2009 - Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese, Lieser

The Schloss Lieser 2009 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese is down to only 7% alcohol, and even its aromas seem to signal delicacy, with suggestions of alkaline minerality, honeysuckle, apple blossom, and lemon blossom. The wine’s sense of sweetness is adumbrated on the nose too, and cinnamon-tinged apple and quince jellies inform a subtly slippery, slick palate that projects remarkable richness given its striking buoyancy. Notes of mint, sassafras, and wintergreen play a cooling role comparable to that noted in the corresponding Niederberg Helden Auslese, and here, too, there is a surprising preservation of sheer primary juiciness to the long finish. This should perform admirably for at least three decades and should give the corresponding auction Spatlese a run for its money, though currently that wine holds the edge in refinement and elegance. Thomas Haag picked from mid October until almost the middle of November. “The only drawback” of extending the harvest so late, he insists, “was 15% losses vis-a-vis 2008, thanks to the necessary selection. There was really not much botrytis. We made two T.B.A.s which are still fermenting (that was in mid-September), but we didn’t make any B.A.” With the exception of the aforementioned T.B.A.s, and an inaugural Grosses Gewachs (from the Niederberg Helden) that I unfortunately realized too late I had inexplicably been deprived of an opportunity to taste, all of this collection was bottled already in April. Importer: Rudi Wiest, Cellars International, Carlsbad, CA; tel. 800 596 9463