2005 - Saarburger Rausch Riesling TBA, Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken

(for 375 ml.; auction wine) Rich gold. Deeply botrytized nose offers an exotically spiced blend of mango, papaya and lichee, with hints of mocha and chocolate. Compellingly sweet, rich and concentrated, with smoky accents and the elegantly bitter expression of botrytis providing verve and lift.Riveting deep spice character makes for a fascinating, otherworldly finish. Wonderfully deep and rich yet ethereal, this wine approaches perfection in liquid form.

Zilliken’s 2005 Saarburger Rausch Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese A.P. #2, boasts Eiswein-like (14 grams per liter) acidity. He would press all night, he says, just to get some juice from the completely shriveled grapes. The nose mingles musk, smoked meats, brown spices, caramel, lemon oil, singed white grapefruit, distilled plum, as well as exotic wood-like aromas. Fresh, jammed, and caramelized apricot and peach dominate on a palate of striking sheer density, shot through with vivid currents of citricity, yet rich and buffered – with a mocha butter cream element – rather than being at all sharp or strident in overall effect. The more one comes back to this, the more the complexity of the aromas can be followed across the palate, gripping with a profundity of flavors that practically command reverence. And yet, one senses that much of this wine’s mysterious message may yet be missing at this early age. Also recommended: 2005 Riesling ($16.00; 85+?). Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. 800-596-9463