DR. Loosen
ERDENER TREPPCHEN RIESLING DRY GG ALTE REBEN RIESLING (White Wine)
Mosel, Germany
96 points - James Suckling
90 points - Vinous
Dr. Loosen is one of the most famous German wineries, producing some of the top German Rieslings in the world. This limited production, highly allocated dry Riesling is a parcel of extremely old vines (“Alte Reben”) in the Erdener Treppchen vineyard, planted on steep hills that are only accessible by centuries old stone steps. Grosses Gewächs (GG) means “great growth” and is the designation for an estate’s best dry wine from a Grosse Lage (grand cru) vineyard. The iron-rich, red slate soil produces wines that are rich, racy and complex, with an intense mineral after taste.
A muscular and complex wine, with an intense mineral finish. Kept on the full lees for a year before bottling, the extended maturation time allows the wine to develop greater texture and a natural harmony.
A German Riesling iconic winery in Mosul, Germany, 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 materials to create stunningly intense, world-class wines. To achieve this, Ernst dramatically restricts crop size, prohibits chemical fertilization, insists on very strict fruit selection, and employs gentle cellar practices that allow the wine to develop its full potential with a minimum of handling.
All of Dr. Loosen’s six major vineyards were designated as “Erste Lage” — equivalent to grand cru — in the 1868 Prussian classification of Mosel vineyards. Only wines from these top-rated sites are bottled with a single-vineyard designation. All others are labeled simply as estate wines.