2018 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Beerenauslese (1 Star) GK
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Tasting notes
The 2018 Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Beerenauslese * is precise, clear and highly refined on the subtle, aromatic and flinty nose that represents perfect, early botrytis. Sweet and piquant on the crystalline and salty palate, this is a pristine, perfectly round and balanced BA with great finesse and elegance. Absolutely fabulous and complete. If you like it sweet, you can already enjoy this BA, due to its finesse and balance, but I'd cellar it for 15-20 years before I'd even think of drinking it. Sold in 375-milliliter bottles. Tasted at the domain in September 2020.
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Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate
David Schildknecht, Vinous
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As one might anticipate from Molitor’s designating a Beerenauslese as merely “one-star,” he considers this the least from among seven, only two of which had even been bottled as of my late November 2019 visit. And this libation’s mere 6.5% alcohol means that Molitor did not wait in hope of further fermentation once it had crossed the threshold of legal vinosity. Pear nectar and jelly, poached white peach in syrup, marzipan, caramel and honey are all evoked on the nose – accompanied by prickly botrytis manifestations suggesting lemon peel, wood smoke and raw ginger – and then inform a glossy, viscous palate. Like its "three-star" Auslese counterpart, this is very prominently sweet, but its prodigiously persistent and multifaceted finish doesn’t flirt with stickiness to the same degree as that sibling’s, thanks to an influx of fresh peach and tangy pineapple, to tongue-tingling licks of cinnamon stick and crystallized ginger, and to a mouthwatering salinity such as was strangely absent elsewhere in this Molitor collection.
About the producer
Markus Molitor is now among the largest privately owned wine estates in the Mosel and also one of the best. With a focus on single-vineyard expressions, the estate produces between 80 and 90 different wines each vintage.