2004 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese

The 2004 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese A.P. #14 smells of peach preserves, honey, and malt. In the mouth, an alluring creaminess is allied to startlingly bright, fresh apple, pear and peach fruit along with salty and wet stone underlying minerality. Seamless and rich, palpably dense, yet elegant and fresh fruited, this carries with a long, soothing and uplifting finish. Muller’s harvest (other than Eiswein) was completed in mid-November because, he maintained, the off and on rain rendered additional development of truly noble rot unlikely. While this year’s collection offered marginally less excitement in the lower price echelons than we have come to expect from a couple of recent vintages, those of the top wines that I tasted were noble indeed - fully worthy of this estate’s lofty reputation and prices. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY (212) 355-0700.