Carl Loewen, Riesling 1896 [Grey Label], 2023

The "1896" refers to the year these ungrafted Riesling vines were planted in the Maximin Herrenberg vineyard, making them among the oldest own-rooted Riesling vines in the world, still producing after well over a century. Grown on rare red slate in the Mosel, they yield a dry Riesling of extraordinary concentration and depth, all the more remarkable for coming from a single old parcel. Carl Loewen treats the fruit with reverence: whole-cluster pressed, spontaneously fermented in ancient oak Fuder casks, and bottled unfiltered from a single barrel. This is a rare and profound expression of what the Mosel's oldest vines can do.