Hermann Ludes founded his winery in the 1950s, in the unfashionable part of the Mosel, the village of Thörnich. West of Piesport and Bernkastel, the “Hollywood mile” of the Mosel. East of the Saar and Ruwer, where much of the region’s trendiest wines are grown. Hermann did not particularly care about the marketability of his wines, and his nephew Hermann and Grandson Julian have hardly updated the program. When the Ludes family are not satisfied with the quality of their grapes – for example 2016 and 2018 – they do not make wine and sell their grapes to the bulk market. These are people who are here for the wine. Thörnich vineyards are made of slate, and produce grapes that smell primarily of slate, as if someone managed to crossbreed limes and green apples with metamorphic shale. The palate is barely broader, a sonnet in lime and lemon, chamomile and honeycomb. The finish is a breath of cool seabreeze and bone dry. Riesling like this is a chef’s dream. Pair it with spicy Thai curry, German bratwurst, or Laotian Sai Oua.