Can anyone comment on the differences between these 3 2011 Lauer wines?

J

Jay Miller

Jay Miller
Deciding what to order from a restaurant wine list.

Thanks!

Peter Lauer, Riesling, Fass 9, “Kern”, Saar, Germany, 2011
Peter Lauer, Riesling, Fass 13, “Saarfeilser”, Saar, Germany, 2011
Peter Lauer, Riesling, Fass 11, “Schonfels”, Saar, Germany, 2011
 
I tasted the 2011 Fass 11 twice in the last four months, and found the aromas lovely, but the structure too alcoholic and not as dry as I expected. I also tasted a few other 2011s (the Fass 2 and the Fass 12) and found them tight. The three 2012s I tasted, on the other hand, were firing on all cylinders.

Since the Fass 12 is Trocken bis Feinherb and the Fass 9 is a regular Feinherb, my hunch is that the 9 would be the most satisfying of these three 2011s right now.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
I tasted the 2011 Fass 11 twice in the last four months, and found the aromas lovely, but the structure too alcoholic and not as dry as I expected. I also tasted a few other 2011s (the Fass 2 and the Fass 12) and found them tight. The three 2012s I tasted, on the other hand, were firing on all cylinders.

Since the Fass 12 is Trocken bis Feinherb and the Fass 9 is a regular Feinherb, my hunch is that the 9 would be the most satisfying of these three 2011s right now.
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Thank you Oswaldo!

Arnold would have no problem with sweet but too alcoholic would be an issue.
 
I just checked the original offer I bought from and it has the 2011 Schonfels at 8g/l of sugar. That's gotta be dry enough for almost anyone. I thought it was superb, and bought more after tasting.
 
I concur go with the 9 if you would like some sweetness.

The Schonfels is my favorite of the lineup but it is dry and higher in alcohol. It reminds me of a top Wachau wine.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
I just checked the original offer I bought from and it has the 2011 Schonfels at 8g/l of sugar. That's gotta be dry enough for almost anyone. I thought it was superb, and bought more after tasting.
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From vomboden.com:

This is one of the great dry wines of Germany from a profound site that hugs a small triangle of land, directly on top of a cliff whose sheer rock face drops precipitously into the Saar River itself. The vineyard is full of centenarians, un-grafted old timers who pull from the slate some serious complexity. This is a rare bottle and worthy of respect. In 2011, the wine shows a very dark, pregnant nose, a little bit of a nutty earthiness, mineral, golden apple, melon, spice, even curry and red fruits raspberry and cherry. The palate is staining, elegant, well-defined and incredibly flavorful, juicy and dense. Harvested at 100 Oechsle, with only eight grams of sugar and 6.5 acidity, this is a true Saar Trocken yet on its own level in terms of weight, depth and complexity. This parcel has been in the family for many, many years yet Florian’s grandfather stopped working it and his father never cultivated it. The first vintage was 2006, only one year after Florian’s first vintage, and it has become one of the more important wines in the collection. The Schonfels can be harvested very late; ripeness, as the 100 Oechsle measure suggests, is not difficult to achieve and because the site is so windy rot is very uncommon. In 2011, the parcels in the Schonfels were harvested toward the end of October (very late in 2011) and this long hang-time truly does give the wine an extra, indescribably dimension. This is a special Riesling.
 
More on the 9 from DS

From the “core” of the Neuenberg, Lauer’s 2011 Ayler Kupp Riesling Fass 9 Kern features lusciously ripe pear garlanded with honeysuckle and mint as well as tinged with coriander and saffron, making for a richly ripe, texturally creamy display transparent to floral, herbal, spicy, and ineffable but somehow crystalline mineral nuances. The distinct sense of sweetness here is superbly judged to support the wine’s fruit without in the least obscuring its interactive complexity. Look for superb performance through at least 2025.
 
2011 Schonfels actually 8.9% g/l of rs, 6.1% TA and a pH of 3.2, so stats are good on paper, but I got the feeling that fermenting these babies to trockeness put them a little past the point where linear programming of the parameters maximizes harmony. The more alcoholic ones had great noses on the wings of volatility but the sweetest spots for me generally seemed to lie at the feinherb level, with the concomitantly lower alcohol. But that's just Ich.
 
I despise rieslings that taste like they were fermented to trockeness for its own sake, but that's the exact opposite of everything I've tasted from Lauer - they always seem totally effortless and comfortable in their own skin, whatever the specs.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
I despise rieslings that taste like they were fermented to trockeness for its own sake, but that's the exact opposite of everything I've tasted from Lauer - they always seem totally effortless and comfortable in their own skin, whatever the specs.
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That's been my experience so far as well (though everyone else posting on this thread has a lot more experience with them than I do).

Other than the rather weird Sekt I've loved everything I've had from them. With the exception of the illegible labels. One of the more exciting producers I've been introduced to in recent years.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
How did it go, Jay?
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The dinner reservation is for this coming Monday at Stella! in New Orleans. I'll report back.

Of course we managed to time our long weekend of "getting away from the cold" for some of the nicest weather NYC has seen in quite a while...
 
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