Scents of apple and apricot blossom in Loosen’s 10.5% alcohol 2009 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett feinherb adumbrate the correspondingly juicy fruits on its delicate palate. Suggestions of grapefruit, almond, and peach kernel add interest on a silken, buoyant palate, leading to a luscious finish served by just the right measure of hidden sweetness. While it won’t make one forget its superb 2008 predecessor, this should perform versatile over the next 10-12 years. “I want real Kabinetts,” says Ernst Loosen by way of explaining his early start on the 2009 harvest, “between 80 and 83 Oechsle, with crisp acidity, freshness, and the like; and you can’t wait around, especially when you have five, maybe seven days of Kabinett-picking to do and every day ripeness is rising. This year, we wanted to delineate even more sharply the difference between Kabinett and Spatlese, as well as a distinct difference between Spatlese and Auslese.” In practical terms, this meant among other things slightly reducing the levels of residual sugar in the Kabinetts (Loosen says that trend will continue incrementally); and reserving botrytis fruit solely for wines labeled “Auslese.” Eiswein from Lay, Treppchen, and Sonnenuhr; Eiswein and T.B.A. from Pralat; as well as a T.B.A. from Wurzgarten were all – according to cellarmaster Bernhard Schug – in various states of fermentation or preparation for bottling when I visited in September, so consequently I shall review those wines (or at least some subset thereof) at such time as I report on the 2010 vintage.Importer: Loosen Brothers, Portland, OR tel. (510) 864-7255

Loosen’s 10% alcohol 2008 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett feinherb once again demonstrates how a little bit of residual sugar and correspondingly lower alcohol can unlock the virtues of a vintage, here making for succulent Persian melon and white peach fruit enlivened by tingling lime, refreshing, delicate, and transparent to nuances of toasted, salted squash seeds and almond as well as crushed stone. Nor is this the least bit spare for all of its lift and lightness, making a positively satiny, creamy impression. This understated yet complex Riesling is as much an example of the magic of Mosel balance as are 8% alcohol Kabinetts in which high residual sugar is somehow held in check. Furthermore, this outstanding value will prove enormously versatile at table anytime over the next dozen or more years. While one has to consider the known stylistic prejudices of his interlocutor (!), Loosen told me: “I’d like to keep lowering the residual sugar in my Kabinetts and my ‘Dr. L.’ Riesling by two grams a year until, gradually, in 5 or 10 years these wines that we sell (most of) in America can have this sort of feinherb interplay.” Ernst Loosen insists he aims to observe an upper limit of 12.5% alcohol for his trocken bottlings, a level that one might have expected was easily achievable in 2008; but in fact, a portion of this vintage’s collection comes close to transgressing it. When it comes to residually sweet Kabinett – a genre in which Loosen has long excelled – his frequently-voiced concerns that “the real thing” was becoming almost impossible (or at least, impossibly expensive) to achieve nowadays certainly do not apply to the 2008 vintage, when his collection of Kabinetts is not only superb, but also lively and feather-light. Indeed, the whole 2008 Loosen Oeuvre – while consisting of fewer wines than usual, with its nobly sweet selections even more (and more spectacularly) focused than usual on Pralat – is superb. What’s more, even cellarmaster Bernard Schug voiced his amazement at just how little sweetness most of the residually sweet wines display.Importer: Loosen Brothers, Portland, OR tel. (510) 864-7255

That Loosen’s definition of “feinherb” is relatively liberal is demonstrated by the fact that his 2004 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett feinherb tastes noticeable sweet. It is also thoroughly delightful. This wine’s nose of candied lemon and apple blossom is followed by a silky, smooth but bright and juicy palate, in which fresh apple is tinged with black currant and citrus zest. The finish offers an attractive sense of slate presence and ample refreshment. Importer: Loosen Brothers, Portland, OR; tel. (510) 864-7255