Loewen’s 2010 Detzemer Maximiner Klosterlay Riesling Christopher’s Wein displays considerably more textural refinement and sense of primary juiciness than this year’s Quant or Alte Reben bottlings. Fresh lemon, tangerine, musk melon, and pumpkin are tinged with crushed stone, toasted pumpkin seed, and salt for a satiny-textured, piquant, yet mouthwatering expression of Riesling on slate. “Keeping the alcohol down was a major concern,” notes Loewen, “but fortunately – especially in this instance – I simply had a low yeast efficiency and low yield in alcohol given the must weight.” The result is corpulent but in no way massive; far sleeker than the corresponding Alte Reben bottling; and ought to prove versatile over the next 3-5 years. “Nobody knew what to do” in the fall of 2010, maintains Karl-Josef Loewen, “because nobody had every witnessed anything like such a vintage.” He took all but a few of his musts down by one and a half grams of acid using calcium carbonate, which still left them plenty high. “I suspect that if you analyze my wines this year – just as with many classic Mosel Rieslings of a bygone era – you’ll find that some harbor a bit of lactic acid; but I did nothing to encourage malo and none of my wines experienced any profound malo-lactic transformation. What’s more, given the low acidity we are expecting in 2011, I would not want to be one of those growers who invited malo-lactic bacteria to have the run of my cellar. But this much is certain,” he adds: “if you had green, under-ripe aromas in the must this year, then you were never going to get rid of them by any means.” Loewen tends to welcome botrytis, and I can’t help wondering whether that has proven the Achilles heel for some of his drier 2010s, for which berries are generally crushed (this year at times foot-trodden) and given up to 12 hours of skin contact before pressing, techniques that, he acknowledges, should generally presuppose essentially healthy fruit.Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Loewen’s 2009 Detzemer Maximiner Klosterlay Riesling Christopher’s Wein is scented with grapefruit rind, musk melon, caraway, and toasted pumpkin seeds. Salinity and toasty pungency – traits influenced by what is always a more prominent influence of thousand-liter casks on this bottling – both enhance and offer counterpoint to the richness of fruit and satiny texture on exhibit; and the wine’s sense of substantiality is consistent with fine finishing refreshment. I don’t recall a previous edition of this bottling – nick-named for Loewen’s oldest son – that has worked so well, and it ought to prove versatile over at least the coming 4-6 years, though this once-famous site has historically been capable of delivering Riesling of prodigious longevity. (At 10.5 grams residual sugar, it’s not quite legally trocken, but Loewen says his customers by now associate the names of his non-Pradikat wines with a dry taste and don’t scrutinize the labels year-to-year lest they lose the “trocken” imprimatur.) 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