2007 Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Auction

Zilliken’s 300 liters of auction-bound 2007 Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule A.P. #2 suggest dates, caramel, yellow plum preserves, and white raisins on the nose; offer an alluring and intriguing savory, saline aspect on a sappy, concentrated palate; and integrate the tartness of plum skin, bitterness of grapefruit zest and plum pit, and brightness of fresh citrus juice into it’s obviously botrytized elements in a long finish as invigorating as it is rich. What’s more, a sense of salt and stone gives what can only be called a “mineral” dimension to this implosively concentrated Riesling far-gone on noble rot. This should prove riveting to revisit over the next 30 or more years. It might seem hard to believe that Hanno Zilliken could once again out-performed a vintage in the way that he did 2005 and 2006. But his having designated an unprecedented four different wines of the 2007 vintage as auction offerings certainly speaks to his confidence – well-founded, I would say – in the quality of this collection’s top end. The vintage’s “Riesling Butterfly” – stemming largely from Saarburg’s Antoniousbrunnen and Bergschlosschen vineyards (behind the Rausch, and overlooking a tiny Saar tributary) and in only small measure from the Rausch and Bockstein – was reviewed in issue 184 and remains lovely, if at present less generous than there-described. No off-dry generic estate Riesling was bottled this vintage, and with 2008 Zilliken will be seen to have made other changes in the lower half of his price list. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA 800 596 9463