2017 Dr. Loosen Erdener Prälat Alte Reben Riesling Grosses Gewächs Reserve

Aromas of ripe mango, yellow peach, spiced orange peel, and crushed red slate lead into a rich, full-bodied palate. Flavors of tart apricot, lemon oil, and subtle beeswax mesh with underlying notes of wet stone and soft baking spice. The texture is lush, round, and slightly oily, held together by sharp natural acidity and an intense, saline finish.

Farmed sustainably on steep slopes using strictly hand labor due to the vertical terrain. Unfiltered juice from hand-harvested grapes undergoes spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in traditional 1,000-liter neutral oak casks (Fuder). The Reserve edition ages on full gross lees for 24 months in wood, followed by another 24 months in bottle before release.

Grapes come entirely from century-old, ungrafted vines (Alte Reben) in the tiny 1.5-hectare Erdener Prälat vineyard in Germany’s Mosel region. Situated on a steep, south-facing 45-degree incline, the site features iron-rich red slate soil, flanked by massive heat-retaining cliff walls and bounded by the Mosel River at its base.