2020 Weingut Dr. Loosen, Riesling Kabinett, Blue Slate, Mosel, Germany.
Arguably one of the most consistent and tasty wines you can find, the Dr. Loosen Blue Slate Kabinett is an especially well crafted everyday drinker and an off dry gem that goes great with spicy foods and is nicely low alcohol. The 2020 version takes it upon a notch and highlights the quality of the year with a bit more depth and complexity on offer in a joyously fruity and generous Riesling that is not overtly sweet and that has vibrant acidity, smoky flinty mineral notes and vivid peach, green apple, citrus and quince fruits on the lighter palate. The winery notes, that the fRiesling grapes for this Blue Slate Kabinett comes only from vines set on the classic blue slate soils, which is the most typical type of slate in the Middle Mosel valley. Going on the add, Loosen explains, the Devonian slate has rich veins of potassium, this soil provides vital nutrients to the vines and gives the wines a pronounced mineral edge. The Blue Slate Kabinett saw 100% stainless fermentation and aging to deliver its exceptional purity.
One of the world’s most recognized wineries in the world, Dr. Loosen produces a vast and beautiful array of Rieslings, from this refreshing little Kabinett to their majestic and powerful Grosses Gewachs from some of Germany’s greatest vineyards. It’s well noted that, the Dr. Loosen estate has been in the same family for over 200 years now, but its famed only reached the global level when Ernst Loosen assumed ownership in 1988, and brought the quality level up to new heights and took his wines around the planet to promote the Riesling grape. He realized that with ungrafted vines averaging 60 years old, some much older, in some of the Mosel’s most treasured sites, like Graacher Himmelreich, he had the fruit to create wines that rivaled anything and anywhere. To achieve his lofty ambitions, Loosen farms small yielding vines, and as the winery notes, prohibits chemical fertilization, with very strict fruit selection to maximize fruit intensity. In his cellars, the winery uses gentle methods that allow the Loosen wines to exploit their full potential with a minimum of handling, giving each effort a chance to display its terroir and style in a transparent way. I recently bought a few bottles of Loosen’s top old vine reserve GG’s that I will try and age a little longer, so in the meantime I’ll enjoy this bargain bottling and I recommend grabbing some too!
($18 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive