Weingut Hermann Ludes 'Monster' Riesling Ritsch Kabinett Feinherb

All the Ludes wines are time machines to a cooler world. This is a fun introduction from Mosel Fine Wines: “Julian Ludes completely nailed the vintage and the estate’s collection will go down in history as one of the finest at this traditional winery. The uncompromising style embracing acidity and finesse delivered wines of great vibrancy and cut yet with great aromatic depth, and this right from the entry level wine, the Riesling “Hermann.” In many ways, they are all cut from a hypothetical blend of Joh. Joh. Prüm’s early backwardness and Hofgut Falkenstein”s zing while embracing the delicacy and finesse from both estates. While these wines are exceptionally good, they are also exceptionally old-school and still often firmly marked by residual scents from their spontaneous fermentation. But we cannot wait to taste these beauties in 8-12 years: It is going to be a feast! Bravo to young Julian and his team for this incredible collection.”

This is a powerful, broad and silly-complex Kabinett sourced from what Julian thinks is the best parcel they own in the Ritsch – it is also the biggest single parcel at 1.1 hectares, thus it is called the “monster” parcel. The wine flashes layers and layers of fruit, a fascinating assortment of ripe apples, pear and citrus oils, all of them edged or underlined by a sweet, earthy balsamic. It’s so complex, as if an opulent, tropical world of guava and mango was flash-frozen, dusted with citrus and salt – I don’t know how else to describe it. The flavors are exotic, yet the freshness is still there. The fruit is so streamlined, the entire wine so seamless and sheened. Just 36g of residual sugar and an outrageous 11.1g of acid.