2006 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Trockenbeerenauslese

Botrytis smoke signals and a faintly stale bread and white truffle complexity that I associate with the great 1971s rise from the glass of Selbachs 2006 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, along with mango, peach preserves, mint, and orange and grapefruit marmalade, which then pour onto the palate in creamy, honeyed, rich profusion. For all of that sheer richess, this admirably pure example of ennobled Riesling also demonstrates the remarkable degree of lift and sheer refreshment that can be expressed by its vintage, even in a wine of stratospheric ripeness and unctuous viscosity. There is a “cool,” positively refreshing mint- and wet stone-inflected character to this wine’s soothing finish that will haunt you from sip to sip (and, for a rare few, from bottle to bottle). Savor this spread over a 50 year period or lifetime, whichever comes first. The harvest almost filled the month of October, but by the standards of this large estate with holdings stretching across four communes, that is (in Johannes Selbach’s words) “super quick” and volume was down 30% from the already small 2005 harvest. Musts were sometimes fined with bentonite but never with charcoal. “This is my year of superlatives,” says Selbach. “When I think of my children and their children, and about a wine one could open in a hundred years and say ‘Wow!’ one dreams of wines from great historical vintages like 1911, 1921, 1953 ... and that in one’s own lifetime one might experience and harvest wines that would number among them. For me, that’s 2006.” Selbach took an interest in Pinot Blanc for sparkling wine, since there are some promising old vines in cooler side locations of Zeltingen’s Schlossberg. But he now thinks the fruit will probably always be too ripe for that purpose, whereas the still results are themselves promising. There are a few regional importers of certain Selbach wines, but the majority (and those whose prices are noted above) are Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel (516) 677-9300