In contrast with the selectively picked and wide-ranging Auslese from Halenberg, the “two star” 2006 Monzinger Fruhlingsplatzchen Riesling Auslese represents essentially a block harvest of the parcels in the aptly named Rutsch (“slide”) section of Halenberg, which so completely succumbed to “brown-out” and botrytis that less than a third of a normal crop could be salvaged. The result is an Auslese (like some that Johannes Selbach has harvested in recent vintages) that is a snapshot of the vineyard in this vintage, ranging from (a few) berries still green-gold grapes to those completely wizened and blue-black. The layering of flavors parallels that diversity, with refreshing citrus, pit fruit and red berry, honey, caramel, and white raisin. Ethereal floral high tones and a suggestion of candied fruits such as one notices in the corresponding Halenberg are here too, but for all of its honeyed botrytis aspect, this is bright and underlain by firm, palpable density, rather than creamy and wafting like several of its siblings. Here, too, I would expect this long-finishing Riesling to reward a quarter century in the bottle. “The Nahe had the capability to render really good dry wines this year,” asserts Werner Schonleber. “Elsewhere, the botrytis was problematic, or the ripening took place too quickly. But we caught the whole spectrum here.” He proceeded to prove this memorably in the glass, with the finest collection I have ever tasted at this address (as well as – improbably – one in which Fruhlingsplatzchen outperformed Halenberg).Imported by Sussex Wine Merchants, Moorestown, NJ; tel. (856) 608-9644; also imported by Dee Vine Wines, San Francisco, CA; tel. (877) 389-9463

Concentrated in terms of flavor, yet light-weight and delicate. Dried apricot, orange peel and pineapple notes mingle with the juicy structure as this glides to the long finish. Be patient. Best from 2013 through 2035. 159 cases made.??–BS??Region: Germany / Nahe Select to Add