Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsel, Mosel, Germany

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With its “cask number” as usual acting as a sort of brand for this particular bottling, Kesselstatt’s 2010 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese long gold capsule #10 delivers peach and apricot in both fresh and preserved forms along with grapefruit marmalade in a spicy, confectionary yet exuberantly juicy amalgam that’s shot through with smoky black tea; honey; yeasty allusions to white bread; and quickening fresh lemon. The buoyant, enticing and almost riotously complex interplay of elements here demonstrates how botrytis can add complexity without in the least weighing down or embittering the results. Saliva-inducing salinity such as one seldom experiences in a wine this ennobled, adds to an extraordinarily penetrating finish and an already existing compulsion to take the next sip. This regal ambassador for its great site and quite literally exceptional vintage should be worth following for at least four decades. Annegret Reh and vineyard manager-cellarmaster Wolfgang Mertes have turned in a 2010 collection reduced in volume (unusually, I tasted it in its entirety) but of impressively consistent excellence, with welcome clarity and focus as well as relatively low-alcohol balance at its drier end. Here is one estate where a direct comparison is possible and the Saar and Ruwer generated more excitement than the Middle Mosel. “What really proved valuable this year,” notes Reh, “was de-leafing” to enhance ventilation, which manifestly didn’t handicap the wines in terms of ripeness. As is typically the case here, too, the wings were often cut off of the clusters, although given the tiny 2010 crop that wasn’t necessary in all parcels. Picking for the top dry wines took place within a fairly narrow window near the end of October – botrytis being carefully eliminated; skin contact being extended; and selected musts being double-salt de-acidified – and they were bottled in July. This geographically wide-ranging and terroir-blessed estate continues to chart a unique stylistic course, in particular with wines labeled “Kabinett” tending increasingly toward very discretely-integrated “hidden” sweetness that renders them extremely versatile at table but in striking contrast to most Mosel wines so-labeled, which tend toward extremely low alcohol and pronounced sweetness, not to mention in contrast with the majority of German Riesling as a whole, which remains fashionably legally trocken.Various importers including P. J. Valckenberg International, Tulsa, OK; tel. (918) 622-0424