The product of what Irmgard Hirtzberger calls “a very clean, beautiful botrytis” that could easily be selected, a 2006 Riesling Beerenauslese (which had not yet been bottled when I tasted it) smells of candied lime peel, malt, honey, and wood smoke. With a striking juxtaposition of creaminess and subtle oiliness of texture with brightness of citrus and pit fruits, it fills the mouth with fresh lime, plum and apricot jam, and honey, with hints of white raisin and apricot kernel and citrus zest piquancy. This vivid, pure, refined Riesling combines (in nobly sweet form) the brightness and wafting elegance of this year’s Hochrain with the pit fruit intensity of the Singerriedel, and has an extraordinary reach that reminds me of Johannes Leitz’s joke, “it would take a giraffe to do this justice.” Dubbed “Beerenauslese” despite nearly 200 grams residual sugar (which you’d never guess, as it is balanced by more than eleven grams of acidity) this is as fine as any Austrian botrytis Riesling I have tasted, even including its amazing vintage 2005 predecessor. Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700