Dr. Loosen – Graacher Himmelreich GG, Mosel, Germany 2015
£29.95
A small village named Graach lies between two more-famous neighbors: 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.
The Mosel’s steep, southfacing slopes create the perfect climate for Riesling, giving the vines ideal exposure to the sun. Generally cool conditions allow the grapes to ripen slowly for maximum flavor development while retaining bright acidity.
Riesling Beerenauslese “BA”
Beerenauslese (“berry select”) is a rich, honeyed dessert wine made from grapes that have been partially shriveled by the botrytis fungus, also known as “Noble Rot.” These extremely concentrated, moldy grapes are painstakingly separated from the unaffected fruit and vinified to make one of Germany’s most prized vinous treasures.
The legal minimum for BA must weight is 110° Oechsle, but at Dr. Loosen it usually starts with a minimum of 120° Oechsle (28 Brix). This Beerenauslese, exclusively from estate-owned vineyards, has a juicy mouthful of ripe fruits with a finish that is long and satisfying, but never heavy. It is perfect as an aperitif, with rich foods like foie gras, or with creamy desserts featuring fresh fruits.
Located in far western Germany, the Mosel valley’s steep, southfacing slopes create the perfect climate for Riesling, giving the vines ideal exposure to the sun. The cool climate allows the grapes to ripen slowly while retaining bright acidity.
RIESLING DRY RED SLATE
This dry Riesling is produced with fruit from estate-owned vineyards in the red slate soils found in the villages of Ürzig, Erden, Lösnich and Kinheim. It is fermented in the traditional style in 3,000-liter, neutral oak casks and kept on the full lees for 12 months. The extended lees contact stabilizes the wine naturally and gives it time to develop a harmonious balance.
THE 2015 VINTAGE
‘Under close to perfect conditions, we were able to harvest grapes with optimal must weights and acidity levels, producing wines in all quality levels. The vintage also gave us excellent yields, with a beautiful balance of ripeness and acidity. The wines are dense and concentrated, but with the delicate and graceful style of the Mosel.’
Located in far western Germany, the Mosel valley’s steep, southfacing slopes create the perfect climate for Riesling, giving the vines ideal exposure to the sun. The cool climate allows the grapes to ripen slowly while retaining bright acidity.
ERDENER TREPPCHEN RIESLING SPÄTLESE
The Spätlese designation means that the grapes get an extra week or two of hang time, which helps them develop higher ripeness and deeper flavors. The Erdener Treppchen Spätlese is a fruit-driven Riesling that combines extraordinary concentration and length with bracing minerality.
THE 2015 VINTAGE
‘Under close to perfect conditions, we were able to harvest grapes with optimal must weights and acidity levels, producing wines in all quality levels. The vintage also gave us excellent yields, with a beautiful balance of ripeness and acidity. The wines are dense and concentrated, but with the delicate and graceful style of the Mosel.’
The weathered red volcanic and slate soils of the Ürziger Würzgarten (pronounced ERTSiger VERTS-garten) vineyard make it unique on the Mosel. It is an insanely steep site that yields wines with an exotic, spicy aroma and a mesmerizing earthiness. There is no other vineyard in the Mosel valley that produces wines so bursting with tropical fruit flavors.
Auslese [OWS-lay-zuh] means “selected from the harvest,” and is a luscious sweet wine made from very ripe clusters that are about 50 percent affected by botrytis. The resulting wine is dense, intensely flavored and rich on the palate, but balanced by Riesling’s naturally crisp acidity. The red volcanic soil of the Ürziger Würzgarten vineyard produces wines of a completely unique nature. The wines showcase the typically juicy and precocious fruit of the “spice garden,” with a rich mouth feel, zippy acidity and lingering finish.
Ernst Loosen is arguably the “King of Riesling” having won too many awards to start listing them. Fresh, clean and sweet white fruit on the nose, with juicy apples and Galia melons to the fore.
This entry-level Dr. Loosen Riesling embodies the elegant and racy characteristics of steep, slate-soil Mosel vineyards at a very reasonable price. It is a bright, vibrant, fruit-driven wine made with grapes from contracted growers throughout the Mosel River valley who work very closely with brothers Ernst and Thomas Loosen to achieve excellent quality and superb concentration in every vintage.
88 Points Wine Enthusiast. “Savory whiffs of nuts and mineral convey elegance to ripe white peach and grapefruit aromas on this off-dry Riesling. Easy-drinking in style, it’s pleasantly tart, finishing on a sweet, lingering kiss of honey.” A.I. (2/1/2015)
The Dr. Loosen estate has been in the same family for over 200 years. When Ernst Loosen assumed ownership in 1988, he realized that, with ungrafted vines averaging 60 years old in some of Germany’s best-rated vineyards, he had the raw mate-rials to create stunningly intense, world-class wines. To achieve that, Ernst dramatically restricts crop size, uses only organic fertilization, insists on very strict fruit selection, and employs gentle cellar practices to allow the wine to develop its full potential with a minimum of handling.
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