2023 Villa Wolf Riesling Dry

The Ernst Loosen Villa Wolf Riesling Dry is clear, light straw yellow in color. Aromas of white peach and something of passion fruit on the nose. The taste palette shows notes of lemon, green apple and yellow stone fruit, which are accompanied by a slightly mineral aftertaste with fresh acidity. Delicious as a standalone glass, especially because of the fresh acidity, but also recommended with trout with almond shavings, mussels, chicken or turkey, salads, quiche and fresh goat cheeses.

Villa Wolf's Riesling is made from grapes from its own vineyards and from grapes supplied by contracted wine growers. The grapes are harvested at the end of September, immediately destemmed in the vinification room and gently pressed with the greatest care. After this, the juice is transferred to large stainless steel tanks to undergo temperature-controlled alcoholic fermentation (18°C) for more than 2 weeks. The young wine is then given another maturation period on the fine lees without allowing malolactic fermentation to take place, in order to maintain optimal freshness of the wine. After a few months the assembly takes place and the wine is bottled after a light filtering.

The domain Dr. Loosen has been owned by the same family for more than 200 years. When Ernst Loosen took over in 1988, he came into possession of very special vines with an average age of more than 60 years! Some of the vineyards themselves consist of ungrafted vines that are more than 120 years old! In order to produce world-class wines, Ernst Loosen drastically reduced the yield per hectare and immediately stopped the systematic chemical fertilization of the vineyards. Since then, only natural fertilizers have been used in small quantities. The biggest revolution took place in the wine cellars, where everything was set up to treat the grapes, musts and wines as gently as possible, to fully preserve the essence of terroir and grape. Riesling is the unique grape in the vineyards. It has different guises from dry to noble sweet, from elegant and light to full and ultra concentrated, depending on the time of harvest, the age of the vines, the ripening stage of the grapes, the presence or absence of noble rot (botrytis), the terroir and obviously the harvest year. The bottom of Dr. Loosen vineyards consist of a rock-hard slate subsoil that forces the roots to go deep in search of water, minerals and nutrition. The location of the vineyards on the extremely steep, south-facing slopes on the banks of the Mosel is ideal for slow, perfect ripening. The grapes are, as it were, bathed three times in the sun, directly and reflected via the stone floor and the river. The vineyards of Dr. Loosen are located along the lazily winding Mosel, between Bernkastel and Kindel, with world-famous names such as Bernkasteler Lay, Dr. Loosen, Graacher Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Urziger Würzgarten, Erdener Prälat and Erdener Treppchen.