From an unusually briskly- and frequently-ventilated parcel, Loewen’s 2009 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Beerenauslese is at once honeyed and caramelized as well as sharply lime-like lemony. The result is rather sweet-sour but the tension itself is stimulating and there is a purity of citrus and pit fruit preserves as well as a healthy vivacity here that contrast strikingly with the behavior of Loewen’s Eiswein of the vintage. Lime and peach preserves hang on impressively in a saliva-inducing finish. This bids fair to be worth following for 15-20 years if not longer, but I would definitely plan to monitor it within 5-7 years for signs that it is adding some complexity. Karl-Josef Loewen’s general approach – to as he puts it “make little wine from many bunches, rather than little wine from few bunches” – fits the relatively generous 2009 vintage well in principle, provided however – as he is quick to point out – one let the fruit hang long enough. “The temptation is strong – and it’s common on the Mosel – to treat (read: charcoal-fine) the botrytized musts,” notes Loewen, “be we didn’t do anything this year, and I really think that was the wisest decision I have ever made.” (Incidentally, the trio of upper-Pradikat wines of this collection for which suggested retail prices are not noted will, according to importer Terry Theise, be made available in the U.S. for any merchants whose fancy they take.)Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

The Loewen 2007 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Beernauslese – representing the last non-frozen grapes picked here this vintage – evinces yellow plum and pineapple, prickly pungency of citrus zest. On the palate, this exhibits brighter acidity than this year’s Klostergarten Eiswein, although butterscotch, white raisin and honey are also prominent. The result is a rather bifurcated personality, at least at present, something of a caramel apple, with a finish both candied in its sweetness (backed by 180 grams of residual sugar!) and bracingly sharp. Perhaps this will with time achieve some harmony or at least a less discordant dynamic, but given its huge concentration of sugar and acidity, one will have to wait more than a decade just to get a better handle on the wine’s long-term potential.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

In this years’s Ritsch, the 2006 Leiwener Laurentiuslay Riesling Beerenauslese has an almost impossible act to follow. But at Loewen’s behest, follow it did. Orange blossom and tangerine scent the nose. With an oily richness of texture, pure vanilla cream studded with orange zest, and intimations of distilled herbal essences mingle salaciously on the palate. That contradictory concentration of 2006 is present yet again, as this practically floats off in the finish. And perhaps, when you drink it, you’ll feel as though you are levitating as well. Yet, a stony slate foundation is also part of the experience. Today, this cannot compare with the Ritsch for complexity, seductiveness, or sheer magic. But in the long run – meaning at least 40 years – I would not count it out.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