Variety: Riesling

According to Vom Boden, the importer of Weingut Ludes, this is the first Mosel estate they’d taken on in nine years. Considering their portfolio is not only mostly German with a heavy hand of Mosel wine already, this says a great deal about the wines of Ludes. The current generation is young Julian Ludes, who works with his uncle, Herman Ludes. This is the Upper Mosel, which is not the popular side of the river valley; the wines there are made in a more abrasive, almost rustic style. It’s a style that was likely more common ages ago; overlooked, but intriguing. There was a time when some Mosel wines verged on fruitier, and often sweeter styles, but the wines of Ludes never faltered. They farm around the village of Thornich with four hectares on the slope of ‘Ritsch,’ a site known for its old vines that can only be worked by hand.