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 Ernst ‘Ernie’ Loosen whose delightful Rieslings were introduced to India by the Indian Wine Academy about 7 years ago with a series of tastings in Delhi and Mumbai that culminated in Brindco being appointed the exclusive importer, is known for its quaffable Dr. L. It is still affordable although priced ridiculously high in hotels like the Leela in Delhi for Rs. 5,340 including VAT (it retails for around Rs. 600 in the USA). One can find it in restaurants generally for under Rs. 3,000 +VAT and it is a favourite Riesling with many connoisseurs.
Ernie is also convinced that his Dr. L Riesling brand has been instrumental in introducing a new generation to the Riesling grape (reportedly he sells about 6 million bottles annually-most of them exported). He felt that the time was right to show the wine world that a dry Riesling from Grosse Lagen (Grand Cru) vineyards can make its name among the best wines in the world.
To separate these wines from his regular range of Grosses Gewächs (denotes a dry wine from a Grosse Lage vineyard) wines, Ernie has added the term "Reserve" to highlight their extended barrel aging.
Although Mosel already produces dry Rieslings (Grosses Gewächs) by top producers like Dr. Loosen, the Region is known for slightly sweet, low alcohol (7-8%) well balanced wines that can age for decades (the sugar helps ageing). While some of them can age for 40 years or even more, even the young ones can be quite drinkable, though some require 3-4 years aging to mellow down acidity levels. They are a perfect match for the spicy Indian food; especially the vegetarian, and a majority of non vegetarian dishes made from fish, chicken and Pork.
Release of these Grosses Gewächs Riesling Reserve is a result of over 25 years search to find the most precise expression of dry Riesling and its Terroir, says Ernie whom I met again this year at the 6th edition of the World Wine Symposium at Villa d’Este where he is a regular participant, as a speaker and otherwise. He adds, "our Reserve Riesling are a unique approach to Grosses Gewächs wines, which are dry Riesling from the top Grosse Lagen (Grand Cru) vineyards. My dad used to tell me about his father and grandfather making excellent dry Rieslings. So I am returning to the traditions of my great grandfather who produced exclusively dry Riesling from our best vineyards and aged them for 24 to 36 months in large oak Fuder barrels”.
 Fuder barrels are made from German oak and have 1000 liter capacity as compared to the barriques used in Bordeaux (and also in India) with 225 liter capacity. The wines develop a greater complexity and refinement but the oak doesn’t dominate. The ratio of wine in contact with the barrel surface is less than smaller barrels so oak effect is less. The staves of the barrel are thicker which means the temperature of fermentation tends to be warmer and the fruit characters gain greater depth and complexity. The surface area of settled yeast on the bottom of the barrel to wine is also higher so the effect of time maturing on yeast lees has a greater impact on the wine, influencing the texture of the mouth feel and complexity of flavour.
‘I have always believed that dry German Riesling deserves the same respect internationally as sweet Riesling. This has not been the case up to now but with the Grosses Gewächs Riesling Reserve, I feel we are now at the level of excellence I have been striving for over the last 25 years." he says with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
In order to make the Grosses Gewächs (GG) Riesling Reserve wines, Dr. Loosen looked for the most traditional way of making great dry Riesling. The use of Riesling grapes from Grosse Lagen parcels, fermentation using only indigenous yeasts and aging in large old oak Fuder barrels on the whole yeasts with no batonnage was the winning combination. For the 2011 vintage released last  week parcels of 100-year-old Riesling vines with original rootstocks from the famous Grand Cru vineyards "Ürziger Würzgarten" and "Erdener Prälat" were aged on their lees for 24 to 36 months in the Fuder barrels.
Due to the outstanding results, the 24-month method of aging has been expanded to another Grand Cru vineyard Wehlener Sonnenuhr for the 2012 vintage. This will bring the total of Reserve Riesling to three for the 2012 vintage, says Ernie. He has also seen that a year of aging in bottle has given even more elegance and charm to the 2011 GG Riesling Reserve wines; thus, in addition to the extended barrel aging the future Reserve Riesling will also be aged one year in bottle before release.
As one may well understand, these top dry Rieslings may not be available in India unless some hotels with clientele with evolved palates for elegant German Rieslings and deeper pockets, come forward and encourage Brindco to import a few cases of these wines that would require separate label registration and the costs, which would also be multiplied by 5-6 times by the hotels while pricing.
For a couple of earlier, related articles, click:
Wine Feature: Top Guns of Mosel
Wine Travel: Riesling is Riesling...unless it is from Mosel
Subhash Arora |