Carl Loewen - Thörnicher Ritsch Riesling Grosses Gewächs (GG) 2022 (750ml)
Price: $59.99
| Producer | Carl Loewen |
| Country | Germany |
| Region | Mosel-Saar-Ruwer |
| Varietal | Riesling |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Sku | 204838 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Carl Loewen Description
The Carl Loewen estate dates back to 1803 when an agent in Paris purchased a set of vineyards and buildings owned by the Maximin order. This sale was part of an auction used to generate money for the Napoleonic government after secularization. The purchase included the Maximiner Klosterlay, Maximin Grünhaus in the Ruwer, and Maximiner Herrenberg in Longuich. Interestingly, the purchase also included an administration building for the Maximin order that was sold to the Piedmont family in Filzen. Today, this is the family home and shares architectural details with the house at Grünhaus. The agent then split up the properties and sold them piece by piece to generate more money. It is for this reason that the Grünhaus today includes such large blocks in the Abtsberg – that property was sold to a single family, the vom Schubert’s. The Maximin Klosterlay was the first site acquired by the Loewen Family in 1805.
Weingut Carl Loewen has grown over the past three generations from 1ha to 18 today. The estate is currently run by Christopher Loewen and his father Karl-Josef. In the late 1980s and 1990s, Karl-Josef was always looking for old vineyards and grew the estate by purchasing steep old vineyards (low yielding) that no one wanted to work anymore. Now the estate is spread over 4 villages – Leiwen, Longuich, Detzem, and Thörnich. More than 50% of the holdings are ungrafted, very old vines, from 60-120 years old, and on steep slopes. In 1998, Karl-Josef bought his first parcels in the Thörnicher Ritsch vineyard, the second steepest vineyard in Germany, second only to Bremer Calmot in the lower Mosel. Karl-Josef had visited a wine fair in Thörnich and felt that the quality of the site, which is grey weathered slate and quartzite, was very high, but there was a sharpness, a green flavor, similar to Saar wines that he found. One of the first things that he did in this site was to cease the use of chemical fertilization. This is an important step and one that is taken immediately when vineyards are purchased by Loewen. Christopher notes that it takes many years for a vineyard to recover from these treatments and to come into balance.
Thörnicher Ritsch: Weathered, brittle, grey slate and quartzite on extremely steep slopes
James Suckling: 98 Points
Welcome to the Alpine peaks where the sunlight picks out every crevice in the rock and the wild flowers have extremely intense colors. A breathtakingly fresh wine that is dangerously energetic and mind-blowingly focused and precise. Incredible crystalline purity at the super-long finish. Still extremely young.
Vinous: 93 Points
The 2022 Riesling Thörnicher Ritsch Grosses Gewächs is harvested from quartzite-laced blue slate and 50-year-old vines. The nose is subtly creamy, blending oak nuttiness with serene lemon. The palate also displays this creaminess, rich with ripe Amalfi lemon, concentrated and smooth, seemingly buffered but actually luminous with citrus. A big wine with an immense citrus finish, full of texture and absolutely citrus-focused. (Dry)
