It’s getting on for 20 years since Ernst Loosen decided to broaden his winemaking palette by taking on the Villa Wolf estate in the village of Wachenheim in the Pfalz. The region lies between the Haardt Mountains and the Rhine, directly north of Alsace. The protective influence of the mountains makes this one of the warmer, drier areas of Germany. As with his intense and powerful Mosel wines, Erni aims to preserve the traditional character of the region and the grape variety but with a further level of concentration and opulence. Typically, wines from the Pfalz are weightier and drier than their Mosel counterparts and have a style that’s rounder and more earthy. These are clean, focused wines with good body, full fruit flavours and a strong backbone.