source | material 048 - Kabinett Trocken with a Decade + of Cellar Rest 2009 Ludes Ritsch Kabinett Trocken "ignored, mis

This is an absolute incredible offer. I tasted this wine twice while in Germany last week and it is stunning. I took a case for my own cellar. $35 for a 13 year old wine direct from the domain.


https://mailchi.mp/sourcematerialwine/jonas-dostert-is-one-of-the-finest-and-most-exciting-talents-weve-discovered-in-our-now-12-year-tenure-at-mosel-fine-wines-13662280?e=a88257beff

Kabinett Trocken with a Decade + of Cellar Rest
2009 Ludes Ritsch Kabinett Trocken
“ignored, misunderstood, THREATENED…”

2009 Hermann Ludes Ritsch Kabinett Trocken: $35
wine is in the U.S. and ready to ship!
MAX 6 PER CUSTOMER

{ “Kabinett Trocken” as a category is simultaneously ignored, overlooked, misunderstood, threatened, disappearing… and, CELEBRATED by many as perhaps the apogee of a cool-climate viticulture. }

Today we offer an EXTREMELY SMALL parcel of a glorious Kabinett Trocken from one of the Mosel’s remaining traditionalists with over a decade of cellar rest.

Given the rarity of this wine, the exploding reputation of this estate and the ridiculous price, please buy as little or as many as 6 bottles, but do it quickly. We are just not going to see offers like this very much.

Now, you may be forgiven for believing that the term “Kabinett” refers only to a wine with noticeable residual sugar. In truth, the Kabinett designation suggests only a certain delicacy, a nervy vigor and a lower level of alcohol. Here, the “Trocken” part means the wine is dry.

Yes, a Kabinett can be bone dry: enter “Kabinett Trocken.” Think of the Kabinett Trocken as the smaller, but no less serious, brother to the powerful GGs, for those of you familiar with the category of the Grosses Gewächs.

However you want to think about it, Kabinett Trocken is a category Robert and I are both super passionate about. As I write in a TRINK piece published last year (see link below to view the issue), Kabinett Trockens have been some of the “most transparent, detailed and soul-stirring wines I have ever had.” These are wines that are diminutive in alcohol only, most often carrying 11.5% alcohol or less. The legendary wine scholar David Schildknecht, in the same TRINK issue, wrote: “The notion that somehow because a wine is lightweight, its vineyard identity won’t be expressed and should be concealed from consumers rather than used as a selling point is baseless and ludicrous. If anything, delicacy brings distinctive details into greater focus.”

They are delicate, yes, but they are serious. I have personally had single-vineyard Kabinett Trockens at close to 40 years old and they have been lively and fresh, though my personal preference is to drink them young, around 5-15 years post vintage. You may have heard us exclaim this phrase; it is as absurd as it is worth remembering: “Age your Kabinett Trocken!”

For this offer, Hermann Ludes and his nephew Julian Ludes have done the aging for us. I had this wine recently at a @rieslingstudy that Robert and I hosted in the Mosel (Julian brought a bottle from his cellar) and it was stunning. Even with more than a decade of age it was garden fresh, with surprisingly ripe fruit adding just the most delicate and seductive layer of sheened and cooling fruit to what is otherwise a study in polished mineral and acidity. As per my preferred drinking window, this wine is ready to go now though it will have no problem with another 5+ years and probably much longer.

I may be overlooking something, but I cannot think of another wine culture that asks for so much specificity - up to the “Grand Cru” single-vineyard designation as in the case of the 2009 Ludes Thörnicher Ritsch - while also asking for only what is most essential. “Petit Chablis” may value vigor and refreshment, but it does so at the expense of place and “seriousness.”

Kabinett Trocken is the wine world’s most extreme editor, not simplifying anything, but rather polishing even the grandest terroir into only what is most tactile and immediate. Hermann and Julian Ludes are some of the few remaining masters of this genre in the Mosel, right there with Stein, Hofgut Falkenstein, Weiser-Künstler and Max. Ferd. Richter.

Maybe the fine-ness, the angelic incisiveness, the mineral-water refreshment and ultra-light essence of these wines isn’t for everyone, but, as Schildknecht wrote in his TRINK piece last year: “When everything works, the effect can be transparent, kaleidoscopic, and electric.”

If you missed it last year, or want to revisit, we went deep last year with the German wine scholar David Schildknecht and our friends at TRINK, exploring the historical context and current-day status of Kabinett Trocken. Please check out TRINK volume 06 “The Forest for the Trees” with reflections on Kabinett Trocken by David Schildknecht, Jérôme Hainze and me.

To order, simply reply to this email and thank you as always for the support.

Stephen and Robert

thanks Robert

My pleasure.

sadly sold out before i got order in (when i posted). next time!

Sorry about that. I think it went fast as many people have been trying the older Ludes wines and really like them.

I wish I had seen this yesterday, before it sold out. But Im on the mailing list now so I won’t miss the next one.

(Anyone got any suggestions for finding a few bottles of aged Kabinett or Kabinett Trocken? I’d like a chance to taste some of these petrol notes I keep hearing about.)

Thanks for joining. Apologies these sold out so fast.

There is some 13 and 15 JB Becker Kabinett Trocken floating around. Check on winesearcher. They are not quite as aged as this 09 was and they are a bit austere and probably not for everyone but a fun wine to try for around $25. I really dig them.

Also check winesearcher for some of the 94 and 95 Spatlese that is still around.

Or come to NYC or one of the riesling events and I will open some for you!

Despite drinking a ton of good wine this year, my wine of the year might be a 1971 Lauer Ayler Kupp Kabinett that I paid about $30 for a few years ago.

1 Like

Recently opened a '94 Spätlese of this that I paired with bbq ribs and watermelon feta salad. I do really love this producer but have cases of it from Fass.

Love the wines so much. You will be very happy you have so much. I have quite a stash from Lyle as well. The old stock is almost gone. BUT the 2021s are insanely great!