Candied lemon rind, honey, and high-toned almost sneeze-inducing herbal pungency scent Loewen’s 2007 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Auslese. Sassy and bright on the palate, this displays the sort of rather hard mouth-feel and sheen of noble rot that characterized the Ritsch Auslese A.P. #20. Here, too, we have an uncanny and unexpected sense of delicacy and lift, though with subtle suggestions of butterscotch and ample honey mingling with sappy, fresh pit fruit, and making for a striking juxtaposition with the wine’s bright, efficacious citricity. Loewen’s aim was to achieve “Mosel refreshment and dynamic, along with opulence.” I would say this wine is well on its way toward that goal and well worth following over the coming decade, during which it may well prove itself worthy of further cellaring. Karl-Josef Loewen finds similarities in character between 2007 and 2002, which he illustrated with a now spectacular Thornicher Ritsch Spatlese, a wine I already admired in its youth, but about whose combination of botrytis and slight severity of acids I at that stage expressed slight concern. Still, I was not entirely convinced by the analogy, or by certain of Loewen’s 2007s. Few German growers I know are as sanguine about botrytis in general as he, and it certainly touched most of his wines in 2007, at times awkwardly.Importer:Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel (516) 677-9300