Weingut Ratzenberger Bacharacher Wolfshohle Riesling Auslese, Mittelrhein, Germany

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The Ratzenberger 2008 Bacharacher Wolfshohle Riesling Auslese were picked out ahead of time by three people from all of their parcels in that site. Some fruit was botrytized, but more frequently the selection was of clusters with tiny, sometimes pip-less berries, including those of young vines. The result combines phenomenal penetration with lift and transparency to stony, saline mineral diversity almost as striking as that exhibited by the corresponding Spatlese. Kirsch and pistachio extract, quince, honey, flowers and citrus zest rise from the glass. Grapefruit, lemon, and white peach balance against honey, while green tea and bitter-sweet floral perfume inform a luscious, silken-textured, yet electric-charged palate, and the finish is almost literally jaw-dropping, as you’ll find yourself needing a napkin. In 30 years – if you expect to be drinking wine still and can score one of 180 bottles – you may need a hankie to dry your eyes when you uncork this treasure. When you taste a collection like this year’s from the two Jochen Ratzenbergers, you have to wonder why their wines’ consistent quality; track record for aging; and frequently stellar performances do not make this one of the most talked-about estates in Germany. (Maybe I shouldn’t wish that on us!) In fact, they are quite well-respected at home, but I think there is a certain snobbishness that rebounds against even the best Mittelrhein Riesling because this region’s precious half-timbered villages and crenellated slopes spell “tourist country” to most German wine lovers.Importer: Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644

Ratzenberger served me his 2007 Bacharacher Wolfshohle Riesling Auslese before the corresponding Spatlese. Apple jelly and cherry preserves in the nose lead to a richly-fruited palate, subtly-creamy; brimming with apple, lemon, and pineapple; and tinged with yeast and vanilla. In the finish, lemon zest and tart fruit skin add a sense of invigoration and a strong suggestion of wet stone a sense of gravitas. This definitely needs time for its parts to integrate, but is already impressive and intriguing. I would anticipate its being worth cellaring for at least 20 years. Jochen Ratzenberger Jr. expressed delight with his 2007s, and even though I’m straining to recollect a vintage with which he wasn’t pleased, the truth is, he and his father comprise one of the most consistently high-performance teams in German viticulture, and their 2007 collection is consistently impressive. Both of the Ratzenbergers’ 2007 vintage Grosse Gewachse – in what has been fairly typical behavior – finished fermenting only in mid-August, and were immediately bottled with barely enough time to appear at the annual Berlin Presentation of Germany’s collective wines in this genreImported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644

The 2006 Bacharacher Wolfshohle Riesling Auslese gives off pungent, spicy, musky notes of botrytis; fills the mouth with creamy, honeyed peach preserves, mango, and musk melon; and finishes also very musky, honeyed and rich, with faintly bitter notes of botrytis and fruit desiccation that block optimum expressiveness. This expansive but not at all heavy Riesling represents intensive family labors to pick out perfectly botrytized bunches and berries, relates Jochen Ratzenberger, and perhaps more clarity and finishing expressiveness will come with time. Certainly there is no point in revisiting it for at least 6-8 years, after which it ought to hold up well for that long again. Without spraying against botrytis, Jochen Ratzenberger Jr. insists that the proper management of the family’s vines and greening between the rows kept rot at bay, but 30% less than a normal volume was harvested. The Ratzenbergers began picking on Septermber 25 and were done on the 12th of October.Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608 9644