2018 Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: Picked earlier than the Bockstein in early October, the 2018 Rausch Spätlese offers a clear, bright, slightly spicy (oaky) and citrus-scented nose of tropical fruit with mango and ripe small bananas (not the imported ones, though!). Intense, lush and silky, this is a balanced and endlessly juicy Spätlese that was partly fermented in new Fuders that give an exciting kick in terms of spices and structure. This is an impressive wine that's highly seductive already today, but I'd keep it, though. Tasted in June 2019. - Stephan Reinhardt, Aug. 2019

Vinous: If an argument can be – and often is – made that Zilliken Kabinetts would more appropriately be labeled “Spätlese,” then an even better case could be made that this Spätlese should be labeled Auslese, and by no means just on account of its sweetness or its having been rendered from musts well in excess of 100 degrees Oechsle. The effusive nose is dominated by mango, guava and pineapple, and these are joined by quince jelly on a glycerol-slicked palate. The long, soothing finish manages to just avoid turning outright sticky, thanks in part to a faint pineapple core tang but quite possibly also due to this having been one of those bottlings for which the Zillikens employed some of their new and nearly-new fuders. (Concerning this estate’s ongoing renewal of casks, consult the introduction to my coverage of their 2015s.) - David Schildknecht, Juli 2020