2015 Theo Minges Rieslaner Auslese

Here is a prime example of Rieslaner’s predilection for resisting botrytis but shriveling on its own into an ultra-concentrate of sugar, acid, extract and flavor. It was picked in the third week of October, toward the end of the estate’s harvest. Overripe muskmelon, quince and mirabelle preserves, orange marmalade and glazed pineapple are featured on a heady nose and an opulent, glycerol-rich palate of confitured and confectionary sweetness that is barely held back, thanks to high acidity, from becoming cloying. This wine doesn’t – for now, at least – possess the cooling herbal component, mouthwatering salinity or juiciness and buoyancy of the corresponding Spätlese. But it displays terrific persistence and will be well worth following for many years.