Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese Nr17
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 5 to 25 years from the vintage, though exceptional vintages can easily cellar for 30+ years as they develop complex petrol, honey, and beeswax notes.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Spicy Sichuan or Thai curries, classic roasted duck with plum sauce, and pungent washed-rind or blue cheeses.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
The Ürziger Würzgarten, or 'spice garden of Ürzig,' is one of the Mosel's most dramatic and legendary vineyards. Rising like a sheer amphitheater of red volcanic stone and clay—a striking geological anomaly in a region dominated by blue slate—this vineyard produces Rieslings of singular, exotic intensity. Dr. Loosen's Spätlese 'Nr 17' is crafted from ungrafted, ancient vines that cling to these dizzying slopes. The volcanic terroir infuses the wine with a wild, spicy complexity, bursting with aromas of star anise, ginger, and ripe tropical fruits. Fermented slowly with indigenous yeasts in traditional oak Fuder casks, this Spätlese beautifully balances its rich, natural sweetness with the Mosel's trademark electric, laser-like acidity, embodying centuries of winemaking heritage.
🍾 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.