THE vibrant red soil and death-defyingly steep slopes of the Urziger Wurzgarten produces wild and exotic riesling unlike any other site on the Mosel River... Aficionados have been talking about the riesling revival for 10 years; that it has finally materialised is due to the hard graft of people such as Loosen, Jeffrey Grosset, Judi Cullam (of Frankland Estate) and many more. I have done my bit: I have far more bottles of riesling (stretching back 40 years) in my cellar than chardonnay, and Loosen takes pride of place among the rieslings, although I do scatter my favours liberally.
If I want to have a bottle of wine with sheer, unadulterated joy as my sole criterion, a young mosel is the automatic first choice, the only question being whether it is a Loosen, MF Richter, JJ Prum, Egon Muller or Wilhelm Haag. The brilliance of these wines lies in their absolute, diamond-like purity, the rapier thrust of the acidity, which precisely balances their sweetness, and the length and aftertaste, which goes on forever yet urges you to take another mouthful before the taste goes. Oh, and these wines seldom exceed 7.5 per cent alcohol, making them first choice for any Asian restaurant. Funny how much of these wines I drink at home. James Halliday
