wine this site produces is one of the most textural and luscious of the GGs; from the beginning it can show a rather broad range of fruit and spice. It also tends to drink earlier than Lauer’s other GGs, though obviously this can change vintage to vintage.