Wines

Winemaker Carl SchmittWagner decided to replant his best vineyard. He painstakingly selected only the best Rieslingvines for the focus of his renowned winery. In the year 1896 he planted Maximin Herrenberg with ungrafted Rieslingvines with 10,000 vines per hectare. A few years ago this very vineyard was ranked by the Prussian tax authority among the best sites along the Mosel. Today this vineyard still stands on its original site from 1896. This makes it probably the oldest vineyard in the world with ungrafted Rieslingvines of this size.

Maximin Herrenberg has a southern exposure of red slate. This very rare terroir gives the wines a unique structure. Coming straight from the Mosel River is the Maximin Herrenberg Riesling Alte Reben Trocken 1896. Clean, cool and spicy on the nose. Orange, kumquat and fennel stand out. In the mouth, it is rich, ripe, intense, excitingly clean, pure, salty, tasty and balanced. A Riesling with great elegance and finesse.

"Leiwener Laurentiuslay". This vineyard is one of the best Mosel has to offer. Owned by the Loewen winery since 1982, when they bought 6000 vines from one of the best vineyards of the Reichsgraf von Kesselstadt winery. Today the vineyard at Laurentiuslay is one hectare in size. Here they grow their best wines. They are very proud that this perception is shared by Hugh Johnson and Stuart Pigott who classified Laurentiuslay as a Grand Cru Site.

At the Loewen winery they grow vines that reach an almost biblical age. The roots go deep into the soil, so even in dry summers the small but golden yellow grapes reach a good level of ripeness. For Riesling "Alte Reben" the grapes are harvested from vines at least 50 years old. The yield of these vineyards is small, but the ripening of the grapes is excellent. The spontaneous fermentation that follows the harvest takes place over a period of 100 days and only a few days before bottling the yeast is removed.

The result is a wine that shows the full spectrum of Riesling aromas along with a wonderful richness and the elegance of a prima ballerina. Full and complex nose of stone fruit, quince, orange and lemon with some floral notes. Herbal and spicy. Juicy, expressive and well-structured with a long mineral aftertaste.