WTN: 'OH-MY-GOD!' inducing 1976s

Part of a phenomenal wine dinner in New York Wednesday night that was mostly Riesling, though some rogue Gewurztraminer and Rieslaner showed up somehow. Wines ranged from old to young and dead to drinkable, but two 1976s stood out from the rest of the pack by a long way and provided incredible pleasure. I'll post notes on the whole thing soon, but 2-3 hours later I can still feel the velvet of that 76 Johannisberg on my tongue. What a wine!

1976 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spatlese (Saar)
AP #8-77. Light gold colour in the glass, and good grief - what an insane nose! Ginger, spearmint, chocolate and white fruits - the whole thing smells like chocolate-mint cookies dusted with spices and served with a plate of fresh fruit. With air this just keeps expanding on the nose and palate, developing elements of basil and other herbs, earth and honey, and a gentle, floating mouthfeel with plenty of acidity. The fruit here still feels very young and this just kept getting better with time - hard to imagine how long this will actually last for.

And somehow... this wine topped it. Among the greatest wines I've had the privilege to drink so far in my life.
1976 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Auslese Rosalack (Rheingau)
Liquid velvet. It's not just how this wine tastes and smells; the way it FEELS on your tongue is enough to make one go 'WOW'. Somehow this conveys tremendous richness and power with so little apparent weight, with an incredibly smooth, slightly oily mouthfeel and flavours that slowly build up with air, keep expanding and then stay with you minutes after the last sip is finished. Beautiful aromatics; at first there's honey, caramel, tobacco and savoury earth, then with time apple, lime and cardamom flavours emerge. Like the Egon Muller, there's a sense of incredible freshness to the fruit with plenty of acidity underneath, and incredible length. And this was also getting better with air through the night; the last sip I had was the best and I can't imagine how long this will age and last for.

Oh, it's sweet.

When I see the prices of those wines, I'm amazed that there are still people in New York who can afford them after the financial crisis.

Alex R.

When I see the prices of those wines, I'm amazed that there are still people in New York who can afford them after the financial crisis.

Alex R.

Perhaps some people have been cellaring them for decades?

Although of course either way the financial crisis has not destroyed all wealth (at least not yet). And in comparison to private jets, these wines are cheap That said, from time to time life can seem bizarre when one compares the range of consumption habits.

All the better for Salil that he could consume these beauties!

True enough Rahsaan.

There's also an economic law called "perverse demand,", where the more expensive something is, the more it is in demand!

And, it is well know that when times are tough, there is a special thrill in throwing your money around!

Best regards,
Alex R.

[David M. Bueker]

Alex,

Just as a point of reference I purchased (and drank) a bottle of '76 Schloss Johannisberg Riesling Auslese (Rosalack) about 3 years ago for $49.99.

I was not as impressed as Salil, but 30 year old bottles tend to vary quite a bit.

Hi David,

That does not seem outrageously expensive by any means.

I may be mistaken, but I believe that Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling TBA is one of the most expensive wines in the world.

All the best,
Alex

I believe that Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Riesling TBA is one of the most expensive wines in the world.

All the best,
Alex

The TBAs can indeed be out-of-this-world expensive, but the wine above is a Spätlese which Wine Searcher shows is available for a bit less than $500.

[David M. Bueker]

And the Egon Muller wines were once available at prices mere mortals could afford. I've had quite a few spatlesen, though I stopped buying them when release price went north of $75 several years ago.

"bit less than $500"?

Peanuts!

Alex R.

Thanks for the tasting notes, Salil. 1976 was a year of very heavy noble rot. It's very likely that the Spaetlese had the must weight to qualify as an Auslese, and the Auslese as a Beerenauslese. Some of the 1976s that I've tasted suffered from balance problems--the ripeness and noble rot left them with insufficient acidity and a "shoe polish" aroma (too much noble rot). Due to the low acidity, back in the 1980s it was thought that the wines might fade in the long haul. Clearly that wasn't the case with these two.

I still have a couple of bottles of Adam Albert 1971 and 1976 Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen BA in my cellar. It's time to create an excuse to open one.

-Paul W.

"bit less than $500"?

Peanuts!

Certainly it is far from the most expensive wine in the world.

[David M. Bueker]

Go back just 10 years and even Egon Muller wasn't nearly as expensive.

Rahsaan,

I had referred to the TBA.

If the Spatlese is $ 500, what to you think the TBA costs?

Alex

[David M. Bueker]

Alex,

Knowing just a bit about the folks Salil was hanging out with, it is likely the person had owned that bottle for a good while. I sorely doubt they paid close to $500.

So, what would a bottle of their TBA cost today?

Alex

[David M. Bueker]

Oh it's outrageous, but I haven't seen the pricing on the TBA in a while. For a reference point, the 1998 Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Eiswein went for 1300 Euros in 2005.

Egon Muller Scharzhofberger Auslese is one of the benchmark wines that introduced me to German Riesling while I was a grad student in TX in the 80s. Central Texas was settled by German immigrants and there were a number of excellent suppliers of German wine in Austin. It was either the 71 or 76 Muller, but I enjoyed a variety of other producers from 71, 75, 76 and later vintages.

[Jenise]

Bernard, I can't picture you in Texas.