2011 Wiltinger Braune Kupp Auslese Le Gallais Goldkapsel

Having had no intention to try for a T.B.A. in this site (in contrast with the situation on the Scharzhofberg), Muller incorporated into his auction-bound Le Gallais 2011 Wiltinger Braune Kupp Riesling Auslese gold capsule all of the available botrytized material. The result is a polished, creamy and soothing as well as uncannily buoyant amalgam of pear nectar, plum preserves and quince jelly wreathed in rowan and heliotrope and studded with candied lemon, retaining just enough primary juiciness and fruit skin tartness to lend exuberance and downright refreshment to its luscious finish. Subtle salinity and a fresh scallop-like amalgam of animal and mineral savor serves for further fascination as well as compulsive salivation. And speaking of compulsion, I found this gorgeously complex elixir – as wonderful a Le Gallais bottling as I have ever enjoyed – impossible to spit. It should stand – through at least 2050 – as one of the monuments of its vintage (though “monument” misleadingly suggests stasis weight). Egon Muller’s 2011 collection – tasted last September at the Scharzhof in his absence – represents an intensively selective harvest that extended from mid-October into November and resulted in one of the numerically smallest number of individual bottlings in the history of this venerable estate smaller even than the number from 20100, but also some that will go down as landmarks in that history. It seems that – by way of explaining this paucity – in the realm of Kabinett and Spatlese, the individual lots were simply deemed to harmonize well with one another and amalgamated; while in upper-Pradikat realms, the aggregate volume was no larger than in other recent vintages. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700