Lauer Senior is Something You Should Know About

I'll happily contend that Lauer's high-end bottlings are well worth the asking, but in every vintage I find myself gravitating to Senior, not only for its lively and vivacious character, but also its extraordinarily reasonable price. It is on the dry side of the sweetness spectrum at Lauer, but always harbors more than 9 grams of residual sugar (usually in the mid-teens), so it is not technically trocken, or dry, but gets very close. Senior always comes from the same old vines in a cooler spot on Ayler Kupp, and it is always fresh and airy, herbal and delicately floral, crunchy and tart, usually with lots of citrus nuance, and of course a very stony and crisp finish. Although it is not technically trocken (dry), it is so far from sweet, and with its dense core of acidity and low alcohol, it represents the most refreshing side of Riesling.

To say that the 2021 vintage of Germany is exciting to us would be an understatement. The weather was quite a bit cooler than the recent norm, and from what we have tasted so far, it is clear that the best wines are going to be legendary. The 2021 Senior has just arrived, and it is allocated this year, so we do not have as much as usual. I have not tried it, but I know I'll buy a few bottles for myself, and I recommend you do the same. It will be superb with all sorts of seafood and summer veggies, and will be worth following at least 5 years.

Looking through some older reviews, I was really pleased to find that David Schildknecht commented on the 1992 Senior in his 2009 review of the 2007 Senior. His comments: I’m pretty partial to it myself, and only recently drank my last bottle of the delicious 1992 (which was bottled in liters because “old timers would also like a bit more wine,” as Peter Lauer once told me!).

I can't wait to find out if the 2021 will be delicious at 17 years old (if only it still came in liters!), I'm pretty confident it will be.

Lauer Riesling Ayler Riesling 'Senior' Fass 6 2021 - $30

As usual, this wine will discount 10% on 6 bottles, and 12% on 12 bottles, mixing and matching with any other wines.

Please direct inquiries and orders to orders@craftandcru.com