
Peter Lauer
Grower Profile
Since 1830, generations of Lauers have been practicing organic viticulture, working the steep slopes on the Saar.
Sublime examples of Riesling
Grower of
Frank Schoonmaker put it best in his 1956 tome The Wines of Germany: “In these great and exceedingly rare wines of the Saar, there is a combination of qualities which I can perhaps best describe as indescribable – austerity coupled with delicacy and extreme finesse, an incomparable bouquet, a clean, very attractive hardness tempered by a wealth of fruit and flavor which is overwhelming.”
We have had the pleasure of visiting this sacred, historical place in Moselle and enjoyed a morning tasting through the Lauer wines which are vastly different from other Saar producers: Florian Lauer places a greater emphasis on the dry, or gently dry, tasting iterations of Riesling. Florian, the current generation to lead the estate, is one of the most creative, talented, high wired, and serious makers in the Moselle, full stop. There are no other wines in the Moselle quite like Florian's.
The analytics of Lauer's wines can at times be a total mind f*%k — in 2022, for example, he crafted a Spatlese with nearly 80 grams residual that was dry tasting?! After enjoying German Riesling for twenty years, experiences like this remind us that the mystery of the Moselle and Riesling are alive. Embracing contradictions and discrepancies are not just a key to life, but also an essential mantra when enjoying and comprehending Riesling.
Whenever we think we have this thing figured out, wines like Lauer's keep us thirsting for more experiences, more knowledge. We've fully accepted we can never pin down the multifaceted, mind boggling, head scratching beauty of Riesling. And that's ok, right?
2022 was across the board a very, very good, homogeneous and consistent vintage, producing incandescent, crystalline wines with a lovely balance of acidity. 2023 was a warmer vintage, with more varied results depending on each producer and the heat definitely favored some of the cooler Moselle sites such as the side valleys of the Saar where Laur crafts his masterpieces.
We can say this with some clarity and confidence: Lauer's 2023's are sublime examples of balance, precision, and piquant aromatics. We had the chance to taste his 2023's in April 2024 at the estate and across the board ALL the wines were salty, smokey, and restrained. Fast forward to September 2024 and as we started cracking bottles we noticed the salty minerality was well intact and signature Lauer. Added to the mix were soaring aromatics of rose water, chamomile, mint, smoke and green apple. Florian Lauer is unquestionably a Riesling savant and enjoying one of his wines is a true portal into the mystical beauty of Moselle Riesling.
Each year Lauer makes more than twelve wines from diverse, historic parcels of varying levels of ripeness. It's hard for us to pick favorites as each bottling has a singular expression of place and time. So, in our mind, it's simple: taste every single one.
For an incredible in-depth interview with Florian Lauer, please listen to this interview with Levi Dalton. A rabbit hole of nerdiness and delight.