produces only Riesling from traditional, slate-soil vineyards in the Mosel valley. A full range of Prädikat wines is made from six grand cru single-vineyard sites. See Wine Styles for more about the German Prädikat system and the range of wines produced at Dr. Loosen.

The vineyards of Dr. Loosen owe their excellent quality to three major factors: the exceptional regional climate of the Middle Mosel area, the mineral-rich slate and volcanic soils, and the incredible age of the estate’s ungrafted Riesling vines. See Elements of Quality for more about these three important quality factors.

These elements are the building blocks of each vineyard’s terroir and have long been recognized for their importance in producing outstanding wines. In fact, all of Dr. Loosen’s six major vineyards were designated as Erste Lage (equivalent to grand cru) in the 1868 Prussian classification of Mosel vineyards, which was undertaken for tax assessment purposes. This classification predates the grand cru system in Burgundy, and was updated by Stuart Pigott and Hugh Johnson in the Wine Atlas of Germany (1995).

We use this historically proven classification at Dr. Loosen. Only wines from the six top-rated sites (indicated on the map to the right) are bottled with a single-vineyard designation. All others are labeled simply as estate wines.

Please Note: The vineyard classification used at Dr. Loosen is based on historical records, but is an unofficial, internal rating not recognized by German wine law.