2018 Ayler Kupp Kabinett Fass 8 08 19

At just 7.5% alcohol and correspondingly high in residual sugar, this wine’s elevated level of fructose may help explain the extent to which fermentative “stink” is hard to shake off. Behind that come intimations of apple, lime and white currant, which then deliver tangy, crunchy invigoration along with infectious juiciness on an ultra-delicate palate. The finish is electro-charged, cheek-tugging and tongue-tingling, albeit harboring unresolved sweet-sour tension. This needs time on more than one count. At 2.7, it’s the lowest in pH of any Lauer 2018. That is a function not just of growing conditions but of reliance on free-run juice or juice extracted under minimum pressure, which enhanced tartaric acidity while inhibiting buffering potassium, a component already in short supply among Rieslings of this vintage. “In fact,” noted Lauer, “I pressed for this wine only precisely to the point where I saw that the pH was beginning to rise.”