2022 Carl Loewen Longuicher Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett Mosel

Carl Loewen is an estate with roots deep in the Mosel's bedrock — the family acquired its first vineyard in 1803 during the Napoleonic era. Eight generations later, Christopher Loewen runs a tiny three-person operation that owns what is likely the longest-producing Riesling vineyard in the world: Maximin Herrenberg, planted in 1896 and still bearing fruit on its original, ungrafted rootstock. When the family acquired the legacy Schmitt-Wagner estate in Longuich, they inherited another slice of history — vineyards planted between 1896 and the early 20th century, including the Herrenberg parcel that gives us this Kabinett.

Longuicher Herrenberg sits on Devonian-era slate shot through with a rare band of red iron and volcanic red soil — a geological oddity in the Mosel. The higher section of Herrenberg, planted in 1903 and now well over a century old, is cooler and slower to ripen. Christopher makes his Kabinett here in the style of wines from four decades ago: lower residual sugar, vivid acidity, the kind of tension that made Mosel Kabinett legendary. British critic Stuart Pigott called it "in a class of its own" and "one of the best dry white wines of the world."

Loewen is a devotee of ambient-yeast fermentations and the traditional 1,100-liter Fuder cask, learning to coax the soulfulness out of spontaneous fermentation while keeping it clean and bright. The 2022 was fermented in old 1200-liter Mosel fuder from up to 100-year-old ungrafted vines.

The wine is light-bodied and off-dry with terrific peachy fruit and slatey freshness. Citrus-balanced sweetness with orange-zest ripeness. Very juicy and spicy with aromas of green-red apple and lemon. There's a splendid shriek of whites and grays — white pepper and stones — along with ginger, pastis, juniper, and the spearmint typical for the site. Full of delicate paradoxes: clear yet soft-lit, gentle but forceful, lithe like gymnasts. Beautifully clean finish. Vivid and bright.

$27.99 for a 93-point Kabinett from century-old ungrafted vines. The kind of Mosel that punches three price points higher.