Weingut Carl Loewen Varidor Riesling Qba Trocken, Mosel, Germany

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The Loewen 2009 Riesling trocken Varidor – about whose nickname and vine origins see reviews of previous renditions – is scented with peat and wet stone along with yellow plum. Subtly creamy in texture and marrying stuffing to lift, it finishes with undeniable austerity (the higher-acid 2008 finished just above legal-Trockenheit in residual sugar) yet impressive grip and memorable mineral flavors. I suspect this will be best drunk over the next couple of years simply because I see the potential for it to become leaner rather than more lush. 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

Loewen’s dry-tasting, superficially Sauvignon-like 2008 Riesling Varidor – about whose nickname and origins see reviews of previous renditions – smells of gooseberry and lime; comes to the palate palpably dense, juicy and tart, with the chew of berry skin; and finishes with pungent and invigorating grip if a certain austere underlying stoniness. This will need careful pairing but should prove worth following for several years. Karl-Josef Loewen associates the measurably high dry extracts of his 2008s with their ability to buffer high acids but also to convey mineral characteristics. He was pleased to point out that not one of his dry wines reached 12% alcohol this vintage, and only partly on account of that vintage itself. Especially with his oldest vines, pruning for multiple short canes and de-leafing at critical junctures are among the techniques being employed to diminish the accretion of sugar and maximize flavor. Small berries and clusters are also critical, says Loewen, who does not believe in green harvesting. “The trick,” he opines, “is to make little wine from many bunches, rather than little wine from few bunches.”Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Loewen’s 2007 Riesling Variador – nick-named by him for the old selection of vines he has re-propagated, and which when ripening quickly become deeply golden – is legally trocken, but since some years it won’t be, Loewen is moving away from using that term on the label (Germans’ fixation with it be damned!). Purple plum and orange in the nose lead to a bright, subtly tart palate infused with crushed stone and alkaline minerality, and tinged in its finish with salt, citrus zest, and brown spices. This wines bright penetration of acidity is somehow amplified by the zesty, nippy notes that suggest a hint of botrytis, so that the effect borders on strident. Time may bring more harmony, but in any case its current personality is well worth relishing. (Loewen’s Alte Reben bottling – from parcels in the Klostergarten – was considerably burdened by bitterness from botrytis.) 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