The Second Axis of Greatness
– Density Is the First Axis
– The Second Is Balance and Harmony
– Laible Is the Mount Everest of Harmony
– His Style Is the Serenely Perfect Expression of Terroir
2022 Andreas Laible Achat Riesling
– The Essence of What Laible is About
– These are the White Wines that I Always Give Among the Highest Scores of any Wine I Drink
– Chablis’ Brother from Another Mother
– But Better than 99% of Chablis from … Anyone
– Gorgeous Laible Aromatics
– Nose: Just The Perfect Harmony of Being
– Apricot Flower, Lemon
– Elegant Minerals
– Incredibly Fragrant and Floral
– Palate: Very Complex and Gorgeously Textured
– Nicely Concentrated, with a Hint of Opulence
– Stunning Purity and Acidity
– Insane Floral Internal Aromas
– Luscious Deep Riesling Fruit – Lemons, Tangel
– Crunchy Mineral
– Sweet Minerals as it Open
– Insane Precision
– Ridiculously Perfect Balance Between Minerals, Fruit, Acidity, Elegant Richness
– This Wine Has It All
– But It’s Really About Seamless Balance and Harmony
– It Brings a Sense of Order to the World
– Amazing Value ($34.99) for Possibly Their Top Win
– Should be $90
“I PREFER TO DRINK WINES WITH CHARACTER, STRUCTURE AND VARIETAL TYPICITY.”
Andreas Laible (VDP Interview)
The Second Axis of Greatness
When you first start seriously drinking wine, you are drawn to density. At first it’s density of fruit. But then you start to appreciate mineral density and what I call hidden density – that sense of unleashed power on the palate. And when you look at the most recognized great wines of the world, most of them have that density in some way or another. DRC Montrachet, Chave Hermitage, Krug Clos des Mesnil, La Tache, etc.
But as your wine tasting skills improve, you should start to understand balance more. For me, balance is even more important. Why? Well, first, at some point, you’ve experienced density and you get it. You have had wines that go to 10 (and some that go to 11) and there’s nothing more. It’s like eating a giant buttery, meaty steak. At some point, you get it.
But balanced wines always surprise you. The reason is that balanced wines all allow you to experience something other than fruit and minerality. The terroir always gives you something else. And when the winemaker nails the balance, you taste that something else and it’s in the most perfect harmony with everything else, you stand in awe, the mysteries of the universe laid out at your feet.
Achat – At Everest’s Peak
Achat is one of those wines of perfect balance. Perfect fruit, acidity, pebbly minerality. Maybe a kiss of honey. But when I look back at my tasting notes over time, these are the white wines that always get among the highest scores of any wine I drink. I enjoy them as much as some of my favorite high end Burgundies. All I can say is that they are wines where everything is there, but more importantly, everything lines up in a way that is perfect. They bring a sense of peace and order to the world, if only for a moment.
The Estate
Laible is ridiculously popular in Germany and I get small allocations I determine with the Laibles before the selling season starts. They remind me of the German old Louis Carillon estate. This was before the estate split into different parts. I have not tasted it since it split. When it was just Louis Carillon each wine was a breathtaking masterpiece of top notch finesse that was so heartbreakingly beautiful one could not believe it. The wines screamed finesse and they stank of terroir and then once they aged there was no stopping them. Laible is the same way. I try and age them as long as I can keep my hands off then and when I open after 5-6-8 years it’s a whole other dimension of taste and smell. Rod Serling narrates.
The Wine
The 2022 Andreas Laible Achat Riesling Trocken ($34.99 each on a 4 pack purchase and $32.99 on a 12 bottle case) has to be one of, if not the most slept on great dry Riesling in all of Germany. The 2022 Achat is just a simply beautiful wine. When you drink it, time stops. It’s one of the best wines we sell irrespective of the fact that it is priced so cheaply for some reason.
My wholly inadequate tasting note follows.
Stunning nose of lime blossom, earth, flowers, mineral, gorgeous, liquid lemonand lime drops. Insane purity. Super fragrant and floral but also so serene. White flowers and minerals. So mineral it gets to that periodic table level but also has the hintiest hint of sponti (fermentive aromas) that makes it so much more appealing. 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 fruit but just ripe and very subtle as flowers and minerals are in charge of the day. It’s this perfect perfume. After air it’s just incredible. Insane purity. Sweet tart confectionary aromas abound. Just insane.
Palate is very complex, gorgeously textured. Insane freshness and depth. Wow. So so complete. It’s just that perfect essence of what 2022 is all about in the mouth. It has that finesse and perfect harmony of all the components on a rich and powerful frame with endless depth, superb structure, freshness and ridiculous acidity. Nicely concentrated, with a hint of opulence and sleekness with sap, structure and minerals. Stunning purity and acidity. This is just Grand Cru quality through and through. Pithy citrus fruits. Kumquats and tangelo. Insane floral internal aromas that just steal the show. 2022 provides some of the most luscious deep Riesling fruit imaginable backed up by power, acid and structure. But that snap, minerality and tremendous Laible structure are there as well. In spades.
Long, refined juicy mineral finish that just goes on and on. There is a touch of honey in the finish that tastes better than any honey I’ve ever had. But just a hint. It’s there and so good. So so fresh.
This finish is epic as it is flavorful and precise. I think, like all serious Laible Rieslings this will age for 15+ years. But all of these get so much better dramatically with age so wait 5 years if you can. It’s hard but that extra 5 years really makes a tremendous difference.
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.
A brilliant Achat and comparable to the 15 in quality.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 with your order if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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