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Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
Buy any 6 bottles and save 5%. Buy any 12 bottles and save 10% (excludes wines on offer). Free UK delivery on orders over £100. Tel: 02922 337454
2024 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, Dr Loosen

2024 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, Dr Loosen

Mosel, Germany

Sundial Silk

Silky, fragrant and wonderfully precise, this is classic Mosel Spätlese from one of the region’s most celebrated blue-slate vineyards. White peach, apricot and green apple mingle with lime zest, acacia blossom and a touch of honey, while crushed slate brings a cool mineral edge beneath the ripe fruit. There is sweetness, but it feels lifted and crystalline rather than rich or heavy.

The palate is light, juicy and beautifully balanced, with ripe peach and citrus wrapped around vivid acidity and a long, stony finish. At just 8.5% alcohol, it has remarkable delicacy, while 58.7 g/L of residual sugar gives the fruit depth without overwhelming the wine’s freshness. A superb example of why great Mosel Spätlese can feel simultaneously sweet, refreshing and almost weightless.

For when: A bottle needs to feel special, elegant and effortless all at once.

Pairs with: Thai curry, duck à l’orange, spicy prawns, summer rolls, sushi, blue cheese, goat’s cheese or fruit-led desserts.

Wehlener Sonnenuhr, the Sundial of Wehlen, is one of the iconic vineyards of the Middle Mosel. Its precipitous south-facing slope contains almost no conventional topsoil, with vines rooted directly into fractured blue slate. The famous sundial was erected in 1842 by Jodocus Prüm, an ancestor of the Loosen family. The combination of old ungrafted vines, extraordinary drainage and heat-retaining slate produces Rieslings renowned for perfume, delicacy and piercing mineral freshness

Whats in the bottle
Riesling 100%

Notable Awards
94–96 Points, Vinous

£27.00 - £27.00
£27.00
£27.00 - £27.00
£27.00
Availability:
In stock

Dr Loosen is one of the defining estates of the Mosel and one of the names most closely associated with the international revival of German Riesling. The Loosen family has owned vineyards in the region for more than 200 years, with Ernst “Ernie” Loosen taking charge in 1988. He inherited an extraordinary collection of old, often ungrafted Riesling vines in some of the Middle Mosel’s finest sites.

Ernst placed vineyard character at the centre of the estate, reducing yields and focusing on healthy vines, careful picking and restrained cellar work. Nine of the estate’s vineyards are designated VDP.Grosse Lage, while Dr Loosen has been a member of the prestigious VDP since 1993.

The range stretches from approachable regional Rieslings to long-lived dry wines and traditional Prädikat styles. Wehlener Sonnenuhr is among its most famous vineyards, prized for wines of exceptional perfume, elegance and longevity.

For customers, this Spätlese captures what makes the Mosel so distinctive: intense flavour at very low alcohol, natural sweetness balanced by vivid acidity, and an unmistakable mineral character that comes directly from the slate.

The 2024 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spätlese is made from 100% Riesling grown on the extraordinarily steep south-facing slopes above the village of Wehlen. The vineyard consists almost entirely of broken and weathered blue Mosel slate with very little topsoil. Vine roots penetrate fractures deep into the rocky hillside in search of water and nutrients.

The vines are ungrafted, as phylloxera struggles to survive in these rocky conditions. Poor flowering can produce millerandage, leaving small berries with a high skin-to-juice ratio. The loose bunches and thicker skins improve airflow and reduce susceptibility to botrytis, allowing healthy grapes to remain on the vine for a longer ripening period.

Spätlese translates broadly as “later picked”. The fruit receives roughly an additional week or two of hang time beyond Kabinett, developing greater ripeness and flavour concentration. Importantly, the estate specifies that this should not be confused with a conventional late-harvest wine, as the fruit is intended to remain completely healthy rather than botrytised.

The 2024 season was difficult, with early budbreak followed by damaging April frost, hail and a cool, wet summer. Disease pressure and problematic flowering further reduced yields, but careful vineyard selection resulted in healthy grapes with lively fruit and balancing freshness.

Partial fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks with natural yeasts. Fermentation is stopped by chilling and filtration, removing the active yeast and lees while retaining part of the grapes’ natural sugar. The finished wine has 8.5% alcohol and 58.7 g/L residual sugar.

The result is intensely fruity yet remarkably light on its feet, with peach, citrus and honeyed notes flowing into crunchy blue-slate minerality and razor-sharp acidity. It is delicious now, especially with aromatic or spicy food, but the combination of sweetness, acidity and mineral structure also gives this style considerable potential to mature gracefully.