Kerpen’s 2011 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese two star betrays its botrytization in musky, prickly slightly sweaty overtones, allied to pear nectar, candied lemon, and marzipan on the nose as well as on an oil-slicked palate. A hint of white raisin adds to the ennobled impression en route to a dominantly sweet and spicy yet also faintly prickly, drying and bitter finish. This contrasts strikingly with the purity and delicate refinement of the corresponding “one-star,” and I suspect that its earthy and animal aspects will prevent this from ever – metaphorically speaking – reaching for the stars. (The corresponding “three-star” Auslese was being filtered after finally finishing fermentation when I visited last September, so that like three yet higher-must weight, later-fermenting Kerpen Rieslings of this vintage, I won’t taste it until later this year.) Martin Kerpen has been on an impressive roll of late, and his 2011 collection – whose four highest must-weight wines, granted, I couldn’t taste last year as they were so slow in fermenting – scores striking successes across a wide spectrum of residual sugar. (I also failed to taste at least one residually sweet Graacher that had evidently disappeared from Kerpen’s cellars last September and I could not subsequently track down.) While Kerpen has long been notably successful in rendering legally dry Riesling from his famous Wehlen and Graach sites, the extreme acidity of 2010 militated against harmony in this sector of his portfolio; whereas, from 2011 come some of his most impressive-ever results. Small wonder, then, that in this vintage Kerpen’s volume of trocken Riesling overtook that of non-trocken. As with many of the best Mosel collections from this vintage, the wines here are analytically low-acid yet one seldom feels a want of freshness or vivacity. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300