2010 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: I was surprised when Katharina Prum informed me that a 2010 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese gold capsule was not only her estate’s sole bottling from that site this vintage, but also the first-ever Joh. Jos. Prum gold capsule Auslese from the site (though there were comparable wines if one goes back to a time when the estate labeled wines from the “Wehlener-Zeltinger Sonnenuhr,” such as a 1969 “feinste Auslese” that sported a gold capsule). The mingling here of nut oils; vanilla-laced apple nectar; smoky black tea and citrus oil pungency; as well as dazzlingly diverse floral effusions (peony, lily, heliotrope) is head-turning, and perfectly fits the sense of levity conveyed on a creamy, glycerin-rich palate where they all lusciously and lingeringly reprise. High acids engender a wonderful sense of vibrancy and welcome counterpoint to the wine’s lush texture, yet without the least bit of sharpness. But there is a sense of precision as well as interactive intricacy to the flavors here that – when enveloped in a seductively creamy, soothing, and honeyed envelope – results in an improbable example of vinous harmony and counterpoint. Crushed stone, salt, and somehow-crystalline mineral nuances are glimpsed through reams of transparent finishing fruit. This will be one for the ages; and almost surely you needn’t worry for its appearance on stage fifty years from now, even if you expect to be present. “We picked this relatively early,” notes Prum, “and it’s not as though there was a dominance of botrytis, so when we got the Oechsle reading, we thought the must scale (measuring device) must be broken. ‘That can’t be,’ we said, so we fetched another scale – with the same result.” - David Schildknecht, Dez. 2011