Summary
The Carl Loewen estate in Leiwen is today one of the most exciting names on the Mosel. Across around 15 hectares – roughly 90 % Riesling – it makes delicate, mineral wines that clearly reveal their origin on the steep slopes of the Middle Mosel. What makes the estate so special is its treasure of ancient vines: more than half grow own-rooted on their own roots and are in part well over a hundred years old. Its heart is the parcel in the Maximin Herrenberg, planted own-rooted as far back as 1896, which gives the legendary wine 1896 its name. The family estate is run by Karl-Josef Loewen and his son Christopher, who joined the business in 2015.
History
The Loewen family's roots in winegrowing reach far back: the family was already tending vineyards around 1803. For generations the estate remained a down-to-earth Mosel property, until Karl-Josef Loewen gave it its present profile and steered it consistently towards origin-driven Rieslings.
A stroke of luck was taking on old, partly forgotten parcels of ancient, ungrafted vines – vineyards that many other growers would long since have cleared or grafted onto modern rootstocks. These very vines became the estate's hallmark. Since 2015 the next generation, Christopher Loewen, has been working in the business; father and son now share the work in the cellar and the vineyard and have carried the estate's reputation far beyond the Mosel.
Location & Terroir
Carl Loewen lies in Leiwen on the Middle Mosel, one of Germany's classic steep-slope districts. The estate's vineyards are spread across Leiwen and the neighbouring villages of Longuich and Thörnich. Defining them are the steep, south-facing slopes on which the Riesling ripens slowly and aromatically.
Decisive is the soil: the slate typical of the Mosel stores warmth during the day and releases it to the vines at night. In the Maximin Herrenberg, red slate produces particularly spicy, deep wines. The combination of extreme steepness, old vines and weathered slate yields Rieslings of great clarity, fine acidity and pronounced minerality.
Style & Philosophy
The estate's style can be summed up in one word: origin. Karl-Josef and Christopher Loewen want to capture the signature of each individual site in the bottle as faithfully as possible. To that end they rely on gentle work in the vineyard, late harvesting and a restrained cellar approach that never overshapes the wine.
The focus is on dry Rieslings with clear fruit, fine structure and salty minerality. Alongside them, the estate deliberately keeps the great Mosel tradition of fruity-sweet and nobly sweet Prädikat wines alive – Kabinett and Spätlese with playful lightness and often under 12 % vol. alcohol. Yet its real treasure is the own-rooted old vines, whose deep roots give the wines a concentration and length that young vines can scarcely match.
Notable vineyards & wines
The range runs from approachable estate wines to the great single-vineyard bottlings. Among the most important sites and wines are:
- Maximin Herrenberg (Longuich) – home to the parcel planted own-rooted in 1896 and to the flagship wine 1896 on red slate
- Thörnicher Ritsch – one of the steepest vineyards in Germany, for deep, spicy Rieslings
- Leiwener Laurentiuslay – a classic Leiwen steep slope with finely detailed wines
- Maximiner Klosterlay (Leiwen) – elegant, mineral Rieslings
- The cuvées Varidor and Quant serve as approachable entry-level wines
The wine 1896 in particular is regarded as one of the most extraordinary dry Rieslings of the Mosel – grown on one of the oldest Riesling parcels in the world.
Awards
The estate's rise is reflected in the wine guides: in 2011 Carl Loewen was named "Newcomer of the Year". In 2018 wine critic Stuart Pigott (FAZ) named Karl-Josef Loewen "Winemaker of the Year". The wines regularly earn high scores from Robert Parker, Gault&Millau, Eichelmann and Feinschmecker. In this way the small family estate has secured a firm place among the top producers of the Mosel.