Saarburger Rausch Auslese Long Goldkap, Weingut Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken 2010

The Zilliken 2010 Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese long gold capsule A.P. #2 was, to be sure, harvested at a must weight that would normally prompt even Hanno Zilliken to label it as “Beerenauslese.” “Already with the least Auslese this year,” he explains, “we had a wine of Beerenauslese must weight. That’s not the point. I perceived the opportunity this year to render the finest possible Auslesen,” and it must be admitted that in this instance there is buoyancy and vivacity despite huge ripeness (from 141 Oechsle), residual sugar (181 grams); enormous extract; and rampant botrytis as manifested in scintillating spice and enveloping honey. Fresh lime with its candied rind; cherry and peach preserves allied to vivid tartness and chew of fruit skin, lend this bottling a surprisingly citric and “northerly” pit fruit character considering the effusive tropical fruit exhibited by so many other wines in this amazing collection. Dense and penetrating, reverberatingly vibratory in length, this seems to so overshoot any normal benchmarks for extract and acidity that even though its liveliness and uncanny levity are consistent with the descriptor “Auslese,” I have the sense that much of its nature is for now inscrutable and will take decades to reveal itself. I’ve written too many words now to get away with saying that this wine left me speechless, but its effect was certainly stunning.

(Geltz-Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese lange GK) AP: 02 11. Expressive multi-layered notes of pineapple, butter and toffee on the nose give way to a complex and fresh flavors of liquid honey, cream and exotic fruits on the palate. The wine is juicy, mouth-watering and beautifully balanced. There is some botrytis at play, but it remains in the background and adds only depth. The wine is a superb expression of a subtle fruit-driven BA, all nicely enhanced by a refreshing acidity. 2018-2030