Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Eiswein
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Extremely age-worthy; typically best enjoyed from 10 to 30+ years from the vintage, though it can evolve beautifully for decades.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Rich blue cheeses, fruit-based tarts, and savory foie gras.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Hailing from the dizzyingly steep slopes of the Mosel, the Urziger Wurzgarten—or 'spice garden of Urzig'—is a legendary vineyard famous for its striking red volcanic and slate soils. This unique terroir imparts a distinctively exotic, spicy, and tropical character to the Riesling grapes grown here. Dr. Loosen's Eiswein is a rare masterpiece born of extreme patience and risk. To produce it, healthy grapes must remain on the vine into the freezing depths of winter, waiting for temperatures to plummet to at least -7 degrees Celsius. Harvested by hand in the freezing pre-dawn hours, the grapes are pressed while still frozen. This process leaves the water behind as ice, yielding a tiny quantity of highly concentrated, intensely sweet nectar balanced by a vibrant, electric acidity that prevents the wine from ever feeling heavy.
🍾 wine.about_producer
The historic Dr. Loosen estate, located in Bernkastel-Kues in the Mosel region of Germany, has been in the same family for over two centuries. Since taking ownership in 1988, Ernst Loosen has propelled the winery to international acclaim by focusing on the estate's extraordinary heritage of ungrafted, old Riesling vines—some over 120 years old—situated in historic grand cru sites such as Erdener Pr$lat, $rziger W$rzgarten, and Bernkasteler Lay. The winery's philosophy centers on minimalist winemaking and a deep respect for the region's diverse slate soils, which yield intensely mineral-driven, expressive wines. Dr. Loosen is globally renowned for its precise, elegant Rieslings, spanning from dry (Trocken) styles to exquisitely concentrated sweet expressions like Auslese, Beerenauslese, and rare Eisweins.