The auctioned 2013 Dorsheimer Pitterm?nnchen Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule offers a complex, mineral, almost flinty bouquet and is even more sophisticated than the regular Auslese. There is even more sweetness here on the palate which makes it even more sensual and voluptuous. It is still an Auslese (and not a Beerenauslese), very refined and elegant but it is less stimulating and made for meditations.

The Dorsheimer Pitterm?nnchen Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule was harvested at 7 am on a very cold early November morning when the grapes were slightly frozen which brings near icewine clarity and concentration to the musts.This wine shows delicious, concentrated pineapple aromas intermixed with the slate aromas of the Pitterm?nnchen plus some nutty almond flavors. The richness of the nose is also present on the palate where opulent, ripe and overripe tropical fruit flavors are displayed. The wine is very intense, almost extravagant in its fruitiness but lacks the precision and piquancy of the Goldloch, and there was black bread flavors in the aftertaste.

Given the striking distinction of other Diel wines in this vintage from this site – especially an extraordinary “regular” Auslese – I approached the auction-destined 2011 Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Auslese gold capsule with high hopes and expectations. What I found was a wine that departs from the common denominators found in those predecessors. Dark honey, caramel and Rainier cherry preserves are pungently laced with crystallized ginger, cherry skin and pit, as well as a crucial modicum of fresh cherry and grapefruit, all of which serve to push-back against the sheer sweetness and confiture viscosity on display here, and leading to a sumptuously lingering finish. This should be worth following for the better part of three decades, but I’ll be surprised if it ever quite achieves the distinction of its non-gold capsule counterpart. Caroline Diel is now the mother of two, but shows every intention and indication of personally staying on top of her estate’s viticulture. In collaboration with long-time cellarmaster Christoph Friedrich, she is both perpetuating and further refining the styles of wine that have come to characterize and enhance the long-standing reputation of Schlossgut Diel. Picking began in the last week of September and most of the top Rieslings were harvested already in the first week of October, by which point there was a significant amount of botrytis, happily largely noble, most of it picked-out in parallel with the fruit for the Grosse Gewachse. Wisely, I think – as heaven knows they have an austere side as is – the Diels elected for the sake of moderating alcohol to leave a bit more residual sugar behind this year than usual in their Grosse Gewachse. Importer: Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300

Meaty, leathery, somewhat Burgundian Pinot Noir-like notes are part of the aromatic display in the Diels’ auctioned 2008 Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Auslese Gold Capsule, along with spiced yellow plum preserves. A veritable fruit cocktail in syrup on the palate, this wine, picked November 20, displays the honey and caramel that signal botrytis, in contrast with the largely healthy concentration of the corresponding Goldloch. What that Auslese and this gold capsule Auslese miss is the juicy exuberance and refined, complex interplay of flavors that characterizes the very best vintage 2008 wines at this address. Still, in its gaudy and intriguing way, this is impressive, and probably set to thrive for the better part of three decades. Caroline Diel is taking the reins at her family’s estate, and results in 2008 are as impressive as one would have expected given the track record at this address. The team here did not start harvesting until the third week in October and picked for nearly a month, due to which lateness the measurable acid levels (which were not adjusted) were relatively low by vintage standards, but the impression of acidity was more than vivacious and efficacious enough. On a quest for purity and authenticity, the Diels did not include in their bench trials for the blending of Grosse Gewachse any small lots of off-dry wine such as might in past have been employed expressly to fine-tune the finished levels of residual sugar. Instead, they let the blends all remain quite dry. Armin Diel has for at least the past dozen years championed and cherished the Mosel stylistic ideals of delicacy and of high residual sugar balanced against acidity. His choices of Mosel-born cellar master Martin Franzen (now of Muller-Catoir), and more recently of Moselaner Christoph Friedrich, testify to this proclivity. But there has never been a better vintage in which to give these ideals fluid realization. So if you are a lover of Kabinetts and Spatlesen from the likes of Joh. Jos. Prum, Willi Schaefer, or the Haags, do not miss the show Caroline and Armin Diel have put on this year, and that could be playing in your cellar any night over the next two decades! Terry Theise Estate Selections, imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc., Syosset, NY; tel. (516) 677-9300