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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2015 and 2019 (based on 30 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.6 pts. and median of 88 pts. in 8 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by oropeza on 7/2/2017 & rated 88 points: Green apple, stone fruit, floral, somewhat steely, good body and somewhat lengthy... really good value at around $15 (1329 views) | | | Tasted by Sanfoan on 9/23/2015 & rated 86 points: Over the last week or so, I have tried to get more familiar with Riesling by tasting five different dry Rieslings. I had a couple from Australia (Eden and Clare Valley), one from Washington State, one off-dry from New Zealand, and one from Germany. My favorite of the bunch was the high altitude Clare Valley Riesling (review a couple of posts below). This note is for the German wine. My first impression was that it lacked complexity. For me, it was just boring. The color was light yellow with a hint of green. On the nose, I get a bit of minerality (not as much as I was expecting), some white flowers, some green apples, and a touch of melon fruit (perhaps there is a touch of sweetness on the nose which is where I am getting the melon fruit from). Everything on the nose is quite subtle though. There is nothing about this wine that jumps out at you at first. Even the next day, the nose had still not developed into something more attractive. On the palate, things only get slightly better. There is good acidity, but I could not characterize this wine as bone dry. Although it is dry, a tad of sweetness still comes through. There is a slight honey component to this wine. There are also some green apples. I do not get a whole lot of minerality (slate), maybe some apricot, some lemon, as well as some citrus rind. If I had tasted this blind, I would have probably been disappointed. However, since I know that this is a $13 Riesling from Germany, I think that it is probably a descent QPR wine. If I had to give this a score, I would probably give about 86 points. From my research, this wine seems to be getting quite a few scores at or above 90 points. Personally, I think that that is inflated. Do not get me wrong, this is not a bad wine for the price but I think that there is certainly better white wine out there around those prices. (2236 views) | | | Tasted by rvrutkovskis on 5/22/2015 & rated 90 points: Bright with lovely minerality and acidity; super subtle petrol on the nose along with lime, floral and honey notes. Fabulous wine for the price -- diverse with food, low in alcohol, delicious! (2413 views) | | | Tasted by AlphaMikeFoxtrot on 12/26/2014 & rated 86 points: Pretty dry. White flowers, melons, apricots. (689 views) | | | Tasted by christophee on 12/15/2014 & rated 89 points: Lite gold with med-lite viscosity in the glass. Nose of apple, honey, flowers, freshly fired ceramics and lemon oil. Med-lite body and off-dry with rich minerals providing a strong sense of terroir. Apple, apricot, honeydew, flowers and wet stone on the palate. Sturdy backbone with balanced fruit and acidity. Medium finish. Solid QPR. (2517 views) | | | Tasted by RussK on 9/14/2014 & rated 91 points: Russk. Had by the glass at Oak Tavern in the design district. Nice dry, slightly effervescent. 91- (2333 views) | | | Tasted by Koshpa on 7/24/2014 & rated 90 points: Ernst Loosen is probably the best promoter of riesling in the world. With his silly clothing and "Zee Germans" English accent put aside, you have a winemaker from Mosel who put the riesling back on its global throne as the best white wine in the world. This one is grown on the red slate and has great clarity with pleasant green to yellow color. Fruity and fresh with green apple and lemon peel on the nose. Precise and mineral. Good overall balance with fair but just slightly short finish. Best buy! 90/100 (1567 views) |
| Dr. Loosen Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
Source: VinConnect (VinConnect.com)
About Dr. Loosen
This exceptional estate, which produces some of the purest and highest quality Rieslings in Germany, has been in the Loosen family for over two centuries. The most recent member of the family to take charge of the winery, Ernst Loosen, took over in 1988, leaving behind a promising career in archaeology to tend to the great vineyards of 120-year-old Rieslings that are his heritage. Having studied in the shadow of some of the world’s best winemakers in Austria, Alsace, Burgundy and California, Ernst began his tenure at the estate with the motivation to modernize and streamline production, instituting organic agriculture in the vineyard, strict fruit selection and sorting processes and modernizing the aging winery.
The Dr Loosen estate produces a wide range of wines from affordable estate Rieslings to a number of single vineyard Grosses Gewächs (Grand Cru) wines from some the of the most prized parcels in the Mosel including the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard, Ürziger Würzgarten, Graacher Himmelriech, Erdener Treppchen and Erdener Prälat.
A number of elements make these and the other great vineyards of the Mosel valley so exceptional – the climate, the soil and the age of the vines. Steep south facing slopes create the perfect climate for the indigenous grape, Riesling, to grow and thrive in the low-lying northern sun. Generally cool conditions ensure that the grapes ripen slowly while retaining the bright acidity that great German Rieslings are so know for. The slate soil also plays an important role in what makes these vineyards special – the Mosel’s stony soil and rocky cliffs reflect sunlight and hold in heat, creating very warm microclimates in the best sites and helping to ensure excellent ripeness. Thin topsoil forces the vines to dig deep for water and nutrients, producing vibrant wines that capture the strong minerality of the region’s terroir. Finally, the old vines (over 70 years on average) which are all planted on original rootstock (phylloxera cannot not survive in the Mosel allowing most of the region’s original vines to survive), naturally produce smaller yields, resulting in grapes that are highly concentrated and rich.
The wines of Ernst Loosen represent some of the most consistently high quality wines from the Mosel Valley leading Ernst to receive a great number of accolades including Gault & Millaut’s Winemaker of the Year, Decanter’s Man of the Year and one of the World’s 50 Most Influential Winemakers from Wine & Spirtis magazine.
Riesling Varietal character (Appellation America) | A short history of Riesling (Uncork) | Riesling (wikipedia)Germany Wines of Germany | The Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) | How to read a German wine label | Geographical Information Down to Single Vineyards
#2014 Vintage Notes:
2014 Vintage Report by Terry Theise
2014 Vintage Report by Wine Spectator
"My gut still tells me the Saar (and to some extent) the Ruwer are better overall in 2014 than the more storied areas of the Mosel proper, but those that spent the requisite time living in their middle-Mosel vineyards made some of the most electric and "feathery" Riesling in a long time (maybe the finest in 20 years - yes, it's true!)" - Jon Rimmerman (Of course only a very short historical memory would call the Saar and Ruwer less 'storied' than the middle Mosel - jht)Mosel Saar RuwerStarting in 2007 the German wine authorities have changed labeling laws to rename all of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wines to just "Mosel." This puts this and other database driven sites in a difficult spot, as millions of old wine label reflect the former labeling. As described here, CellarTracker has elected to remain with the old labeling for a number of years to avoid confusion. At some point we will switch over to just "Mosel" but not for a few years at least.
Mosel WeinKulturland (Moselwein e.V.)
Detailed geographical information at weinlagen.info
#2018 Vintage Notes:
"Acid levels are relatively low throughout Riesling-growing Europe (acidification will once again be permitted in Germany – no surprise, as that’s been the case in eight of the last 10 vintages); but because malic acid was baked off or degraded by relentlessly balmy weather means, what acid remains is overwhelmingly of the efficacious tartaric sort. Extract levels are low, as one would anticipate from a growing season during which relatively little moisture was coursing through the vine’s roots and shoots. [...] Everyone is astonished how there could have been so much juice despite the drought." - David Schildknecht
"2018 is a homogenous vintage with a very high general level, below which it seldom falls [...] It leads with blossom. It is perhaps 80% delicious and 20% fascinating." - Terry Theise
#2017 Vintage Notes:
"not so friendly towards light wines" - Milkmansteve
#2016 Vintage Notes: "Overall, 2016 is a charmer of a vintage with much immediate ripe and fruity appeal, not unlike 2011 (in fresher) or 2007 (in lighter). However, 2016 is far from being homogeneous, in fact it is composed of a mosaic of vintages, a result of the freakish growing conditions. Hidden inside the vintage, there are true gems with the balance of 1997, one of the best vintages ever, 2002 or even 2008. The bulk of the harvest was brought in with refreshingly moderate sugar levels. Overall, the Saar and Ruwer produced slightly fresher wines than the Middle Mosel but there are great differences between Estates. The good harvest conditions allowed for some Auslese, little BA and even TBA wines, but some remarkably pure and fruity Eiswein.
In general, 2016 offers the opportunity to acquire Riesling with great immediate ripe appeal: The vintage is a true charmer. At the top, 2016 is one of the most exciting and elegantly balanced vintage since the 1990s and well-worth stocking up for cellaring! In particular, we urge our readers to literally plunge onto the finest Kabinett and Spätlese: These are some of the most exciting and classic we have ever tasted. 2016 looks also set to become a major vintage for dry Riesling, provided the aromatics are not overripe. Lovers of dessert wines will find much to love in 2016 as the Auslese are pure and the Eiswein are gorgeously fruity. They should however also keep an eye open for the remaining stunning noble-sweet wines from 2015 which are still available here and there." - Mosel Fines Wines, No. 36, July 2017
#2014 Vintage Notes:
"The heterogeneity of the 2014 vintage carries over onto the aging process. The top wines start to close down, as one would expect from these wines which are a remake of those from the 1990s. The wines affected by gin, saffron and mushroom flavors are still comparatively open and offer a not unattractive Scheurebe styled fruit opulence. We would opt to drink up these lesser wines except for the odd bottle and bury the little treasures of the vintage deep into the cellar." - Mosel Fines Wines, No. 30, March 2016
#2013 Vintage Notes:
"The fruity-styled 2013 wines have firmed up significantly since last year and start to show signs of closing down, making the underlying acidity seemingly sharp and out of balance. The better dry wines have come out of their early armor of smoke and tannin but the acidity may prove quite challenging. Quite frankly, except for some smaller bottlings, this is a vintage to lay down and wait." - Mosel Fines Wines, No. 27, March 2015
#2012 Vintage Notes:
"The 2012 wines have put on some flesh and go through a 'fattier' phase which is not unlike what the 2007 went through at the same period. However, the zestier acidity cuts through this 'weight' and makes the wines thoroughly enjoyable at this early stage. In particular the fruity Kabinett and Spatlese as well as the off-dry and dry wines offer much pleasure. We expect these wines to close down over the coming year or two. Enjoy while it lasts!" - Mosel Fines Wines, No. 27, March 2015
#2011 Vintage Notes:
"A bit to our surprise, the 2011 wines have shut down and go through a quite difficult and muted phase now. Their low acidity combined with their maturity makes them feel rich, opulent and often bulky, and thus not really enjoyable. We expect that these will need at least a decade to integrate their sweetness and gain in harmony. The only exception is the dry wines, whose low acidity makes for great food companionship." - Mosel Fines Wines, No. 27, March 2015
#2010 Vintage Notes:
"After a mellower period in 2012, many 2010 wines have firmed up and developed a stronger smoky side. However, most continue to shine through their fruit opulence, structure and deliciously zesty but ripe acidity. This suits in particular the off-dry bottlings, which have more charm than the legally dry wines. Will these wines close down? Actually, the softening acidity makes us wonder now but it also provides further evidence that these wines will turn out harmonious after all." - Mosel Fines Wines, No. 27, March 2015
#2009 Vintage Notes:
"Most 2009 wines have closed down, which accentuates their round and soft side forward. Many can still be quite enjoyable but the times of primary fruit with its attractive aromatic expression and a generous acidic kick are now over. Except for the dry wines, we would definitely recommend keeping your hands off any bottle in your cellar and possibly buying more wines from this vintage on the market as these are true gems in the making." - Mosel Fines Wines, No. 27, March 2015 |
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