From 25-year-old vines downstream in this site, the Willi Haag 2011 Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Spatlese brims with luscious pear, Persian melon, and quince, its overlay of honey and brown spices pointing toward noble rot and perfectly complemented by scents of honeysuckle and lily that liquefy irresistibly on a creamy, glycerol-slicked palate. This opulent yet refreshing gem even manages to offer licks of salt and stone by way of mouthwatering finishing counterpoint. Expect to enjoy its sensational value through at least 2030. What a pleasure it gives me to report that in a vintage which I had imagined might challenge them even more than it did many others, Marcus and Inge Haag have instead – after a slightly disappointing showing in 2010 – delivered one of their finest-ever collections! Picking here began October 4. The significant share of Willi Haag vines in Brauneberg that are nowadays trained to wire were largely picked in the first four days of harvest, while those in Burgen and/or trained traditionally to single posts (or, as the French would say, en echalas) were not picked until almost the end of the month. In light of what seems amazing quality for some of the Willi Haag generically-labeled bottlings, it’s worth calling attention to the fact that these, too, have homes, specifically in the vineyards of Burgen, Veldenz and Muhlheim. And as experience at Weingut Max Ferdinand Richter – and even more, recently, at Weingut Gunter Steinmetz – demonstrates, there are sites with exceptional potential within a two mile radius of Brauneberg about which even most German Riesling lovers have never heard and some of which may have even more to say for themselves and more to offer Riesling in a time of global warming. “We’re bottling a lot more trocken, halbtrocken, and feinherb-style wines today than we did even five years ago,” observes Marcus Haag, which is good news considering how successful he has been in these styles and also the extent to which some of the best-known Mosel estates are instead following the general trend among German Riesling growers of marginalizing or eliminating any wines not either legally trocken or possessing at least 50 grams of residual sugar. Note that due to the many small importers for this estate, it is not possible for me to keep track of just how many and which of their numerous bottlings come to the U.S., but the retail price indicators offered here are empirically-based and not misprints. In other words, the wines of this estate continue to be almost distressingly underpriced, but as such represent extraordinary value. Numerous importers, including Atlanta Improvement Co.; tel. (404) 876 4500, Imperial Beverage, Kalamazoo, MI; tel. (269) 382 4200, Import A-N-T Wines, Venice, FL; tel. (941) 493 3000, Winebow Inc., Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620