While Weingut Carl Loewen’s 220-year history is indeed rich, the last few decades are why they stand out. Starting in the late 1980s, Karl-Josef began a mission to seek out very steep, long-forgotten sites that were home to ancient masses of tangled, low-yielding vines. Alongside his son Christopher, gold was struck in 2013 when they acquired the Maximin Herrenberg vineyard in the town of Longuich. It was purchased from lifetime farmer Bruno Schmitt, whose family had been farming this fabled site since the original auction in 1803. This raw material is some of the oldest in the Mosel—with ungrafted vines over 125 years old. 

The Loewens farm without chemicals and hand harvest this precious single-vineyard fruit section by section. In the cellar, grapes are whole-cluster pressed directly into old 1000-liter barrels known as Fuders. Fermentation is naturally occurring, and the wine is generally bottled after six months of lees aging. Whereas most people associate Mosel with sweeter wines, this 2020 Grosses Gewächs bottling is a dry Mosel masterwork—but don’t mistake it for a lean and mean Riesling. This is unabashedly lush and loaded with supple layers of stone fruit, exotic spice, and a woodsy/herbal component. The palate is medium-bodied and ridiculously inviting as it wraps you in a ripe-fruited embrace with a gentle kick of candied ginger and lime. This is fully enjoyable now, although it’ll easily age throughout this decade.