2012 Schloss Lieser Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett Riesling
On the 2012 vintage in the Mosel...
Cold and wet weather at flowering restricted the size of the crop, but the small bunches and their small berries were able to build excellent concentration and flavour in almost perfect weather in September and October, with warm days and cool nights. The absence of rain largely prevented the development of botrytis, meaning there are very few auslese goldkaps, BAs or TBAs, but some very impressive eisweins.
Leading critic John Gilman of View From The Cellar wrote: "The very small and perfectly ripe berries delivered truly stunning raw materials for many superb sweet wines, but the vast majority of these are defined by concentrated fruit of perfectly ripe, healthy grapes."
He added: "2012 is another absolutely exceptional year for dry rieslings. Only time will tell where they stand in comparison to the superb dry 2011s ... and it will be fascinating to follow the best examples of the two vintages over the coming couple of decades.
"The vintage has also produced some truly beautiful wines at the kabinett and especially the spätlese level, with these beautifully dancing and delicately sweet wines probably the heart and soul of the vintage. The handful of eiswein I tasted are going to be truly stunning, as the frosts froze berries that were already beautifully ripe, so there are great acids and purity."
Mosel Fine Wines was also enthusiastic: "The 2012 fruity-styled wines offer a fresh and aromatic side akin to that of 2004, 2002 or 1993 ... or even 1975 and 1953. Despite 2012 suiting the fruity style, more and more dry and off-dry wine is being produced. As yields were low, this means that little of the classic kabinett and spätlese gems were made. The botrytis-free vintage saw the revival of a rare and nearly extinct species: the “drinking auslese”. 2012 is a truly great vintage for clean and juicy kabinett and spätlese and we urge our readers to buy these wines and give them the time to age as many will turn out as modern-day equivalent of the spätlese and auslese classics from the 1970s!"
Schloss Lieser in 2012...
John Gilman: "Thomas Haag and his cellarmaster Phillip Veser have been on quite a hot streak in the past several years and their 2012s are again among the most magical wines to be found anywhere in Germany in this exceptional vintage!
"The entire lineup from Schloss Lieser are impeccably well made and exhilarating at their respective levels of ripeness and quality, and this is very clearly one of the greatest estates in Germany today."
Mosel Fine Wines: "While the estate offers some true highlights in the spatlese and kabinett range (like many other estates), including a superb dry wine, it added to this a most remarkable collection of dessert wines. This is a great vintage at this estate, with many irresistible wines."
Notes courtesy of Eurocentric Wine.
Other reviews....
A savory style, with tarragon and dried basil notes to the apple tart, ripe pear and lemon curd flavors, extending with creamy accents on the long, ripe finish. Lush and a touch exotic. Drink now through 2022. 350 cases made.
91 points
Wine Spectator Issue: Feb 28, 2014