“The 2017 Mosel vintage turned out to be a wonderful surprise. Readers who enjoy aromatic, mineral and elegant Rieslings should try these exciting new releases from the dramatic Mosel river valleys.”
Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
There’s been plenty said about the glorious surprise that was Germany ’17, when frost and hail slashed yields and crushed spirits early on, only for a wonderful summer to pull it out of the bag again.
So here it is, the hotly-anticipated full suite of Erni Loosen’s Mosel wines.
It’s headlined by the ‘17s but there are a few other first-timers and hidden gems we’d like to bring to your attention. These include:
- – Our first-ever estate Eiswein from the Würzgarten and Treppchen vineyards
- – The new-release ’14 Reserve Riesling from Würzgarten (the old-school, two years on lees in 1000-litre Fuder version)
- – The last straight GG from Erdener Prälat from ’16 (henceforth this will be Reserve-only) – “a great wine from a great terroir”
- – Plus a tidy range of limited GGs from previous vintages, now showing even better. Ditto Auslesen!
THE 2017s
2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Grosses Gewächs RRP $74
2017 Dr Loosen Erdener Treppchen Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
2017 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett RRP $44
2017 Dr Loosen Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett RRP $44
2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese RRP $66
2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese $375ml RRP $64
2017 Dr Loosen Erdener Prälat Auslese Goldkapsel 375ml RRP $91
ALSO AVAILABLE IN LIMITED SUPPLY…
2016 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Grosses Gewächs RRP $74
2016 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
2015 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
2014 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
2013 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
2014 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewächs Reserve RRP $206
2012 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewächs Reserve RRP $206
2015 Dr Loosen Erdener Treppchen Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
2016 Dr Loosen Erdener Prälat Grosses Gewächs RRP $181
2014 Dr Loosen Erdener Prälat Grosses Gewächs RRP $181
2016 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese $375ml RRP $64
2016 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese $375ml RRP $64
2016 Dr Loosen Eiswein 375ml RRP $140
DR LOOSEN – MOSEL 2017s
2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Grosses Gewächs RRP $74
The 2017 Wehlener Sonnenuhr GG Alte Reben displays the typical generous, tropical fruit flavors but in a very elegant, nicely concentrated and spicy way and with a yeasty layer from the élevage. On the palate, this is a fresh, pure, elegant and very complex version of the famous site, and the finish is not just vital and tensioned but also enormously salty and impressively persistent. A great wine already at this early stage, but I wouldn’t waste its talents. It can age for up to two decades, if not even more. 96 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate November 2018
Easy to like this wine. Delivers a good bouquet of green apple, cucumber, faint honey, faint ginger. Palate is juicy, crisp too, more of the bouquet apple and cucumber and honey, but all quite light and delicate. Good finish helps the wine out too. Some generosity but vitality. Like it. 93 points. Mike Bennie, The Wine Front April 2019
2017 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
Loosen’s 2017 Ürziger Würzgarten GG Alte Reben is lovely pure and delicate but ripe and intense on the nose, with the typical iron-rich tropical and herbal flavors of the reddish terroir. Highly elegant and perfectly balanced on the palate, this is a super salty, finessed and tensioned Würzgarten with great tension and complexity. Citrus flavors in the long and salty finish. An impressive wine that might be even better in a couple of months! I will taste it again when the trees have lost their leaves. 94+ points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate November 2018
2017 Dr Loosen Erdener Treppchen Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
Enormous herbal depth with a touch of anise. The palate is really concentrated and refined with a mineral finish that takes off into orbit and refuses to return to earth. Drink or hold. 95 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com September 2018
2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett RRP $44
MAGNUM LUC $64.50
The Mosel produces the finest, most aromatic, delicious off-dry Rieslings in the world, and Loosen is a top producer. The colour is pale, the bouquet tight and aromatic. Its sweetness, fruit and acidity come together in a precision palate. Screwcap. 8% alcohol. 95 points. Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald March 2019
2017 Dr Loosen Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett RRP $44
The small village of Graach lies between two more-famous neighbours: Bernkastel and Wehlen. This vineyard’s steep, southwest-facing slopes and deep soils produce wines that combine the elegance of Wehlen with the rustic strength of Bernkastel. Because of the forceful minerality from the abundant blue slate in the soil, wines from Graach have excellent aging potential and will improve in the bottle for many decades.
2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese RRP $66
Concentrated yet light-footed. Succulent and straight, this is a beautiful Spätlese with an incredibly fresh finish. Drink or hold. 94 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com June 2018
2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese $375ml RRP $64
As succulent as it is elegant. The acidity is giving it a great kick, pushing the finish way out there. Brimming with peaches in the nose. The long and refined finish pulls you back to the glass for more. Drink or hold. 95 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com June 2018
2017 Dr Loosen Erdener Prälat Auslese Goldkapsel $375ml RRP $91
An enormously rich mango and papaya character. Great concentration and some opulence on the palate. The very long finish is brimming with spices and bitter almonds. Try to be patient because this will develop beautifully. Drink or hold. 97 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com June 2018
ALSO AVAILABLE IN LIMTED SUPPLY FROM DR LOOSEN…
2016 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $74
The 2016 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling GG Alte Reben offers a clear, refined and delicately flinty bouquet of ripe white fruits and crushed minerals with lovely purity. Round and lush, this is a full-bodied, intense and elegant Sonnenuhr with a powerful finish. Fine tannins here and good texture. The acidity is salty-piquant and perfectly integrated. This GG is clearly characterized by its long aging on the lees, which adds texture and finesse. Long and salty in the finish. A lovely wine — lush and vital and always piquant. 94 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate April 2018
2016 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
The 2016 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling GG Alte Reben is clear, deep and flinty on the nose, with herbal and mineral aromas as well as great purity and precision and a touch of tropical fruit aromas. Salty-piquant and enormously lush but also salty, this is a gorgeous Riesling with very fine tannins, stimulating crystallinity and mineral freshness. This is another highlight of the Loosen crus in 2016. This has great finesse and elegance and is enormously mouthwatering in the finish. Impressive. 95 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate April 2018
2015 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
From 80 to 100-year-old vines (mainly in the Urglück parcel), the 2015 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Alte Reben GG has a deep, pure, clear, intense and fascinatingly aromatic bouquet of small and spicy, thick-skinned yellow plums and peaches; there are also some smoky and flinty aromas from the red volcanic Würzgarten soils. On the palate, this is a super clear, vital and elegant Riesling in perfect balance. Tasting almost like a Nahe (Felsenberg) Riesling, its refined acidity and overall finesse is clearly Mosel. The finish is long, fresh, clear and aromatic, and reveals stimulating grip and tension. This is another great and age-worthy, dry Mosel cru that Riesling lovers should not miss. 93+ points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate April 2017
2014 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
The 2014 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling trocken GG Alte Reben shows a lovely purity and flintiness on the deep nose, which displays notes of crushed stones, lemon juice and also ripe fruit pips. Rich, ripe and piquant on the palate, this full-bodied Würzgarten is very mineral, but also has a certain sweetness and juiciness that is almost rounder than round, and results in a big and more opulent Riesling. 93 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate March 2016
Savoury style of Riesling, opens with green apple, green melon, whiffs of cashew, yeasty notes, ginger. Palate delivers juicy flow of fruit, light waxy texture, gentle sweetness and honeycomb overlay on pear and apple flavours. Generous, slightly savoury style despite that ripe fruit flavour, concentrated, long, and, quite ‘classic’. I like it. 94 points. Mike Bennie, The Wine Front April 2019
2013 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
Stunningly clear, pure and spicy on the nose, where tropical fruit aromas are displayed but cool, slate flavors are kept and are not covered by buckets of fruits, the 2013 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling trocken GG Alte Reben is still pure and precise and very delicate and elegant on the nose. Delicate and juicy, balanced and piquant, in a very subtle way, this is a filigreed structured and persistently salty wine with the delicacy and purity of a great dry Mosel Riesling. 92 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate February 2015
2014 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs Reserve RRP $206
Aged for two years on the lees and at least another year in the bottle, the 2014 Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling GG Alte Reben “Reserve” shows stunning purity and flinty freshness on the nose. Full-bodied, tight and creamy but with a remarkable structure and elegance, this is a highly promising and persistent dry Würzgarten with remarkable finesse and lingering salinity. Tasted February 2018. 95 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate April 2018
2012 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Grosses Gewächs Reserve RRP $206
Only vineyard in Mosel on red volcanic soil. The vines are still on own roots. The vine age is around 100 years old. Ernie Loosen’s grandfather hated sweet wines, it turns out. The great grandfather kept the wines in barrel for two years on lees, so this is a homage, in traditional 1000-litre barrel. A remarkable wine. Pot pourri, talc scents, lemon/lime, very aromatic and floral in perfume. Intense. Lots of stone fruit, ripe citrus, slick-textured and very fresh feeling with elegance, finesse and a filigree of fine, chalky acidity. It’s a textbook, complex Riesling. 96 points. Mike Bennie, The Wine Front July 2016
2015 Dr Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $91
From 100+ year old vines on red slate soils, straight above the Prälat, the 2015 Erdener Treppchen Riesling GG Alte Reben offers a clear and noble, flinty, precise and rather cool bouquet of perfectly ripe Riesling berries. The wine is incredibly rich, vital and piquant on the palate; it is round and almost lush, but well structured by its minerals that give enormous length, grip and tension. This is a fascinating Riesling GG and by far the best dry Treppchen I have ever tasted. Riesling lovers should not miss it. 95 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate April 2017
2016 Dr Loosen Erdener Prälat Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $181
The 2016 Erdener Prälat Riesling GG Alte Reben displays a deep and flinty-scented bouquet of crushed stones. Pretty coolish even though the vineyard is located straight down in the Mosel Valley, near the river. This has great purity and very delicate yeasty flavors. Terribly lush and salty-piquant on the palate, this is a round and elegant, highly complex and persistent Riesling with very fine tannins and melting salt from up to 130-year-old vines. It is powerful and intense in the aftertaste but still finessed and pure—a great wine from a great terroir. Enormously long and complex. Only two fuders were made. 13% alcohol. Tasted February 2018. 96 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate February 2018
2014 Dr Loosen Erdener Prälat Riesling Grosses Gewächs RRP $181
Grown beneath Loosen’s Treppchen Grosse Lage plot, the 2014 Erdener Prälat Riesling trocken GG Alte Reben displays a deep, rich and intense, yet also subtle bouquet with herbal, nutty and slate-like flavors. Very elegant and round on the palate, with lots of salt and minerals in the finish, this is another big and very expressive Riesling grand cru with an impressively long and complex finish. As always, the Prälat is richer and more creamy textured than the Treppchen GG, and its fruit is a bit more tropical; but it is the lingering salinity and the ripe acidity that makes this an extraordinary Riesling. 94 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate August 2015
2016 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese $375ml RRP $64
Still very youthful and unready, but packed with flavour. Beautiful fruit and silky acidity. This is a raw diamond. Drink from 2018 to 2050. 95 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com June 2017
2016 Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese $375ml RRP $64
Another astonishing 2016 auslese from Dr. Loosen with a great interplay of concentrated fruit and spice. A very fresh, lemony acidity that gives the finish a big kick. Drink from 2020 to 2060. 96 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com June 2017
2016 Dr Loosen Eiswein 375ml RRP $140
Eiswein (“ice wine”) is another of nature’s rare and wonderful gifts from the Mosel to the wine world. Dr Loosen holds aside certain plots of vines, hoping for a freeze deep enough (minimum –8° C) to harvest frozen grapes. These grapes are picked in the small hours of the morning and pressed while still frozen, to slowly squeeze out a few drops of precious nectar while leaving the water behind as ice. The result is a vibrant, racy dessert wine that is strikingly different from the rounder, more honeyed style of the wines concentrated by botrytis This estate-grown Dr. Loosen Riesling Eiswein comes from special parcels in the Erdener Treppchen and Ürziger Würzgarten grand-cru sites. The vines are aged 60 years on average and are farmed sustainably, according to strict German environmental regulations. These grapes were picked on 30th November 2016 and fermented in stainless steel. Alcohol 7%; RS 143 g/L; TA 9.8g/L.
