2006 Loibner Riesling Auslese

The 2006 Riesling Auslese represents those portions of the Riesling crop that developed significant botrytis. White peach, lime, and honey dusted with white pepper inform a ravishing aroma and luscious, sorbet-like palate. Clear, pure, and persistently juicy this is another refreshing and impeccably balanced Auslese that will prove versatile and all-too-easy to drink. Having finished picking the last day of October makes this by one measure among the earliest harvests on record here, “certainly,” says Knoll, “since the early nineties, anyway.” (In 2003, they began earlier but finished later.) While this year’s Federspiel bottlings were by Knoll’s admission “right on the border” of going over into legal Smaragd territory and required quick action during harvest, they nevertheless retain the requisite sense of lightness and refreshment. But if the harvest was relatively hurried, Knoll’s approach in the cellar was anything but, and none of his 2006 Smaragd had been bottled yet when I tasted them last summer. Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700