A “one star” 2005 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese* smells of lime and honey along with a smoky, charred pungency that seems to come in equal measure from botrytis and from Schlossberg terroir. In the mouth the wine is strikingly voluminous, rich and enveloping, featuring baked, caramelized apple. The caramel apple is set spinning by a current of electric juice from an ample stock of citrus and wicks off the honey of botrytis in slick, palate-slathering abundance. The finish is on the one hand overtly honeyed and botrytis-inflected yet on the other brisk and lime-fruited. Some may find this wine – with the soul of a Beerenauslese and the brightness of a Eiswein – disconcertingly exaggerated, or even discordant, but I find it stimulating and amazing. How will it behave when it finally settles down? “For me, 2005 is a singular vintage in my career,” says Johannes Selbach, “in that it is ripe, multi-faceted, and has excellent acidity. You can pick any of the other recent classics – 1975, 1990 ... . Each of the benchmark years is great in its way, however here you have a combination that is fun to drink now, ten years from now, and in thirty years as well. It remains to be seen, but I think 2005 is in another league.” Readers will indeed be hard pressed this year to find another address with this many consistently outstanding wines, and when has there ever been a more diverse and at the same time magnificent array of Auslesen? In their upper reaches, the Selbach 2005s seem – like Zilliken's, but in their own unique way – to chart a trajectory beyond the normal course for their vintage. The harvest here extended from mid-October to mid-November.Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300
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