2003 Dr. Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese Mosel 3pk 3x750ml

Dr. Loosen has been in the same family for over 200 years. When Ernst Loosen took the reins in 1988, he transformed the estate into one of the most acclaimed wine producers in the world — named German Winemaker of the Year by Gault-Millau in 2001 and Decanter's Man of the Year in 2005.

The estate owns old, ungrafted vines in some of the Mosel valley's most highly rated vineyards, practicing environmentally sensitive viticulture and strict harvest selection.

Urziger Wurzgarten — the "spice garden" — is hyper-steep, with iron-infused red soil that produces wines of a completely unique nature in the Mosel.

Spatlese means the grapes had an extra week or two of hang time, building higher ripeness and deeper flavors without botrytis. The result is juicy, precocious fruit with rich mouthfeel, zippy acidity, and a lingering finish.

The 2003 vintage shows dynamic tension between mineral and herbal freshness and stone-and-berry fruit character.

Graceful nose of honey, baked pineapple, and caramel. Peach and candied citrus on the palate, with lime and grapefruit notes that soften toward ripe apple on the finish. Rich and electric, with a spicy tingle from the red volcanic soil.

This is Mosel Riesling at its most expressive — drink it now for the fully developed aromatics, or cellar it. The screw cap preserves it beautifully.