Belated pre-auction tasting notes from September 2006. Not in the order tasted, alphabetical. Some disturbing bottle variation, albeit minor, but this is another reason Rainer has become a new-born advocate of alternative closures, such as Stelvin screw caps.
Schlossgut Diel Riesling Spätlese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Dorsheimer Pittermännchen 2005
A bit superficial on the nose. Balm-minty vanilla, nice fruit complexity, medium minerality. Too much enology, Rainer asked. Rating: 89
Schlossgut Diel Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Dorsheimer Goldloch 2005
Seemed to share exactly the same problem, too technological, more vinification style than wine in the glass, superficial. Ever-so-slightly lactic, a bit Chasselas-like fruit almost, especially when I think of this bottling finest vintages, such as the 1996 (a most impressive, if already slightly superficial wine). The “problem” is, this is above-average quality wine that many modern wine drinkers will harldy find fault with. Rating: 89+?
Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Ürziger Würzgarten 2005
Sweet and smooth, candied fruit, a bit superficial, fairly long. What happened to the nicely natural tasting style up to circa the 1997 vintage here? Rating: 88+?
Dönnhoff Riesling Spätlese VdP-Auction Schlossböckelheimer Kupfergrube 2005
Perfumey yet rather tight, fresh apple, well-concentrated, medium-long. Little depth of either fruit or soil notes, even if the mineral dust tastes as if of volcanic soil. Rating: ~89
Dönnhoff Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese VdP-Auction Niederhäuser Hermmanshöhle 2003
Golden colour. Oily on the pour. Hugely viscous, gluey and lightly medicinal botrytis to the apricot, papaya, faint passion fruit, some Crème Brûlée and mocha. Not too multi-layered, let alone elegant, but artisanal and a bit rustic in the best sense, portraying the true aromas and flavours of the grape in an admittedly exotic vintage. Could be longer, though. Rating: 92+
From a second bottle raspberry and strawberry gum-drop, soft fresh butter, livelier and more aromatic acids. Rating: 94+?
Grans-Fassian Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Trittenheimer Apotheke 2005
Sweet, semi-medicinal herbal-appley bitter note, more precise up-front than on the mid-palate, medium length. Rating: 87+?
Willi Haag Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 2005
Sweet, quite rich, more concentrated and impressive than the Fritz bottlings, but not really shouting auction bottling quality either, slightly soft acidity. Rating: 88+
Fritz Haag Riesling Spätlese VdP-Auction Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 2005
Still smells as if fermenting, yeast, CO2, macerated apple, basil and mint, medium length only, barely minerally at all. Not easy to judge. Rating: 88+
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 2005
Whiter (apple), brighter and firmer, if a little light. Some wet earth. Also a bit loose and yeasty and difficult to assess, but even so, Rainer and I agreed this should have been an Auslese, not a GKA. Rating: 87+?
Fritz Haag Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 2005
Also pretty if somewhat imprecise, not crystalline enough for a Fritz bottling, sweet but watery finish, in part no doubt due to residual yeast. A Gold Capsule would have been far sufficient here, as none of these auction bottlings play in a noticeably higher league than those of the standard portfolio, even if each one of then was more difficult to assess than those (they do deserve the benefit of doubt to at least some extent). It remains saddening to think that up to and including the 1990, Fritz Haag was a favourite producer of ours, on a level with J. J. Prüm and Egon Müller. Rating: 87+/88+?
Karthäuserhof Riesling Spätlese #38 VdP-Auction Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2005
Fair enough herbs, good body yet light limey-appley fruit, although not too simple. Rating: ~88?
Karthäuserhof Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule #37 VdP-Auction Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2005
More medicinal on nose than the palate, which emphasises residual sweetness, viscosity and quite good mid-palate density, but the overall integration this showed at this stage was not too great. Rating: 89+?
Karthäuserhof Riesling Eiswein #48 VdP-Auction Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg 2004
A medicinal top aroma that reminded both Rainer and me of a wasp, as weird as that may sound (I realise insects do not seem to smell much), but also just rubbery-weird (partly due to sulfur, no doubt). Much better on the palate, viscous and long, firm acidity. Rating: ~90?
Kesselstatt Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Josephshöfer 2005
Round macerated apple and cinnamon, good sweetness, medium length. Rating: 88+
Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr 2005
Another of these difficult to judge Haag family bottlings (prominent earthy beer-like yeast) that seemed hardly superior to its standard portfolio counterpart. What was at all open to inspection was far from bad, but I still found this a bit duller, sweeter and more bitter (with drier botrytis or extraction?) than ideal. Rating: 88+?
Dr. Loosen Riesling Spätlese VdP-Auction Ürziger Würzgarten 2005
Typical enough ÜWG expression, ethereal and resiny herbs this year. Good body, fair enough acids, medium length. Sometimes a particularly successful auction bottling, less exceptionally so this year? Rating: ~90?
Dr. Loosen Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Erdener Prälat 2005
Impressively precise and intense, smooth yet quite fresh with high-toned fruit, apple and vanilla, nice complexity and medium-plus viscosity, firm yet elegant wine, quite long. Once again a favourite bottling of many, to my mind, people tend to make too much of the fact that this is always picked at TBA must weight – it usually tastes like a (in some vintages a bit dried-fruity) BA with somewhat more body. Rating: 93
Egon Müller Riesling Spätlese VdP-Auction Scharzhofberg 2005
Bright, vibrant nose. Intense, complex, minerally, high-acid, long. Some lemon peel. Rating: 92+/93+?
Egon Müller Le Gallais Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Wiltinger Braune Kupp 2005
Perfume of great subtlety. Sweet pine apple and a tiny black tea bitter note, iron, great acidity, most lovely acids, Rainer said. The concentration of this wine seemed even more impressive after we had tasted all the other wines and returned to this – it is merely drier, but the kind of wine that will not shy away from comparison to any of the sweeter wines. Rating: 93+!
Egon Müller Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Scharzhofberg 2005
White apple blossom and blackcurrant cough drop, extremely clean botrytis, oily-thick and BA-like with good vinosity, explosive finish and aftertaste. What a wine! Rating: 95+?
Egon Müller Riesling Eiswein VdP-Auction Scharzhofberg 2002
Rubbery on the nose, comes across as much less focused in the of all these top 2005s. Tasty enough on the palate, but then, this is a Scharzhofberger Eiswein, qualitatively a far cry from top vintages such as the 1998 or 1996 here. But nice quality of quite aromatic acidity for a 2002. Good, though not great length. One of the handful ice wine bottlings not made to be drunk young, but that usually can be expected to improve with bottle age. Rating: 91+
Willi Schaefer Riesling Spätlese VdP-Auction Graacher Domprobst 2005
Cool stone dust, puristic style here as always, a touch dry. Granny Smith apple, yeast and grapefruit, the retro-olfaction is the best part here. Rating: 88+
Willi Schaefer Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Graacher Domprobst 2005
A bit spicier apple, slatier minerality, nicely concentrated and firm and tight, a mouth-cleansing style of GKA. Should make for food-friendly wine, another reason why I like the style. Rating: 90
Robert Weil Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Kiedrich Gräfenberg 2005
Thick and sweet BA with good vinosity. Subdued honey dew melon nose, closed, earthy minerality, high but extremely well-integrated acidity. A bit grapefruitier with airing. Less exotic than the 1996 version, with more aftertaste than length. Rating: 94
Less floral from the second bottle, hazelnuttier, earthier. Rating: 93
Robert Weil Riesling Beerenauslese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Kiedrich Gräfenberg 2005
Buttery-fat and oily, touches of caramel and passion fruit, a touch oxidative yet still light on its feet, but with less fresh honey and toffee than from a second bottle. Rating: 93+?
The second bottle was definitely not oxidative, and noticeably more blossomy. Rating: 94+?
Even if I am underrating this, it is not on the level of the 1996 version, one of most exotic and tropical, complex and long young Rieslings I have ever tasted at release. I am also reminded of something I was once told by Weil himself, which is that their Auction bottlings are not necessarily meant to be kept or cellared for a longer period of time than any from their standard portfolio.
Zilliken Riesling Auslese VdP-Auction Saarburger Rausch 2005
Floral, apple blossom, ripe blackcurrant, banana. Nicely sweet and viscous, lovely appley acidity. One to drink young, I guess. Rating: 91
Zilliken Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Saarburger Rausch 2005
Fresher, more focus, more concentration, candied banana. A keeper, it seemed. Rating: 92+
Zilliken Riesling Auslese Long Gold Capsule VdP-Auction Saarburger Rausch 2005
Much more viscous, thicker, more persistent. Highly concentrated and backed by great acidity. Rating: 93+
Greetings from Switzerland, David.