Saarburger Rausch, Riesling, Spätlese,

This wine was raised in a five-year-old fuder with the intention of lending some structure and some pushback to its sweetness – and there is indeed a lot of sweetness here, pushing things in a syrupy direction. Quince and pear jellies and glazed pineapple dominate on the nose and the viscous, glycerol-rich palate. Happily, there is a lovely sense of lift despite the wine’s sheer concentration. Hints of zest from candied citrus peels as well as of resin from barrel add to the counterpoint supplied by tangy pineapple core on a finish of formidable persistence. And one hopes that there will be further diversity as well as a counter to the sweetness as this wine evolves in bottle. It originated with a 117-Oechsle must, and Hanno Zilliken even referred to it as a “super Auslese,” adding with a smile, “one that lent itself to offering as our auction Spätlese.” And he readily admitted that the estate has never before marketed as Spätlese any wine this concentrated and from fruit this high in must weight. (Readers already familiar with the Zillikens’ unique approach to registration numbers will recognize that this wine’s A.P. #7 implies not just that they deemed it superior in quality but also that it reflects a higher must weight than do three wines – the A.P. #s 8-10 – that were labeled as Auslese.)