2005 Piesporter Goldtropfchen Auslese

One has come to expect something special from a St Urbans-Hof Auslese from old vines in this great site, and their 2005 Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Auslese does not disappoint. A heady floral and tropical fruit perfume is followed by a thickly-rich, lusciously sweet, honeyed and white raisin-studded palate – layering grilled pineapple, grapefruit, and mango – that still manages to come off as delicate and – thanks to fruit acidity – vivacious. Gaudy and flamboyant, this wine finishes with a torrent of tropical fruits, honey, white raisin, pineapple, and black currant. Experience shows that such over-endowed wines from the Goldtropfchen can take many years to exhaust their capital, and I would not hesitate to lock away and forget this specimen for a quarter century. The team here – cellarmaster Rudi Hoffmann, vineyard manager Hermann Jostock, and proprietor Nik Weis – continued their streak of highly successful harvests this year, albeit at the price of extremely low yields. Importer: H. B. Wine Merchants, New York, NY; tel. (917) 402-0456