2007 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese***

From the old Kranklay vineyard near the shore line and the town’s sundial, Christoffel’s “three star” 2007 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese evinces strawberry jam, grapefruit marmalade, and brown spices and mint. Polished and light to the touch, it adds caramel and crustacean like saline notes on the palate to create an unforgettably savory levitating layering of flavor. Here is an ultra-refined subtle expression of truly noble botrytis. Not that one can forget the remarkable degree to which the 2006 preserved clarity and elegance under vastly different circumstances. Here, though, there is more refinement and even greater purity of fruit, if not the dark low tones of that 2006 (about consult issue 179). Expect this to continue repaying your attention for more than 30 years (if, of course, you should be lucky enough to live that long and still have some in your cellar). Hans-Leo Christoffel and Robert Eymael seem to have had a field day taking their time over the havesting of Christoffel’s vineyards this year, and scoring some stunning successes. That said, in the urgent atmosphere of 2006, this team was similarly successful. Christoffel would be the first to credit his high percentage of old, ungrafted vines and the locations of his parcels for much of the consistently high performance under his label over many years, even now that he is no longer the hands-on boss of the operation. Speaking of parcels, importer Terry Theise has wisely suggested to Eymael and Christoffel that the “star system” of labeling leads to customer misperception of a wine’s merits and a marketing nightmare. Far better, he argues, to label each Auslese with its original vineyard name thus highlighting differences in personality ... provided the authorities continue to turn a blind eye to the proliferation of pre-1971 vineyard names on (“back”) labels. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel (516) 677-9300