2014 Scharzhofberger Spatlese

This blend of numerous casks perpetuates the vintage Scharzhof themes of bright acids and high-toned aromatics. Fresh lime and white peach are joined by pear distillate in the nose; turn almost chiffon-like and delicate midpalate; then launch into a blazingly penetrating, sharp-edged finish. And at every turn there is a saturating suffusion of stone. This bottling is breathtaking in sheer intensity, but at least for now less winsome or intriguingly complex than the corresponding Braune Kupp Spätlese.

Whereas the corresponding Braune Kupp auction Spätlese represented a cask selection, this Scharzhofberger reflects a separate picking from the estate’s oldest vines, undertaken with the express intention of achieving auction potential. A head-turning nose and a palate luscious yet cheek-pinching in brightness and mouth-shakingly vibrant deliver white peach, grapefruit and lime wreathed in freesia and infused with Ceylon tea, moss and crushed stone. And as if my mouth wasn’t wrung out already, this beauty’s formidably penetrating, downright reverberative finish – transparent to a shimmering wealth of floral and mineral elements – exhibits tannic grip and milks the salivary glands with its salinity. I fantasized while tasting it that some of those collectors typically in a position to bid on this wine at auction might be scared off by its singular intensity!