# Barrel X Feinherb Riesling (2025)

- **Producer:** Peter Lauer
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Riesling
- **Region:** Mosel, Germany
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 10.5%
- **Average price:** €25
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 8–10 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** lime, orange, quince, pear, peach, grapefruit, apple, cream

## About this wine

Weingut Peter Lauer is an acclaimed estate based in Ayl within Germany's Saar Valley, currently led by fifth-generation winemaker Florian Lauer. Barrel X represents the estate's benchmark entry-level off-dry cuvée, crafted as Lauer's ideal representation of a classic Saar Feinherb Riesling. Sourced from devonian slate slopes across four distinct villages—Ayl, Wawern, Saarburg, and Wiltingen—it captures the vibrant mineral energy and purity emblematic of the regional terroir.

## Interesting facts

- Winemaker Florian Lauer spent years as a drummer in a German punk and heavy metal band before taking over the family estate.
- The wine's fruit is sourced across four Saar villages: Ayl, Wawern, Saarburg, and Wiltingen.
- Florian Lauer numbers his cellar casks ('Fass') to correspond to individual micro-terroirs across his vineyards.

## Food pairing

The off-dry sweetness and high acidity of Feinherb Riesling create a classic contrast with spicy dishes and chili heat, while effortlessly cutting through fried dishes and rich pork fat without overwhelming delicate ingredients.

## Wine making process

Hand-harvested grapes undergo whole-cluster pneumatic pressing and spontaneous fermentation using exclusively ambient yeasts. Vinification takes place in a combination of stainless steel tanks, fiberglass vessels, and traditional neutral 1,000-liter German oak casks (Fuder). The wine ages on its fine lees for one to six months before undergoing light filtration prior to bottling under screwcap.