2003 Dr. Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett Mosel 3pk 3x750ml

Dr. Loosen has been in family hands for over 200 years. When Ernst F. Loosen took over the estate in 1988, he inherited two hundred years of history, nineteen acres of old vines — the youngest fifty years old, the oldest pushing a century — and half a million dollars of debt.

Since then, he's turned the estate into one of the Mosel's most respected names, bottling exclusively single-vineyard Rieslings from classified Grosse Lagen sites — the German equivalent of Grand Cru.

Bernkasteler Lay sits between the estate house and the village of Bernkastel, a Erste Lage vineyard with deeper, heavier slate than the neighboring villages of Wehlen and Graach. The gentler slope produces richly textured, assertive wines — more depth, more weight, more presence than the piercing minerality you'd find up the river. It's one of six old-vine sites that form the core of the Loosen portfolio.

The 2003 vintage delivered ripe fruit and concentration. The winery relies on spontaneous fermentation in wooden barrels, aging on the lees for twelve or twenty-four months without batonnage to preserve elegance and freshness. The result is a Kabinett with the texture and backbone to cellar.

Lush green apple and peach, powered by pithy acidity. Lime, lime blossom, and honeysuckle on the nose. The palate is light-bodied with fresh limey fruit, lemony notes, and grapefruit pith character — tart, mineral, mouthwatering. The finish is long, lean, and chalky, with flinty notes that linger. This is Mosel Riesling that drinks like it costs more.