Grande Reserve Riesling Brut Nature - VDP.Weingut Peter Lauer

This GRANDE RÉSERVE 1984 from VDP.Weingut Peter Lauer is a rarity that few wineries worldwide can offer: a mature Riesling sparkling wine from the Grand Cru sites around Ayl, which has matured for over thirty-six years on its fine lees in the deep vaulted cellars beneath the historic Art Nouveau building of the Joh. Förster winery in Trier. The grapes grew in 1984 on the blue Devonian slate slopes of the best Saar sites; what went into the bottle back then as a still base wine became, decade after decade, what it is today – a living piece of wine history. Production is strictly limited; each bottle is a unique piece with a historical aura.

In the glass, it presents itself in a deep, dark golden hue with amber reflections. After so many years, the mousse has transformed into the finest, almost imperceptible perlage – it caresses the palate more than it sparkles. The bouquet is grand, multifaceted, and unusual: almond butter and macadamia, fresh nougat, lovage and dried herbs, along with ripe candied fruit and a dark, spicy-earthy background. On the palate, the wine is powerful, tart-dry, and uncompromising – a gripping, almost oceanic salty minerality carries the finish to an almost endless length. Brut Nature in its most radical form.

The sparkling wine was produced using the traditional Champagne method: individual bottle fermentation, riddling by hand on riddling racks, then stored undisturbed for over three decades at a constant cool eight degrees on its fine lees. Only shortly before delivery is it disgorged – and deliberately filled without dosage. Brut Nature, because extended aging on the lees develops the natural sweetness from the wine itself; any addition would only obscure this depth. The result is a wine that does not embellish, but tells a story.

A mature sparkling wine for special occasions – not for casual drinking, but for an evening where this wine is the occasion. We expressly recommend it in a large Burgundy or Bordeaux glass, not a flute; only then will the bouquet fully open. Ideal with mature Wagyu or Entrecôte, grilled quail with herbs, mushroom ragout with truffles, aged Comté or Vacherin – or entirely on its own, as a wine for a long, quiet moment. Serving temperature ten to twelve degrees; give the wine time in the glass, it unfolds in ever new layers over an hour.