Ironically and fascinatingly, another lot of potential gold capsule 2006 Auslese – the 2006 Oberemmeler Hutte Riesling Auslese A.P. #11 – “fermented forever in a warm environment, and then all of a sudden went to 10%” alcohol, von Kunow reports. (The Auslese A.P. #8 had 8%.) This genuinely relatively low residual sugar Auslese from the distinct environment of the so-called Eltzerberg section of Hutte will probably now not be released as “gold capsule,” and perhaps not for a couple of years. Pear and pungent smoke and brown spice aromas mingle with residual, yeasty fermentative notes. With strikingly custardy texture, this encamps on the palate with an authoritative richness and a sense of weight uncommon among the best nobly sweet 2006s. A lovely nut oil dimension emerges as this opens up in the glass. High glycerin along with relatively low sugar and efficacious acidity give this wine’s pure-fruited finish both thrust and breadth, and suggest that there will be many fascinating opportunities to employ this wine at table over the coming decade or longer (once it’s released, that is). That said, von Kunow hastened to reiterate his personal well-known skepticism concerning the evolution of nobly sweet wine that doesn’t have very high residual sugar.Ebernard von Kunow’s outstanding 2005 collection gave promise of a return to the quality that made this estate a leader for most of the last quarter century, and – in the context of a challenging vintage – his 2006s were reassuring on that score. Patient settling of the musts and selective bentonite fining were von Kunow’s non-aggressive tools for dealing with the negative side of botrytis one of the most rigorous triages that time permitted had taken place in the vineyards. Rapid harvest, low yields and a frank desire to simplify things a bit, have resulted in fewer individual bottlings than one generally associates with this address.Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (800) 596-9463