Loewen’s 2006 Detzemer Maximiner Klosterlay Riesling Christopher’s Wine was harvested from around 50% botrytized grapes, but you would never guess it for the subtlety of flavors and the balance on exhibit. Suggestions of baked squash and pumpkin as well as lightly toasted nuts inform a meaty, saline, somewhat Chablis-like, creamy textured palate. A note of wood spice signals the choice of a relatively new large cask that characterizes this wine every vintage. The savory, saline finish – with hints of herb, squash, and nut oils – lingers intriguingly. I am not confident about holding this wine for more than 5-7 years – more time will establish a surer track record – but it will prove a fascinating table companion for at least that long. 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