2007 - Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel, Dr. Loosen

Jellied strawberry and kiwi along with white raisin mark the nose of Loosen’s 2007 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese gold capsule, but unlike the corresponding Wehlener, this manages a concomitant and simultaneous fresh fruit incursion on the palate, lending refreshing juiciness without disturbing the sense of harmony created by a soothing, creamy texture and subtle sense of ennoblement. Honey and fruit preserve richness are trailed all the way through a long finish by that efficacious fresh fruit element. This will probably be a 25 year wine. Despite slightly disappointing dry wines, and Kabinetts and nobly sweet wines that do not reach the heights established in those genres by this estate’s 2005s and 2006s respectively, Ernst Loosen and his cellar-master Bernard Schug have nonetheless scored considerable success in 2007, a vintage they describe as temperamentally between 2005 and 2004. As regards style and success rate, the comparison with 2004 seems about right to me. Harvest began already in the first week of October, but as usual at this address with its enormous acreage of top-notch vineyards, the early phase was taken up principally with highly selective picking for nobly sweet wine. “From the first day to the last,” comments Loosen, “each picker gets two tubs” for separating qualities of fruit. “And there were shriveled, TBA-quality grapes already on the first day this year,” adds Schug. Importer: Loosen Brothers, Portland, OR tel. (510) 864-7255

Golden yellow. Pleasing aromas of raspberry, acacia honey and brown spices waft over delicate, smoky botrytis. Deft, sweet apricot fruit and elegant acidity combine to give the wine an almost chiffon-like character. The intense minerality guarantees a long finish. A convincing auslese.