The 2006 Riesling Quant (at 11.5% alcohol and 11 grams residual sugar – for you tech freaks) is named for a local expression of unknown derivation signifying one’s satisfaction, and indeed s’ist quant! This was also the closest his 2006 harvest came to botrytis-free, says Loewen. Refreshing and diverse citrus and pungent herbs inform a substantial yet by no means heavy palate, finishing with salts and wet stone, herb, citrus, and white peach. Enjoy this over the next 7-9 years, I’d say. (On the one hand, few will hold it that long; on the other, the track record is not yet in place and it may well be a longer keeper.) The Mosel’s greatest champion of once-great but recently-neglected sites and one of German viticulture’s most tireless outside-the-box thinkers in the search for quality, Karl-Josef Loewen took extra efforts in 2006 including adding supplemental pickers who helped him harvest in only ten days. He did not begin until October 8, believing that “before then, the ripeness just wasn’t there.” Loewen is notoriously fearless when it comes to harvesting botrytis, but he tended toward more whole-cluster pressing than usual to help guard against impure elements of rot. In an exciting development, beginning this year, Loewen is taking the lead with Carl Schmitt-Wagner in farming the latter’s ancient Riesling in Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg.Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel (516) 677-9300