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It almost doesn't get better than this: six German Rieslings in a side-by-side tasting of two magnificent estates, and a chance to meet the young, talented winemakers behind them. This weekend we will be featuring the wines of Weingut Reinhard and Beate Knebel from Winningen in the Lower Mosel, as well as the wines of Weingut Peter Lauer from Ayl in the Saar.  

Farming the mostly terraced sites of Hamm, Uhlen and Rottgen in Winningen, Knebel is making some of the most extraordinary wines coming out of the Lower Mosel. Over the last few years, son Matthias Knebel has been progressively taking over the reins from consultant Gernot Kollmann (Beate Knebel continues to craft the impressive - yet not imported - dessert wines from the estate). Neither too delicate nor too concentrated, these wines strike a charming balance of intensity and finesse. They are truly singular in my mind because of their exotic flavors, and warm mineral and spice tones. These wines are carefully made with minimal intervention: hand-harvested, wild yeast fermentation and zero manipulation to acidity or sweetness levels.

Florian Lauer has been working as primary wine maker at Lauer for the past several years, continuing the estate's five-generation tradition of artisanal, single vineyard wine from the steep slopes of Ayler Kupp in the Saar. These are singular wines, most of which are site-specific according to the traditional sub-sections of Ayler Kupp. They almost entirely fermented with wild yeasts to feinherb levels with low alcohol.  Their mineral-driven delicacy is balanced by impressive concentration resulting from extended time on the lees, and the precision and focus typical of the high-acid Saar. These wines are simply some of the most impressive to cross our palates in recent memory.

Please join us in welcoming both Matthias and Florian this weekend! They will be at the shop from 4 - 7 on Saturday to share the wines and converse about the traditions, methods and visions of their estates.