2015 Weingut Dr. Loosen, Riesling Trocken, Ürziger Würzgarten Réserve, Unrest Richter, VDP Grosse Gewächs, Alte Reben, Mosel, Germany.
Loosen’s Réserve Ürziger Würzgarten Grosses Gewachs is a stunningly graceful and nearly a perfectly proportioned Dry Riesling with smooth layering and with fabulous length, it delivers white peach, green apple, apricot, quince and tangerine fruits in a medium bodied wine that also reveals flinty stones, spice, leesy notes, light florals and chamomile. The original Ürziger Würzgarten Vineyard, according to the winery, is the only site on the Middle Mosel that is not characterized solely by slate soils. The soil here is called Rotliegendes, a red iron rich mix of weathered rock of volcanic origin. As the name suggests, Ürziger Würzgarten translates to Spice Garden, and Loosen’s Rieslings have very different set of aromas, that are different than in the purely slate sites with their stone fruit aromas. The Dry Réserve Ürziger Würzgarten, which was naturally or Sponti fermented and aged on the yeast for an extended period in used 1,000-liter Stückfass, German oak, which has given this wine its richness, white Burgundy like elegance, subtle perfume, and depth, but with Rieslings notable acidity, steely mineral tones and vigor. This pale golden hued wine adds dimension with every sip, with pristine and concentrated flavors, gaining impact and presence in the glass that is immensely regal, I’m thrilled that I have another bottle to age, which I believe will be even more rewarding in 5 to 10 years, I only hope I can resist this Ürziger Würzgarten Réserve’s alluring and seductive charms.
Since the 2011 vintage, DR. Loosen have been producing a unique, small lot, collection of GG Réserve wines, which have seen extended full lees aging, and that from the top Grosse Lage sites of Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Ürziger Würzgarten and Erdener Prälat. These wines are fermented spontaneously in old barrels, historic traditional fuder, and aged for 24 months on the full lees, without racking or stirring, and these special GG Réserve Rieslings are matured for another 36 months in the bottle before their release. I got a chance to first experience these wines with the 2012 vintage, which were debuted in San Francisco with Ernie Loosen introducing them in person, and I was immediately seduced by the remarkable depth and texture found in the GGR bottlings, without taken away the stunning terroir influence and mineral intensity, and this 2015 Ürziger Würzgarten has stunning palate impact. This wine sees the exclusive use of un-grafted historic old vines, from which Loosen produces this great Riesling, they are up to 120 years old and located in a plot called “Untrest Pichter”, which rises directly behind the Village in the heart of the Würzgarten and set on this vineyard’s famous red volcanic veined soils and weathered slate, that give this wine some very distinctive delicate aromas and exotic spices. The Dr. Loosen GGRs are under the radar offerings, they offer tremendous value, and rival some of Germany’s and Alsace’s greatest wines! As mentioned often, legendary Ernst Loosen, who took control of his family’s over 200 hundred year old Mosel estate in 1988, with incredible steep slate vineyards of un-grafted old Riesling vines, makes an incredible collection of traditional wines from Kabinett to Auslese, as well as his Dry offerings from some of the Mosel’s most coveted sites.
($80+ Est.) 96 Points, grapelive