Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett

Tonight's wine is a German riesling. It's a real find as my local wine shop just got in a peck of different wine offerings from Dr. Loosen vineyards and these are premier German wines.

Dr Loosen Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2006; $23.00: This is a “Qualitätswein mit Prädikat” wine, which, if you read my blog entry on German wines, you’ll recall come in six types: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese. These are the finest of German wines. No chaptalization (addition of extra sugar) is allowed. This one is bottled under a screw cap, which for me, means I don’t have to carry around a cork screw when I’m traveling.

The wines of Ernst Loosen, whether it’s this affordable Kabinett or an expensive Auslese, in my opinion, are some of the best examples of wines from the Mosel. As I just said, the Kabinett is quite affordable considering his stature in the German wine industry.

This is a wonderful wine, with a fabulous nose of pears, apples, and a touch of spice. The wonderful bouquet adds to the honeyed, yet not overly sweet palate. The taste has a hint of melon in the finish. It’s a well balanced wine with a creamy richness that continues until the very clean, crisp finish. This is a very good wine indeed. If you find it, buy it! You’ll enjoy it. In fact, I have a second bottle so I think I’ll do just that.

Ciao!