Reviews

Reviews

Voices and Views from the Wine World

Reviews

VINUM Weinguide Deutschland: “… the absolute jewel of this year’s tasting, the 2019 Uhlen Laubach Trockenbeerenauslese from Heymann-Löwenstein. You can’t give anything less than 100 points. A grand masterpiece. Exceptional tropical fruit aromas with hints of passion fruit, mineral-laden creaminess, simultaneously elegant and lush, tremendous precision and concentration.” And our Uhlen Laubach GG was the only Mosel wine to gain entry to the Olympus of the 10 best dry Rieslings in Germany. Many other critics also saw Laubach as the peak. This includes Sam Hofschuster from wein-plus, who declared ours the best collection from the Mosel, and Stuart Pigott (James Suckling), who viewed both the Laubach and our Stolzenberg as among the 100 best of 2019. Stephan Reinhardt - scoring for Parkers Wine Advocate - gave slight preference to the Roth Lay (barrel tasting). G. Lauria from the Schweizer Weinwisser ranked the Laubach 'only' second. He perceived more tension in the Blaufüßer Lay.


Reviews

“How in the world did you manage that? My neighbor invited me over yesterday and we enjoyed a bottle of your wine together with dinner. It was pure magic! The wine touched something inside of me, enough that it brought tears to my eyes.” We have to admit, we get a little misty too when we hear compliments like that.


Reviews

Schieferterrassen 92 points, Röttgen 96, Laubach 96, Roth Lay 97, Röttgen Beerenauslese 99, Laubach Trockenbeerenauslese 100... In the mid-1980s, American attorney and journalist Robert Parker started scoring wines on a scale from one to a maximum of 100 points. Although he perpetually reminded readers that everyone should rely on their own sense of taste, he nevertheless advanced quickly into guru status. His assessments could impact the pricing decisions for entire regions, and his rating system — known as “Parker Points” — is today still considered the global standard. Now, industrially produced goods may in fact be compatible with objectification. But cultural goods? Did Goethe deserve two more Karrasek points than Schiller? School grades for our wines — no, thank you. And yet we still take a certain pride in the high ratings in various wine guides. Why? Well, for one, because we’re human. And secondly, because higher ratings really do give a boost to sales on many markets.


Reviews

“One of the world’s finest estates. You’ll be hard pressed to find this kind of magical connection between power, depth and complexity on the one hand and hedonistic drinking pleasure on the other anywhere in the world” wein-plus ▄ “The Marcel Reich-Ranicki of German white wine.” Ilija Trojanow ▄ “Rebel among Germany’s finest winegrowers” Impulse ▄ “Avant Garde in the movement against mass production” Galore ▄ “Far and away the leading producer of dry Rieslings on the Mosel” Fischer Weinlexikon ▄ “The unquestionable number one in the Terrace Mosel” Der Feinschmecker ▄ “He is changing the way people think about German wines” Financial Review ▄ “Winegrower with a reputation for the remarkable within Germany and abroad” Alles über Wein ▄ “Riesling interpretations that belong among the world’s cultural heritage for wine” Gebr.Lange ▄ "Far and away the best winemaker from the Terrace Mosel” Clarke's Weinlexikon ▄ “A rising star” Der Kleine Johnson ▄ “Unique on the German wine scene” S. Pigott ▄ “Rieslings are among the best” Der große Johnson ▄ “Avant-garde, enthusiastic rejuvenator” Gault-Millau ▄ “May well be Germany’s best winemaker” Manager Magazin


Reviews

“Undrinkable,” “smells like a barn,” “not typical for the Mosel,” “a catastrophe,” “graverobber of wine culture”... I suppose we knew that we were never going to be ‘everybody's darling.’


Reviews

Paris, Louvre, 2005: As part of a gala dinner, French wine journalists Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve present us with the Oscar for “foreign wine of the year.” The nominees also included Unico from Vega Sicila and Montebello from Ridge. All the greater the honor for our Uhlen Laubach! On the podium, we joined Château d’Yquem and Château Latour, who had won in other categories. A minor sensation: the first time since the World's Fair of 1900 in Paris that a Riesling earned this kind of attention and, as Bettane noted in his laudatory remarks, was thus re-accepted into the circle of “Grand European culture wines.” Quel honneur!


Reviews

It was long practice in our industry to send tasting samples after bottling to selected journalists for their critical — and, one naturally hopes, positive — evaluation and publication in various media. At this point, however, we receive an estimated 200 requests each year for tasting samples. Many publications have simply incorporated the price they charge to taste the wines into their business model. We are then free to use the medals and points for our advertising, as well as the accompanying blurb from the editors. We as an estate have made the decision not to play in that game. It means that we appear in an ever-shrinking number of magazines and wine guides. Can we keep up this attitude long term? We certainly hope so!


Reviews

We can still confirm the serious intent for most tasters in their wine descriptions and points. But the tide of purchasability and populism is rising. 88 or 89 points for pathetic supermarket wines in a renowned wine journal, 95 or more points (from internal wine tasters) for discounter wines from the advertising inserts, and in a crowning effort Italian journalist Luca Maroni, who has been awarding 99 points for young fruit-driven plastic wines as part of his populist crusade against “overly complicated, typically faulty and overly expensive Barolos.” Quality is whatever people want to swill, and make sure it doesn’t cost anything, either! Well, then...

The sound of the slate

Videoinstallation, 2020

The broad and narrow way

A provocative poster, 2017

Press> Response

Reviews

Voices and Views from the Wine World

Reviews

VINUM Weinguide Deutschland: “… the absolute jewel of this year’s tasting, the 2019 Uhlen Laubach Trockenbeerenauslese from Heymann-Löwenstein. You can’t give anything less than 100 points. A grand masterpiece. Exceptional tropical fruit aromas with hints of passion fruit, mineral-laden creaminess, simultaneously elegant and lush, tremendous precision and concentration.” And our Uhlen Laubach GG was the only Mosel wine to gain entry to the Olympus of the 10 best dry Rieslings in Germany. Many other critics also saw Laubach as the peak. This includes Sam Hofschuster from wein-plus, who declared ours the best collection from the Mosel, and Stuart Pigott (James Suckling), who viewed both the Laubach and our Stolzenberg as among the 100 best of 2019. Stephan Reinhardt - scoring for Parkers Wine Advocate - gave slight preference to the Roth Lay (barrel tasting). G. Lauria from the Schweizer Weinwisser ranked the Laubach 'only' second. He perceived more tension in the Blaufüßer Lay.

Reviews

“How in the world did you manage that? My neighbor invited me over yesterday and we enjoyed a bottle of your wine together with dinner. It was pure magic! The wine touched something inside of me, enough that it brought tears to my eyes.” We have to admit, we get a little misty too when we hear compliments like that.

Reviews

Schieferterrassen 92 points, Röttgen 96, Laubach 96, Roth Lay 97, Röttgen Beerenauslese 99, Laubach Trockenbeerenauslese 100... In the mid-1980s, American attorney and journalist Robert Parker started scoring wines on a scale from one to a maximum of 100 points. Although he perpetually reminded readers that everyone should rely on their own sense of taste, he nevertheless advanced quickly into guru status. His assessments could impact the pricing decisions for entire regions, and his rating system — known as “Parker Points” — is today still considered the global standard. Now, industrially produced goods may in fact be compatible with objectification. But cultural goods? Did Goethe deserve two more Karrasek points than Schiller? School grades for our wines — no, thank you. And yet we still take a certain pride in the high ratings in various wine guides. Why? Well, for one, because we’re human. And secondly, because higher ratings really do give a boost to sales on many markets.

Reviews

“One of the world’s finest estates. You’ll be hard pressed to find this kind of magical connection between power, depth and complexity on the one hand and hedonistic drinking pleasure on the other anywhere in the world” wein-plus ▄ “The Marcel Reich-Ranicki of German white wine.” Ilija Trojanow ▄ “Rebel among Germany’s finest winegrowers” Impulse ▄ “Avant Garde in the movement against mass production” Galore ▄ “Far and away the leading producer of dry Rieslings on the Mosel” Fischer Weinlexikon ▄ “The unquestionable number one in the Terrace Mosel” Der Feinschmecker ▄ “He is changing the way people think about German wines” Financial Review ▄ “Winegrower with a reputation for the remarkable within Germany and abroad” Alles über Wein ▄ “Riesling interpretations that belong among the world’s cultural heritage for wine” Gebr.Lange ▄ "Far and away the best winemaker from the Terrace Mosel” Clarke's Weinlexikon ▄ “A rising star” Der Kleine Johnson ▄ “Unique on the German wine scene” S. Pigott ▄ “Rieslings are among the best” Der große Johnson ▄ “Avant-garde, enthusiastic rejuvenator” Gault-Millau ▄ “May well be Germany’s best winemaker” Manager Magazin

Reviews

“Undrinkable,” “smells like a barn,” “not typical for the Mosel,” “a catastrophe,” “graverobber of wine culture”... I suppose we knew that we were never going to be ‘everybody's darling.’

Reviews

Paris, Louvre, 2005: As part of a gala dinner, French wine journalists Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve present us with the Oscar for “foreign wine of the year.” The nominees also included Unico from Vega Sicila and Montebello from Ridge. All the greater the honor for our Uhlen Laubach! On the podium, we joined Château d’Yquem and Château Latour, who had won in other categories. A minor sensation: the first time since the World's Fair of 1900 in Paris that a Riesling earned this kind of attention and, as Bettane noted in his laudatory remarks, was thus re-accepted into the circle of “Grand European culture wines.” Quel honneur!

Reviews

It was long practice in our industry to send tasting samples after bottling to selected journalists for their critical — and, one naturally hopes, positive — evaluation and publication in various media. At this point, however, we receive an estimated 200 requests each year for tasting samples. Many publications have simply incorporated the price they charge to taste the wines into their business model. We are then free to use the medals and points for our advertising, as well as the accompanying blurb from the editors. We as an estate have made the decision not to play in that game. It means that we appear in an ever-shrinking number of magazines and wine guides. Can we keep up this attitude long term? We certainly hope so!


Reviews

We can still confirm the serious intent for most tasters in their wine descriptions and points. But the tide of purchasability and populism is rising. 88 or 89 points for pathetic supermarket wines in a renowned wine journal, 95 or more points (from internal wine tasters) for discounter wines from the advertising inserts, and in a crowning effort Italian journalist Luca Maroni, who awarded 99 points for young fruit-driven plastic wines, as part of a populist crusade against “overly complicated, typically faulty and overly expensive Barolos.” Quality is whatever people want to swill, and make sure it doesn’t cost anything, either! Well, then...

Mail from the winery

a letter annually

The sound of slate

Videoinstallation, 2020

The broad and nerrow way

a provocative poster, 2017

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