Stinky sponti diesel nose, quickly fades to lightly botrytized and honeyed tropical fruit, mostly pineapple but a little guava too. On the palate it’s deeply concentrated, rich and tropical, but with a sturdy frame of citrusy acids. The finish is long and penetrating, fanning out to become creamy and herbal, giving curry lead and a licoricey bay leaf that lingers beautifully. Sad this was my only bottle.
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What a fantastic wine! Med+ acid, just more than a touch of sweetness remaining. Very nicely balanced between sweet and sour. Starts off pineapple, turns into mango, and somewhere along the line some white peach. Lychee throughout on day 1. Day 2 mostly pineapple and lychee, a touch of mango, but much more mellow
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Decanted for 1.5h then back into bottle. Note is for 2.5h after initial decant. Deep golden yellow color. Nice aromas of mild botrytis, ripe apples w some meyer lemon, pineapples, herbs. Nice balance of all the components on the nose. Palate w ripe apples, just ripe pineapples, herbs, and nice minerals. Excellent acids on a light body. The sweetness is closer to a current ripe feinherb with high acids. Lovely.
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These older wines from Ludes are absolutely sensational. This was pretty much everything I could want from nearly 30 year old Auslese. It was fresh and bright with just a kernel of sweetness at the core. Because the vast majority of wines that I have had from Ludes have come from the great Thörnicher Ritsch, this was so clearly different. That isn’t a bad thing at all, but this showed more fruit notes than what you get from the impossibly steep slope of Ritsch. The nose was tropical while the palate showed wonderful acidity and a delicacy of fruit that mingled between unripe pineapple, tangy apples, and Christmas spices.. The wine showed a beautiful sense of restraint and purity. Interestingly it seemed to gain some texture and weight with air though. I am absolutely loving this snapshot into the past with these wines from Hermann Ludes. I wish bought 3 times as many as I did…
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It will be hard to keep my paws off of these remaining bottles. 1st of 6. Sichuan night with Chong Qing chicken and Peking Duck. Served with CQ Chix. Lovely nose from PnP. Bright pear, fresh pineapple, and a little wooly note, albeit a bit strange for Riesling. Palate is expansive. Feels broader than it should be, but for Auslese, I guess that is quite OK. Shy at first on the palate and after an hour, it really started to get going. Nice texture and acid structure. Very nice. Emphasised the chicked flavor rather than the spice. Cxl the sugar in the fry batter with the wine leaving the palate clean and dry. Awesome.
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2nd bottle of this incredible wine and continue to fall in love - I've only had a few aged rieslings so admittedly there's still a bunch of novelty for me, but DAMN what an experience. Some petrol, white flowers & tennis balls on the nose and lots of super ripe pineapple on the palate with some stoney notes on the backend - just enough acidity left to make this incredibly well balanced with a long finish. I have 2 bottles left and I'll be daydreaming about them.
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At first just oodles of high octane petrol. Dissipated to reveal notes of celery and grapefruit. Huge acidity, very fresh, not very sweet. Great food wine.
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A little more tired than my last bottle, probably due to a visibly close-to-failing cork which was still hanging in there. Otherwise a good showing as my previous note despite that.
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Another terrific showing. Perhaps best bottle yet. Very subtle hints of petrol, but more floral. Graceful and elegant yet girded with extract that is balanced with acidity that belies the wines age. Doesn't read like today's Auslese. On the way up throughout the night. Stellar.
200 Burgundy Grand Crus from vintage 2000, 4-day blind tasting (Singapore): Dessert wine. Amazing Nose here with all the glorious petrol, white flowers, lemon and mineral aromas. On the Palate much less sweet that you would expect from an Auslese. More like a Spatlese or even Kabinett. Extremely precise and long. I like this level of “not so sweet” Rieslings much better than the BA/TBA styles. Awesome showing
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Tasted double blind from small capped bottle: The group’s guesses are all over the place when I stick my nose in this and immediately call middle Mosel riesling. I’m thinking Older Prum from late 80’s or early 90’s but Jayson says he doesn’t know whether this is from the middle of the Mosel. I take another whiff and everything clicks - it’s Ludes. Must be from 93 or 94. This is serene, whipped cream, banana, some tropicals, some peach some almond creme, good grip - perfect balance, peach and banana and creamy and a bit of lime which carries into the beautiful and light finish. Deft and airy but with great flavor. Jayson points out that based on my previous note this bottle seems to be showing better. I totally agree. Delicious! Thanks Jayson! Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17.5/20.
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From memory, incredibly fresh for its age with few (but noticeable) tertiary flavors. It's so light that it seems incredible that it is an Auslese, but the acid and flavor profile seems to fit Auslese fruit but with residual sugar halfway between a contemporary Auslese and, conceptually, an Auslese feinherb (are there any of those?). I still have a few left but wish I had bought more. Good stuff.
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Fish and Fire by Shane (Chateau Lea, New Jersey): Served along side the Thörnicher Ritsch Spätlese of the same vintage and producer to accompany a grilled prawn and caviar dish. Both worked well but the consensus was for the Spätlese. The color of this was a medium yellow green that looked amazingly youthful for a 27 year old white wine. The nose was somewhat muted but you could smell the wet stones. Good but not extreme acidity. Palate showed flavors of cantaloupe, white peach and lemon. Long balanced finish. Excellent with the dish but overshadowed by the Spätlese.
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Tasted over first on Sunday as part of a “test kitchen” for an upcoming fish oriented wine dinner and again on Thursday. Both days the dominant attribute was extreme lime zest on the nose of and especially the palate. There is plenty of acidity and moderate sweetness, though far from cloying or dessert wine sweet. Also a melange of ripe, stone fruit and fig, again more on the palate than the nose. The mouthfeel is luscious but not dense, more like feathery and just a little oily. Aftertaste is also quite long. Very youthful looking with more of a bright lemon yellow than anything on the gold spectrum. No notable oxidation. As good on the last day as on the first. Very enjoyable and will be a very good pairing in the upcoming dinner.
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From memory. Decanted 1h. Lovely lime, tart pineapple, great minerals, and herbs. Light-medium body w fantastic acids. Elegant. Refreshing on a warm summer evening in the 90s. Nothing close to a current Auslese. Drinking somewhere between a current kabinett, maybe even a riper feinherb. Really nice.
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The 1994 Klūsserather Bruderschaft Riesling Auslese was pretty darn tasty with a South Asian beans and rice al fresco. Spice and mild citrus notes dominate over the mineral/slate. Excellent.
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Had a small pour of this so no indepth notes. I thought it had lovely tropical fruit, pineapple/peach. Palate was Kabinett like in acidity levels probably both a sign of the vineyard and the days of old where wines have been just getting sweeter. Enjoyable dessert after a long tasting!
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Tropical notes of pineapple, mango with sweet spices like mint. Typical mature Riesling aroma as well (Firn). Palate still fresh, the sweetness making way for secondary and tertiary flavors of petrol and crushed stones. Nice.
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Restrained, elegant, notes of tart green apple and peach and clean white fruit. Very much alive and almost refreshing. Light on its feet. Not reading auslese, actually, in a good wine. Fruit turns tart and more serious as the wine sits open. Long finish that leaves you puckering and chewing on the lasting tart-wiry finishing notes.
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Light menthol and lemon on the nose. On the palate, apple, lychee, and notes of lime, white peach, and honey on the medium finish, with moderate acidity. This is neither light nor heavy; it's complex enough to be interesting without being dramatic or flashy. This was a good value at about $40.
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The cork was protruding about a third of an inch, but the wine was sound. The sweetness has resolved to more of a Spatlese level. Very well balanced, with ripe tropical fruits, botanicals and hints of stones. Those 1994 acids really keeps this wine refreshing and pure. Medium length. Would buy again.
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Day 3. Day 1 this was too dry and seemed very simple. But it has filled out some and opened nicely. The strong petrol from day 1 is gone but there is still a hint along with some lime, stone fruits, and minerals - smells of a flower greenhouse along with some light-colored spices. Nice apple/peach/orchard fruits in another smell. With time I also get some tropicals like pineapple and a bit of banana, along with spearmint gum. The palate is pretty dry with crunchy peach/nectarine/red apple. Light bodied and elegant, gets close to bony at points but stays on the right side of the line. Not crisp or crunchy - but slender and well balanced. The finish shows lime, green apple, spices and minerals - it's light and pretty dry with good acidity that leans towards lean and not electric. This is mature and restrained Riesling. I like it. Nose - 5-5.5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 15.5-16.5/20.
Day 5: The nose is even better I think - some petrol, mint-menthol, rock candy, peach and lime and some tropicals - very perfumed. Sweet tarts or some other candy? Fun dip? Palate is gentle now lime, rocks, a bit of petrol. Lovely.
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Needs a lot of air and I decanted at 10AM for dinner around 7. Excellent old style Auslese. Not very sweet. Plenty of fruit followed by stones and acid. Perfect pairing for foie gras torchon. This wine has an excellent balance of fruit and acid.
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10/30/2023 - Bagwhat Likes this wine: 92 Points
Stinky sponti diesel nose, quickly fades to lightly botrytized and honeyed tropical fruit, mostly pineapple but a little guava too. On the palate it’s deeply concentrated, rich and tropical, but with a sturdy frame of citrusy acids. The finish is long and penetrating, fanning out to become creamy and herbal, giving curry lead and a licoricey bay leaf that lingers beautifully. Sad this was my only bottle.
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8/17/2023 - Max S. Likes this wine: 94 Points
What a fantastic wine! Med+ acid, just more than a touch of sweetness remaining. Very nicely balanced between sweet and sour. Starts off pineapple, turns into mango, and somewhere along the line some white peach. Lychee throughout on day 1. Day 2 mostly pineapple and lychee, a touch of mango, but much more mellow
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3/18/2023 - James Kim Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted for 1.5h then back into bottle. Note is for 2.5h after initial decant. Deep golden yellow color. Nice aromas of mild botrytis, ripe apples w some meyer lemon, pineapples, herbs. Nice balance of all the components on the nose. Palate w ripe apples, just ripe pineapples, herbs, and nice minerals. Excellent acids on a light body. The sweetness is closer to a current ripe feinherb with high acids. Lovely.
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1/8/2023 - CADomer Likes this wine: 92 Points
These older wines from Ludes are absolutely sensational. This was pretty much everything I could want from nearly 30 year old Auslese. It was fresh and bright with just a kernel of sweetness at the core.
Because the vast majority of wines that I have had from Ludes have come from the great Thörnicher Ritsch, this was so clearly different. That isn’t a bad thing at all, but this showed more fruit notes than what you get from the impossibly steep slope of Ritsch. The nose was tropical while the palate showed wonderful acidity and a delicacy of fruit that mingled between unripe pineapple, tangy apples, and Christmas spices..
The wine showed a beautiful sense of restraint and purity. Interestingly it seemed to gain some texture and weight with air though. I am absolutely loving this snapshot into the past with these wines from Hermann Ludes. I wish bought 3 times as many as I did…
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1/6/2023 - TXRhoneRanger wrote: 94 Points
It will be hard to keep my paws off of these remaining bottles. 1st of 6. Sichuan night with Chong Qing chicken and Peking Duck. Served with CQ Chix. Lovely nose from PnP. Bright pear, fresh pineapple, and a little wooly note, albeit a bit strange for Riesling. Palate is expansive. Feels broader than it should be, but for Auslese, I guess that is quite OK. Shy at first on the palate and after an hour, it really started to get going. Nice texture and acid structure. Very nice. Emphasised the chicked flavor rather than the spice. Cxl the sugar in the fry batter with the wine leaving the palate clean and dry. Awesome.
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12/21/2022 - cjschaefer Likes this wine: 94 Points
2nd bottle of this incredible wine and continue to fall in love - I've only had a few aged rieslings so admittedly there's still a bunch of novelty for me, but DAMN what an experience. Some petrol, white flowers & tennis balls on the nose and lots of super ripe pineapple on the palate with some stoney notes on the backend - just enough acidity left to make this incredibly well balanced with a long finish. I have 2 bottles left and I'll be daydreaming about them.
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12/18/2022 - Rani Likes this wine: 93 Points
At first just oodles of high octane petrol. Dissipated to reveal notes of celery and grapefruit. Huge acidity, very fresh, not very sweet. Great food wine.
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11/9/2022 - Biskuit Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dang that’s nice - pineapple slate like wow, mouth coating, mouth watering, long lingering tropical tea.
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10/27/2022 - guillermo- Likes this wine: 91 Points
A little more tired than my last bottle, probably due to a visibly close-to-failing cork which was still hanging in there. Otherwise a good showing as my previous note despite that.
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9/29/2022 - decaturwinedude wrote: 94 Points
Another terrific showing. Perhaps best bottle yet. Very subtle hints of petrol, but more floral. Graceful and elegant yet girded with extract that is balanced with acidity that belies the wines age. Doesn't read like today's Auslese. On the way up throughout the night. Stellar.
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9/9/2022 - Collector1855 wrote: 97 Points
200 Burgundy Grand Crus from vintage 2000, 4-day blind tasting (Singapore): Dessert wine. Amazing Nose here with all the glorious petrol, white flowers, lemon and mineral aromas. On the Palate much less sweet that you would expect from an Auslese. More like a Spatlese or even Kabinett. Extremely precise and long. I like this level of “not so sweet” Rieslings much better than the BA/TBA styles. Awesome showing
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8/25/2022 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tasted double blind from small capped bottle: The group’s guesses are all over the place when I stick my nose in this and immediately call middle Mosel riesling. I’m thinking Older Prum from late 80’s or early 90’s but Jayson says he doesn’t know whether this is from the middle of the Mosel. I take another whiff and everything clicks - it’s Ludes. Must be from 93 or 94. This is serene, whipped cream, banana, some tropicals, some peach some almond creme, good grip - perfect balance, peach and banana and creamy and a bit of lime which carries into the beautiful and light finish. Deft and airy but with great flavor. Jayson points out that based on my previous note this bottle seems to be showing better. I totally agree. Delicious! Thanks Jayson! Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 17.5/20.
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7/23/2022 - guillermo- Likes this wine: 93 Points
From memory, incredibly fresh for its age with few (but noticeable) tertiary flavors. It's so light that it seems incredible that it is an Auslese, but the acid and flavor profile seems to fit Auslese fruit but with residual sugar halfway between a contemporary Auslese and, conceptually, an Auslese feinherb (are there any of those?). I still have a few left but wish I had bought more. Good stuff.
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3/7/2022 - Bakerbd Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bright yellow - no sign of its age. Lemon confit, lime zest, peach, honey, slight petrol, long finish, beautifully balanced
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9/4/2021 - oldwines Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fish and Fire by Shane (Chateau Lea, New Jersey): Served along side the Thörnicher Ritsch Spätlese of the same vintage and producer to accompany a grilled prawn and caviar dish. Both worked well but the consensus was for the Spätlese. The color of this was a medium yellow green that looked amazingly youthful for a 27 year old white wine. The nose was somewhat muted but you could smell the wet stones. Good but not extreme acidity. Palate showed flavors of cantaloupe, white peach and lemon. Long balanced finish. Excellent with the dish but overshadowed by the Spätlese.
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8/26/2021 - oldwines Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tasted over first on Sunday as part of a “test kitchen” for an upcoming fish oriented wine dinner and again on Thursday. Both days the dominant attribute was extreme lime zest on the nose of and especially the palate. There is plenty of acidity and moderate sweetness, though far from cloying or dessert wine sweet. Also a melange of ripe, stone fruit and fig, again more on the palate than the nose. The mouthfeel is luscious but not dense, more like feathery and just a little oily. Aftertaste is also quite long. Very youthful looking with more of a bright lemon yellow than anything on the gold spectrum. No notable oxidation. As good on the last day as on the first. Very enjoyable and will be a very good pairing in the upcoming dinner.
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7/31/2021 - James Kim Likes this wine: 92 Points
From memory. Decanted 1h. Lovely lime, tart pineapple, great minerals, and herbs. Light-medium body w fantastic acids. Elegant. Refreshing on a warm summer evening in the 90s. Nothing close to a current Auslese. Drinking somewhere between a current kabinett, maybe even a riper feinherb. Really nice.
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4/10/2021 - theRealPepe Likes this wine: 92 Points
The 1994 Klūsserather Bruderschaft Riesling Auslese was pretty darn tasty with a South Asian beans and rice al fresco. Spice and mild citrus notes dominate over the mineral/slate. Excellent.
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2/23/2021 - mye wrote:
Had a small pour of this so no indepth notes. I thought it had lovely tropical fruit, pineapple/peach. Palate was Kabinett like in acidity levels probably both a sign of the vineyard and the days of old where wines have been just getting sweeter. Enjoyable dessert after a long tasting!
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10/9/2020 - PatrickO33 wrote: 87 Points
Tropical notes of pineapple, mango with sweet spices like mint. Typical mature Riesling aroma as well (Firn). Palate still fresh, the sweetness making way for secondary and tertiary flavors of petrol and crushed stones. Nice.
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8/13/2020 - decaturwinedude wrote: 92 Points
Restrained, elegant, notes of tart green apple and peach and clean white fruit. Very much alive and almost refreshing. Light on its feet. Not reading auslese, actually, in a good wine. Fruit turns tart and more serious as the wine sits open. Long finish that leaves you puckering and chewing on the lasting tart-wiry finishing notes.
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7/21/2020 - RichardP wrote: 90 Points
Light menthol and lemon on the nose. On the palate, apple, lychee, and notes of lime, white peach, and honey on the medium finish, with moderate acidity. This is neither light nor heavy; it's complex enough to be interesting without being dramatic or flashy. This was a good value at about $40.
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5/26/2020 - mdefreitas wrote: 92 Points
The cork was protruding about a third of an inch, but the wine was sound. The sweetness has resolved to more of a Spatlese level. Very well balanced, with ripe tropical fruits, botanicals and hints of stones. Those 1994 acids really keeps this wine refreshing and pure. Medium length. Would buy again.
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5/13/2020 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Day 3. Day 1 this was too dry and seemed very simple. But it has filled out some and opened nicely. The strong petrol from day 1 is gone but there is still a hint along with some lime, stone fruits, and minerals - smells of a flower greenhouse along with some light-colored spices. Nice apple/peach/orchard fruits in another smell. With time I also get some tropicals like pineapple and a bit of banana, along with spearmint gum. The palate is pretty dry with crunchy peach/nectarine/red apple. Light bodied and elegant, gets close to bony at points but stays on the right side of the line. Not crisp or crunchy - but slender and well balanced. The finish shows lime, green apple, spices and minerals - it's light and pretty dry with good acidity that leans towards lean and not electric. This is mature and restrained Riesling. I like it. Nose - 5-5.5/6, Palate - 5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 15.5-16.5/20.
Day 5: The nose is even better I think - some petrol, mint-menthol, rock candy, peach and lime and some tropicals - very perfumed. Sweet tarts or some other candy? Fun dip? Palate is gentle now lime, rocks, a bit of petrol. Lovely.
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3/4/2020 - Nick4378 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Needs a lot of air and I decanted at 10AM for dinner around 7. Excellent old style Auslese. Not very sweet. Plenty of fruit followed by stones and acid. Perfect pairing for foie gras torchon. This wine has an excellent balance of fruit and acid.
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12/22/2019 - rhit wrote:
Classic petroleum, herbs, and minerals with a nice savory tinge on the palate. Would have loved to try it the next day.
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12/9/2019 - mercurius wrote: 94 Points
Everything I want in an aged Riesling. A bit less RS than expected but that was a pleasant surprise.
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