Georg Breuer Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel, Rheingau, Germany

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The Breuers rendered 400 half bottles of 2009 Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Auslese gold capsule that brims with purple plum, peach and quince preserves, accented by malt, tasted nuts, and a strongly cyanic impression of fruit pits, all of which help offset the wines sweetness. Overtly dense, ample, and almost darkly brooding in finish, this could scarcely display a more dramatically different personality than its generic counterpart. Peppery pungency, persistent fruit pit piquancy and sizzling impingement of citrus rind all extend its moderately sweet finish. This ought to be fascinating to follow for at least the next 15-20 years, though I am not convinced it will be a notably long keeper for its genre. Berg Schlossberg was the sole site whose botrytis material this vintage was distinctive (“Eigenstandig”) enough, says Teresa Breuer, to merit dedicated bottling. Theresa Breuer underplayed the effects of drought conditions during late summer and early autumn 2009 on the performance of her familys vines in the exposed, rocky Rudesheimer Berg, and, admittedly, there are drip lines in some locations to compensate. But I can easily imagine a connection between that drought and the somewhat peaky acids and strident personalities of many wines in the present collection, and Breuer notes that the slightly lower must weights and consequently lower finished alcohol of several wines probably also reflects at least in part vine stress. (The measured levels of acidity are still lower this year than in the corresponding 2008s.) Picking began already at the end of September and lasted until October 25, under conditions Breuer described as “relatively relaxed.” Incidentally, I re-tasted the top 2008s at this address and would rate the Nonnenberg and Berg Rottland a notch up on my account in issue 187. This is an instance where 2009 is I believe highly unlikely to ever approach the outstanding quality level of its immediate predecessor. (Note: most of the dry-tasting Breuer wines are legally trocken but not labeled as such.)Imported by Classical Wines, Seattle WA 206 547 0255

The Breuer 2008 Rudesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule – of which there are only a few hundred half-bottles – smells penetratingly of lemon oil, mirabelle distillate, kirsch, cardamom, and white pepper. It lays a slick of glycerin and pure, honeyed botrytis down on the palate with very sweet effect, though it remains texturally flattering. Hints of pistachio and maraschino add interest to a long finish that confirms the high-toned, spicy, and confectionary personality of a wine strikingly different from – and far less memorable than – its Berg Roseneck counterpart. I’d anticipate at least 20 years of potential, but would personally wait to revisit it for the better part of a decade simply to let some of the superficial sweetness diminish. At more than 9,000 man hours including the time spent on intensive selection, Heinrich Breuer says this was one of the most labor-intensive and expensive harvests in the estate’s history. “We have 80 parcels in Rudesheim and are very conscientious about checking each one every couple of days to make sure the acidity doesn’t drop too low, to check the must weights, and to deal with any issues that might arise. We were in fact happy to have gotten around a half a gram more acidity at harvest than in the 2007s,” continues Breuer, who says it was really the phenolics and not the quality of acids or levels of sugar that changed while they picked in the course of October. Reports have reached me of the extent to which the top 2008 vintage Rieslings here are said to have became more harmonious and complex in the course of last autumn, so I may well have underestimated them based on my September tastings. But I was already totally disarmed and amazed by the quality of the several best nobly sweet wines, coming as they do from an estate that treats that genre very much as an afterthought (or, more accurately, as a part of pre-harvest provided noble rot is already there) and from a vintage in which so few such wines were essayed nation-wide.Importer: Classical Wines, Seattle WA; tel. (206) 547-0255