Talk about back to the roots: inspired by a 20 year old 1988 Bernkasteler Lay Kabinett trocken of only 10.5% alcohol, Loosen came up with his 2008 Riesling Satyricus, relying on the relatively cool Wehlener Klosterberg to achieve the requisite balance without having to pick prematurely. He fermented the wine in fuder and gave it long lees contact to insure sufficient fat and textural allure. The results – which hit their targeted 10.5% alcohol though at the price of marginally transcending legal Trockenheit – are irresistible, and deserve the widest possible exposure. Honeysuckle, apple blossom, and lily-of-the-valley segue into subtly nutty, herbal, white peach, and apple flavors. Subtly waxy in texture, ultra-refreshing and delicate, this Riesling’s piquancy of toasted nuts and pumpkin seeds, apple pip, peach kernel, and lime zest enhance its sense of invigoration. Enjoy it now – or perhaps even 20 years from now. 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