Many of you have been asking me when the next Laible offer is. Laible, along with Weltner are the But first to get to the business of the wine, the 2015 Laible Riesling "Achat" for as little as $32.99 per bottle on a 4-pack is being offered today. wines that more people in the wine business buy than anyone else. Why is that? Let's examine the brilliant wines of Laible and see why they are so appealing to people in the wine business.
Is 2015 as great in Baden as it is in the rest of Germany? Yes it is. A big emphatic yes, 2015 Badens are incredible. I have never seen Andreas this excited when I recently emailed him about the 2015 vintage. He says the grapes were perfect and the resultant wines are the best he has made since working with me. It was a bold statement but I believe him as Andreas Laible is one of the great winemakers of Germany and his Achat has to be one of, if not the most slept on great dry Riesling in all of Germany. Maybe 2015 will put him on the map in the US? The 2015 Achat is just a mindblowing wine. It is melt your face good. It has that classic Laible nose in spades. White flowers and minerals. Such depth. Such nuance. There is an extra lanolin thing that is just so good. It has a sea salt freshness to it. Some lovely lemony/apricot fruitbut just ripe and very subtle as flowers and minerals are in charge of the day. The palate is just that perfect essence of what 2015 is all about in the mouth.
So Why Should You Buy This?
1) Everybody in the wine business loves German Riesling. It's just a fact. I have been selling more German Riesling to more people in the wine business than possibly outside the wine business for most of my career. I have never met a wine professional that does not sing the praises of German Riesling. It's a window into terroir, it's light and refreshing, has exquisite balance, has range (very dry, off dry, sweet, sweeter, and Anaphylactic shock), and is the best QPR wine in the world.
2) The quality level at Laible is on par with the top great dry producers of Germany. Keller, Wittman and Schafer-Frohlich come to mind. They have that crystalline shimmering precise quality that the aforementioned producers have. But there is a difference between Laible and those producers.
3) I am buying direct from Andreas Laible and can sell his top Rieslings for $28-$35 a bottle while Schafer-Frohlich, Keller and Wittman typically go for $75+ for their top bottlings. People in the business realize that these are incredible deals so that is one of many reasons they buy them.
4) It is unusual that Baden, a place known more for Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir to make some of the best Riesling in Germany. It is because Durbach, where Laible is is much cooler than the rest of Baden. People in the business love a non traditional story/wine/region place. For example Pinot Noir from Jura or Sauvignon Blanc from Styria.
5) People in the wine business like delicious wine but they also like it to be well made. Laible's wines are incredibly balanced and really allow you to taste the different terroirs.
6) People in the wine business love wines that are not only delicious but also interesting. Laible's wines have this transparent, shimmering quality. They have fruit but are aromatically driven and can hold the interest of the best tasters over the course of an evening.
Achat is a special type of soil, similar to granite, that is all over Durbach. It is a Spatlese Trocken, which for me is the magic ripeness level for dry wines in Germany. Just the right amount of richness to counteract the dryness and acid/mineral content. This is GG (German Grand Cru) in quality no doubt and always has the most floral of noses at Laible in a flower shop of floral noses. The palate is all sappy fruit at the moment but oh so delicious as 2014 here provides some of the most luscious Riesling fruit imaginable. But that snap, minerality and tremendous Laible structure are there as well. In spades. This finish is epic as it is flavorful and precise. A brilliant Achat and comparable to the 12 in quality. This is a wine to age for 10-15 years.
One thing Andreas told me was that the 2015's are extraordinary but also will need the most time of any vintage he has sold me. That magical balance that all dry Riesling seeks to achieve is played out perfectly here with just enough fruit, mineral, acid and finesse combine to make a statement. Explosively juicy and complex but also there is serious underlying power here that will take years to fully develop. This is 2015 Achat. Hear me roar.
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