Saarburger Rausch, Riesling, Auslese, Goldkap
Zilliken

Saarburger Rausch, Riesling, Auslese, Goldkap, 2018


Destination

vintage


portfolio

Portfolio
These wines are in stock and are available for delivery at your convenience.


2018

37.5cl

DP

£56.54


2018

6x37.5cl

DP

£339.29


2018

75cl

DP

£108.90


2018

6x75cl

DP

£653.38


2018

3x1.5L

DP

£677.38



Zilliken, Saarburger Rausch, Riesling, Auslese, Goldkap, 2018

2018

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

Zilliken, Saarburger Rausch, Riesling, Auslese, Goldkap, 2018

A fabulous nose that offers up salty slate, then peaches and honey. The texture here is fine silk, as this caresses the palate, dropping the freshest fruit notes of the range, sun kissed peaches, red apple and grapefruit flavours stream across the palate, all drenched in acacia honey. It immediately brings to mind the opening bars of The Beatles’ “Across the Universe”. And for all the rich seduction the honey brings, there’s a kiss of fine acidity and freshness on the finish. “Goldcaps are built of many fine layers” Hano opined. This one certainly seems to be.

Maturity:
Keep/Drink
ABV:
8%
96/100
David Schildknecht, Vinous

Scents and flavors here pull strongly in a tropical direction, featuring mango, guava and Persian melon whose richness is modestly cut by the zesty side of candied pink grapefruit peel and the tangy element of glazed pineapple. The feel is seductively creamy, and although this elixir’s sheer viscosity is surely at least as high as that of the collection’s auctioned Spätlese and Auslese, there is an unsurpassed sense of levity and delicacy to this gold capsule Auslese. Influxes of salted caramel and florally perfumed honey enhance the multi-fruit concentration of a vibrantly, lusciously and mouthwateringly sustained finish. Hanno Zilliken is reminded by this wine of the corresponding Auslese in his vintage 1983 collection, the first I tasted from him and the one that first brought his estate international attention. I have not included “A.P. #5” as part of this wine’s name because, unusually given a vintage this rich in high-must-weight Zilliken elixirs, only one of them is labeled as Auslese Goldkapsel. There were in fact two casks designated as gold capsule Auslese, but the Zillikens felt that their contents were too similar to merit separate bottling.
Date Reviewed:
07/2020

specifications

country:
Germany


Appellation:

Producer:
Zilliken

style:

Grape Variety:

Allergen Information:
This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.


Zilliken

Zilliken

The life of a Saar Riesling grower is not an easy one. Possibly one of the coldest and most marginal corners of Germany, the Saar can produce some of the world’s great white wine in hot sunny years such as 1990. However, these are usually outnumbered by cold wet years resulting in over astringent and unripe wines. There are a small band of growers though who have a distinct advantage over the rest in the land that they own. A handful of Saar vineyards are steep enough and exposed enough to ensure a decent level of grape ripening even in poor years. Hanno Zilliken is fortunate enough to have sizeable holdings in Saarburg’s great vineyard, the steep south-facing Rausch. He exploits these slate based vines to the maximum through careful pruning and hand selection. When the wine is pressed, it gently descends by gravity into the oak casks lying in Hanno’s dark damp cellars. The wines are prime examples of Saar Riesling, being mouthwateringly taut, mineral and sophisticated.

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