2018 Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: The 2018 Scharzhofberger Auslese (AP #9) –Gold Capsule– is very clear but concentrated and aromatic on the still SO2-covered nose that needs a lot of aeration to breathe and develop its true character. Round, very delicate and fresh on the palate, this is a noble sweet, salty-piquant and enormously stimulating Auslese with a long, complex, well-structured and mineral finish with fine raisin aromas, and it keeps the finesse and freshness of the Scharzhofberg terroir from the beginning to the very end. Tasted in June 2019. - Stephan Reinhardt, Aug. 2019

Vinous: The substantial share of healthy fruit that was picked for this manifests itself in brightly fresh white peach and pear, alongside a syrupy element and jellied quince that point toward the nobly rotten portion of the harvest. Rather than a whiff of mushroom, as had been the case with the two “regular” Auslesen of this collection, here there are musky, intriguingly animal manifestations of botrytis. The feel is glossy, subtly creamy, the finish rapier in its penetration and focus, yet setting one’s whole mouth quivering with the vibrant energy by now familiar from other Müller 2018s. I can’t see any reason why lucky owners should insist on deferring the pleasure of this wine’s acquaintance, but I am also quite confident that the wine itself, not just that pleasure, will be long-lived. (A second gold capsule Auslese, the A.P. #11, was auctioned.) - David Schildknecht, Juli 2020