2007 Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese

The Loosen 2007 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese offers scents and juicy palate profusion of strawberry and kiwi; extreme delicacy accompanied by subtle creaminess; and wet stone and smoky mineral adjuncts to its lip-smacking and refreshing finishing. This is by no means as dynamic, complex, or rich as the best Wurzgarten Spatlese (at this address or elsewhere) can be, but it delivers the classic character of the site and virtues of its genre in irresistible fashion, and will no doubt continue to do so for 15 or more years. Despite slightly disappointing dry wines, and Kabinetts and nobly sweet wines that do not reach the heights established in those genres by this estate’s 2005s and 2006s respectively, Ernst Loosen and his cellar-master Bernard Schug have nonetheless scored considerable success in 2007, a vintage they describe as temperamentally between 2005 and 2004. As regards style and success rate, the comparison with 2004 seems about right to me. Harvest began already in the first week of October, but as usual at this address with its enormous acreage of top-notch vineyards, the early phase was taken up principally with highly selective picking for nobly sweet wine. “From the first day to the last,” comments Loosen, “each picker gets two tubs” for separating qualities of fruit. “And there were shriveled, TBA-quality grapes already on the first day this year,” adds Schug. Importer: Loosen Brothers, Portland, OR tel. (510) 864-7255