2017 Ayler Kupp Auslese Lange Goldkapsel Auktion

Destined for future release (perhaps via auction), this second long gold capsule Auslese of its vintage is, in Lauer’s words, “the spritzigere of the two,” reflecting fruit with a higher share of healthy, still-taut berries. Gooseberry and white currant jellies offer a high-toned, prickly aromatic and startlingly bright palate impression. Sheer density and high glycerol do not prevent the palate from displaying a metallic sheen. Seed-crunching piquancy perpetuates the wine’s remarkable sense of invigoration and balances out its high residual sugar, though the resultant standoff is loaded with unresolved tension. The rapier finish is prodigiously persistent. I am grateful to Lauer for having given me this early opportunity to assess a wine that it is almost misleading to judge until it has had more time in bottle. If the A.P. #32 demands patience – which it does – that is true in spades of this dramatically different A.P. #33.