Graacher Himmelreich 2017 | Mosel

Name: Graacher Himmelreich 2017 | Mosel
Brand: Dr. Loosen
SKU: 44
Price: 21.5 EUR
Availability: InStock

21.50 €

21.50 €

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Weingut Dr. Loosen, one of the Mosel's leading VDP estates, produces this Grosses Gewächs (GG) — the VDP's top classification for dry Riesling — from the Graacher Himmelreich Einzellage, a VDP.GROSSE LAGE in the Middle Mosel. Old vines (Alte Reben) on steep slopes of Devonian blue slate. 100% Riesling.

Grapes are hand-harvested and individually sorted. Only healthy grapes from the best parcels ferment spontaneously in neutral oak barrels (1,000–3,000 litres) and mature for at least 12 months on the full lees.

Wine Identification
The Dr. Loosen Graacher Himmelreich Riesling GG Alte Reben is a 2017 vintage white wine from Germany’s Mosel region. Produced by Weingut Dr. Loosen, a member of the VDP, this wine holds the Grosses Gewächs (GG) classification, representing the association’s highest standard for dry wines. It originates specifically from the Einzellage Graacher Himmelreich, designated as a VDP.Grosse Lage site in the Middle Mosel.

Origin and Winemaking
The vineyards consist of old vines (Alte Reben) planted on steep slopes covered in Devonian blue slate. The wine is made exclusively from 100% Riesling grapes. Harvesting is conducted manually with careful selection, ensuring only healthy fruit from the best plots is used. Vinification involves spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak casks ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 liters. Following fermentation, the wine matures on its complete lees for at least twelve months, contributing to its structure and complexity.

Expected Profile and Tasting Notes
This Riesling presents a bright, fresh, and cool nose characterized by crunchy, flinty notes alongside aromas of white peach and lemon. On the palate, it is full-bodied, lush, and elegant. The wine exhibits a powerful yet crystalline structure with vital, salty-piquant characteristics typical of the Himmelreich site. Firm, searing acidity underpins a concentrated and energetic finish.

Critics’ Scores and Comments
The Wine Advocate (Parker) awarded this wine 93 points. The review describes it as "big and powerful yet crystalline," highlighting its firm acidity and concentrated finish.

Overall Character
The 2017 Dr. Loosen Graacher Himmelreich GG Alte Reben is a serious, structured dry Riesling defined by its slate-driven minerality and old-vine intensity. It balances lush fruit with vibrant acidity, offering a powerful expression of one of Mosel’s most prestigious vineyards.

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Graacher Himmelreich 2017 | Mosel

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PARKER: 93

From three parcels with ancient vines, the 2017 Graacher Himmelreich Riesling GG Alte Reben is bright, fresh and coolish on the crunchy and flinty nose with white peach and some lemon aromas. Full-bodied, lush and elegant on the palate, this is a big and powerful yet crystalline, vital and salty-piquant Himmelreich with firm searing acidity on the concentrated, energetic finish. This 2017 is still a baby and should be cellared for at least 3 to 5+ years to gain more subtleness and elegance. I tasted the wine again one week after opening the bottle, and it had significantly improved. Tasted in March 2019.

Learn more about Dr. Loosen

The Loosen family has a continuous history in Bernkastel since 1808, more than two hundred years in the same house. The modern turning point came in 1988, when Ernst Loosen —Ernie— took charge of a neglected estate, abandoning his archaeology studies to return to the Mosel.

What he found on arriving explains everything he did next: ungrafted vines averaging some sixty years in several of Germany's finest sites. On the Mosel the slate spared much of the vineyard from phylloxera, so the vines still stand on their own roots. His decision was to keep only that: he pulled out the young plantings, concentrated on old ungrafted Riesling —some of it predating 1900— and cut yields by seventy per cent.

He farms six Grosse Lage, the VDP's top classification of sites. Among them the Graacher Himmelreich, source of the wine we carry here, home to old ungrafted vines.

See all wines by Dr. Loosen →