2007 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese

Quince and yellow plum preserves, honey and brown spices inform the nose of the auctioned 2007 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese A.P. #12. Notes of truffle and Tokaji-like smokiness emerge with airing, emphasizing the nobly rotten side of a wine both palpably dense and almost weightlessly buoyant. Sappy plum paste and luscious yet refreshing pineapple mingle with honey and caramel on a creamy rich palate, engendering a confectionary, almost taffy-like impression, yet there is persistent invigoration and refreshment – not to mention seduction – in this wine’s amazingly long finish as well. I am confident (some of) you will still be awed by this in 40 years. Egon Muller compares his 2007s with the wines of 1997, which here displayed exceptional purity and advanced, largely noble rot-free ripeness, although the total number of bottlings in 2007 was significantly smaller, and the number of Auslesen alone this year three times greater. (I missed tasting one Spatlese, A.P. #6 that sold out early on, and I have not yet tasted this year’s Trockenbeerenauslese, which hadn’t even finished fermenting on the occasion when I tasted Muller’s other 2007s.) Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY (212) 355 0700