Prestige Crémant Riesling Brut - VDP.Weingut Peter Lauer

This Sekt Prestige 2016 from VDP.Weingut Peter Lauer is a Riesling Crémant in a league that few houses in Germany achieve: a vintage Sekt made by the traditional Champagne method, aged for over four years on fine lees in the deep vaulted cellars beneath the historic Art Nouveau building of the Joh. Förster winery in Trier. The grapes grew in 2016 on the steep blue Devonian slate slopes around Ayl on the Saar – a year that endowed the Riesling with unusual tension, freshness, and mineral depth. What started as a still base wine has, after so many years on the lees, matured into a fine, complex Sekt that uncompromisingly embodies the artisanal approach of the winery.

In the glass, it presents a brilliant, deep golden hue with a very fine, long-lasting perlage. The bouquet is dark and complex: ripe yellow apple, a hint of candied citrus zest, along with smoky slate notes, toasted brioche, and a delicate, almost salty spice from the long yeast aging. On the palate, the Sekt is both precise and creamy, powerful and vibrant, supported by a razor-sharp Saar acidity and a fine, lively mousse. The finish is very long, slaty, and with cool, mineral elegance.

The Sekt is produced using the traditional Champagne method: individual bottle fermentation, with riddling performed manually on riddling racks. Subsequently, the wine ages for about four years at a consistently cool eight degrees Celsius on fine lees; it is disgorged and given a minimal Brut dosage only shortly before delivery. This preserves the character of the vintage undiminished – a Sekt that claims the same seriousness and terroir authenticity as the winery's still wines.

A first-class Saar Crémant with depth, spice, and fine maturity. We recommend serving it not in a narrow flute, but in a white wine glass or tulip glass, so that its full aromatic depth can unfold.