WTN: '05 Heymann-Löwenstein Laubach Riesling Erste Lage

[David M. Bueker]

2005 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Winninger Uhlen Laubach Riesling Erste Lage - Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer (4/13/2008)
Hiding under a veil of sulfur is a wine of power, delicacy, depth and transparency. Intensely mineral but with effortless fruit that floats over the top of the wine, this is only lacking time to pull back the curtain of sulfur and reveal it in all its glory.

[b]2005 Weingut Heymann-Löwenstein Winninger Uhlen Laubach Riesling Erste Lage .. this is only lacking time to pull back the curtain of sulfur and reveal it in all its glory.

Why being so forgiving? In my view Löwenstein wines are oftenly expensive, superficial, lacking depth, complexity, concentration and ageworthyness. The only Löwenstein vintage I liked was 1997 (going downhill now). Furthermore Löwenstein corks tend to be leaky.

[David M. Bueker]

Because under the sulfur there was a fantastic wine (and I wasn't the only Riesling geek who thought so). Prum and Grunhaus have the same issue & they are some of the greatest Rieslings in the world. If they get forgiven the sulfur then other producers should get the benefit of the doubt. I didn't find the wine superficial at all. There was lots of depth of material.

I don't own enough Lowenstein to speak to cork failure issues, but in general I find 1 out of every 6-8 bottles of German Riesling leak, and I have fantastic cellaring conditions.